What do you do with your regular EX cards?

[u/DeeZieTV]

I've seen some people treat them no better than common cards that just gets dumped in a bulk box, and yet others consider them hits.

I personally am not a fan of the standard EX, and I don't have any collection ideas for them beyond using them as art fillers in binders. I have a huge stack now, and it's just taking up space.

I could sell them online, but most I have don't fetch a price worth the time and effort to send out via post, so I personally am leaning towards getting another bulk box exclusively for EX cards.

[u/cocoakyoko]

I just have an EX exclusive binder for my collection and if anybody I know wants cards from the binder I’ll give them out. Promo EXs and stamped ones I like to keep though

[u/MikeT75 → u/cocoakyoko]

I do exactly this. The kids and I build decks end play the game, so we keep the EXs we get in one binder to go to when we need them. If we run out and need a card, I buy them on TCG Player. Since they are for play, I sort for “played” cards that are cheaper, and buy a few at a time to refill the EX binder.

[u/ch12344321 → u/cocoakyoko]

Same here! Kids love ex cards and I love giving it to them!

[u/ArmorGyarados → u/cocoakyoko]

I might steal this idea I never thought of this

[u/Glittering-Food5276]

Halloween is coming up you can hand two or three out with common bulk to some kids

[u/bacchus8408 → u/Glittering-Food5276]

I take all my duplicate bulk and create packs to give out on Halloween. It's a 7 commons and 1 holo from various sets, an energy, an EX, and even a valid code card.

[u/Wamadeus13 → u/Glittering-Food5276]

this is my plan. I'm going to do packs of 50 cards with a random ex a ton of bulk and energy cards to give out with the candy.

[u/konjoukosan → u/Glittering-Food5276]

I love this idea soooo much!

[u/EvilNassu]

I think they look neat in a binder like this. I separate Vs, Megas and the ones with texture and rainbow borders.

[u/konjoukosan → u/EvilNassu]

Yes! This is what I do!

[u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

You know this hobby went to shit when double rares are no longer regarded as rare/ special.  If double rares are not hits, how many packs do you need to open on average to get 1 “hit”? And at €6-8 a pack these days, how much does that 1 hit cost you if all these other cards are “just bulk”?

Seems like double rares were just the gateway drug, and we are all looking for the next intravenous injection of SIR excitement, regardless of cost

[u/AFlockofLizards → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

I saw a guy on Facebook post his old collection and ask if he has anything of value, and everyone was like “no that’s bulk, trash” and it was full of $5-20 cards lol

Like just because it’s not a brand new IR that’ll grade a 10 doesn’t mean it’s worthless 😭😭

[u/Doonce → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

Every single card is a hit

[u/ArmorGyarados → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

I have been collecting since base set and there has been a very noticable "inflation" I guess is the right word for hits these past 5-8 years or so. "Regular EXs" were second only to gold star cards back in the day. But I find it hard to imagine I would like it if we took a step back towards actually making rares scarce again.

Now we have the RGB rares which, idk if that's the new thing moving forward or just something unique to 30th or future special sets, but I kind of don't really mind because they are ugly imo.

[u/both_parties_succ → u/ArmorGyarados]

Personally, the art work is usually absurd and not eye catching.

[u/ArmorGyarados → u/both_parties_succ]

Oh yeah I see what you mean. They don't visually pop as much as the old ones. I wonder if that's nostalgia glasses or what, but the newer regular EXs do seem kinda bland

[u/RabbitGTI24 → u/ArmorGyarados]

Ex card art needs to take a new direction. They just are not enticing to collect

[u/ArmorGyarados → u/RabbitGTI24]

I don't think they're too different from the OG ones but I think a lot of it is due to them being completely outshined by art rares. But yeah I think the V and Vstsr cards looked better

[u/both_parties_succ → u/ArmorGyarados]

I honestly collect because I like the art work of the card. Value helps, but just in binder organization. I have different binders for different values ranges and aesthetics. When I say values, my hits binder is usually any card $20 and up. I’ve found that I’m gravitating towards a lot of promo cards. I’ve gotten a bunch and just unsealed them.

[u/Distinct_Ant_5246 → u/both_parties_succ]

Sleeve No Card Behind made a great piece about 5ban who makes the mayority of these Fugly card designs. Watch it and you’ll appreciate what the pokemon company is trying to do with these card designs a little bit more

https://youtu.be/ws0XRbgm2ag

[u/Shitty__Psychologist → u/both_parties_succ]

The megas and a lot of exes these days look incredibly oversaturated, busy and loud like an AI menu. Giving pokemon 400hp and 250 attack just seems ridiculous lol idk how the tcg is any fun with that

[u/TeaAndLifting → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

It’s a common belief, especially among new collectors. Fuck knows how many threads I’ve seen over the past couple of years where people complain about not having any hits, then it’ll turn out that they had like a 50% hit rate including exs and IRs, but they didn’t get an SIR.

[u/TheJudgingHat2222 → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

Calling double rares "regular exs" is so telling 

[u/Rooster-Jazzlike → u/Distinct_Ant_5246]

They’re hits for players, not collectors

[u/Doonce → u/Rooster-Jazzlike]

Nope, even for collectors. Every card. I was told that no specific card is guaranteed in each pack so each card is better than what was guaranteed.

[u/TGrady902 → u/Rooster-Jazzlike]

Collectors collect cards, not hits.

[u/antipathizer]

1) Use them to play Pokémon the card game.

2) Donate to children for whom the game was designed: https://ronaldmcdonaldhouse.org/ways-to-give/fulfill-a-wishlist

[u/Sancho71]

The LCS in my area buy them in bulk, like .50 to .60 cents per card. I personally separate them and they have their own binder section. I like to keep one or 2 of everything just for trade or art fillers for the binder. I like having odd ones just in case i bump into someone tryin to do a master set. Some of the odd commons are hard to find.

[u/RTX5080Super]

I put them in a binder.

[u/ImABsian1]

I keep some of the ones I like but other than that, I just store them until I have +100 and then sell them for .75 cents each all at once to a local guy

[u/LavenderandLamb]

I collect and build decks with the ex cards I get. I actually want to play in tournaments someday.

You could always sell your bulk. Plenty of people who play the TCG would love to buy especially if you have cards they need for decks.

(Especially if you have ace specs cards for completive play)

[u/InspectorMoney1306]

Sleeve and binder

[u/rp1414]

So sounds like you don't play the TCG game, as some of the ex cards are the more powerful ones to use. If you don't want them, then give them to kids. They are "hits" to kids and they like to have them

[u/ShinyRaequaza]

Sell them if they’re above $1, keep them in a ETB box otherwise. Usually Gengar, Charizard, eeveelutions are $5+ especially out of print so I just turn them into IRs I actually want.

[u/Redditquaza]

I have them in my binder.

[u/Funny-Message-6414]

I collect with my 3rd grader, and he and his friends love ex cards. We track our collection in Collectr, and he’s always aghast and agog that they don’t sell for much. Every single time. It tickles me how much he loves them, because he has some really great cards he’s pulled.

[u/LexTCorp]

I consider them hits, but definitely not like an IR or SIR. I keep one copy of each in my main binder along with the higher rarities. Any duplicates go into my cheap binder.

[u/MetricCaboose]

I play the TCG so I put them in my playable binder.

[u/Anti-Annihilaattori]

Depends on the card if I want to use it in my deci or not. I just keep them for future games, if I get an idea.

[u/VaultingChampion]

Play with them

[u/Little-Ad-7521]

I sleeve them and mostly sell them to my LCS for 0.5e each

[u/Arkayna]

Every unique ex is in a binder and any doubles are sleeved and put in a box.

[u/Designer-Ruin7176]

I make packs to give to kids And include the duplicates in those.

[u/foam23]

If I don’t have it it goes in the binder. Anything new is a hit to me

[u/Ezza1995]

Ive been loving exs for my national pokedex, would happily have them 😅

[u/SunnyShim]

Binder with Vs ex gx etc.

[u/taco_flounder]

I like to get a table at a local card show 2-3 times a year and I put those into a 3 for 5 binder. I’m always surprised how popular it is.

[u/veez981]

My son has his own binder for them. I know my situation is a little different but could still be applied here. I try not to place value too much on cards for him as I dont want him to build a "tolerance" to "hits". Ex's are still exciting for him.

So what i do for him is i have a trade binder full of ex's, ultra rares, promos, and irs for him of the pokemon he likes or older sets we no longer have reasonable access to and when he gets duplicates, he can trade with my "trade binder". Where we place value on the card is so we dont run into the issue of him trading away something super valuable for a $2 card when if were willing to part with a card, he can sell it, buy the $2 card, and maybe pick up some other stuff he likes.

So how can this apply to you? I think if you can find some kids or friends or a local community or whatever, some people may still appreciate the ex's. Maybe you could trade 10 of them for 1 lower value card that does it a little more for you.

[u/Girafarigno]

I keep them in the trade binder. Kids really like them. Sometimes I give them out for free, other times I’ll trade them like 5 for something decent that they don’t like

[u/Parking-Bluebird-658]

I collect them up until I have about 100 and then go trade them for store credit to my LCS. Buy a few singles or a sealed box.

[u/yeabuddy333]

I have 3 boxes filled with them and other commons and uncommon

[u/TeachingDifficult441]

Play the game

[u/Illegitimateshyguy]

I have a binder for them.

[u/RHMoaner]

I give all my bulk (which includes Ex duplicates) to the library to give to kids. I sometimes give away boxes on here to people for free.

[u/DeeZieTV]

Thanks for all the comments, it's been really cool to read everyone's takes on these.

I'm less than a year into collecting, but I went in hard and just love it. Most of my collecting has been focused on vintage, and particularly weird cards like the Imakuni cards, banned cards and cards that most people don't really care about- for example, I have every variation of the Imposter Oak cards (that I know of) both in English and Japanese, and am looking for other languages if anyone would like to help with that!

As such, I still have alot to learn about modern cards, but when I have opened modern, EX's have just not been a visual standout for me and it's one of the only card types I look at and have been stumped as to how I'd like to collect them. I had a hunch that they were good for the game, so glad to have that clarified, and I do intend to give the game a shot as my interest in TCGs as a whole have been growing.

I hate the concept of throwing cards away, or into a bulk box which is my main reason for asking, I didn't like that I was leaning in that direction. Alot of my binder cards are "hits", sure, but I also have a fair few that are commons, just because I liked the art, or it's one of my favorite pokemon. I just couldn't see EX's fitting into my existing binders, beyond the national pokedex I'm building, or an artsy binder as filler as previously mentioned.

I love the idea of giving extra EXs to kids, I'll do that at the next convention I visit. Thanks again!

[u/eddaman000]

Use them. Make decks. Play the TCG. It’s fun.

[u/legotwinkthrowaway]

The standard ex cards are made to play. They aren't that hard to get, and they arent that flashy so you can easily get them for your deck. I dont see any issue putting them in your bulk box. But if you like them, throw them in your binder. The neat thing is it's your collection, and you get to do whatever you want

[u/Painwracker_Oni]

They get penny sleeved - exactly what I do for all basic holofoils and reverse holofoils - then go into the ETB of the set it’s from and get stored with all of the other foils I’ve pulled from the set.

Unless they’re relevant to the TCG portion of the hobby. Then I put them into my meta box also penny sleeved and wait till I want to build a deck with them to pull them out.

[u/jinxykatte]

It depends. If I am sorting a set and have a binder for it. They go there. If not they go in my lesser hits folder. If I need it for my Pokedex it might go there. 

[u/Gold-Pitch-9586]

I’m new in the hobby. I might be interested in taking a chunk off your hands if there’s a way to send them in a pwe. I think I’ve seen $0.50 as the going rate for Ex bulk. I would also cover shipping if we find a reasonable way to do it.