So, I was going through my collection from my childhood…it appears to me, I may have a few gems? As a kid I knew they’d be worth something someday, so I started as a collector. I would open my cards and then put them directly into sleeves in my 3 ring binder. There they’ve been for decades. They appear to be in great shape still…I don’t have a lot. But I have some decent ones. I now live remote in Alaska and I don’t have access to just “go to a show”, I don’t have the slightest clue what to do with my collection. I think I’d like to sell it off, and turn it into some wealth/investments for my kids…I just don’t have the slightest clue where to start or what to do.
Does anyone here have any suggestions for my first steps? Open to any and all thoughts. Here’s a few of the cards I’m sitting on…
Congrats on the find! Depending on condition, the 1st Edition Dark Blastoise will be your biggest card. The Base 2 Charizard with the insane swirl placement could demand a premium. And 1st Edition Nidoqueen is nice
I’d recommend selling each holo individually on ebay. Look up sold comps and compare the condition to get a good idea of value. If that sounds like too much effort, someone in here can give you an estumate and you can sell the collection all at once. That way you can just wipe your hands clean of it
Since it sounds like you aren’t passionate about Pokemon anymore you can then just put that money from selling in the top index funds. That’s the easiest and best way for you to plan for your kids
You don’t have anything to retire with, I’m sorry. Conventional 9 pocket binder pages are also notorious for dust retention, some of them are dirty as well. It doesn’t look like any of them were individually sleeved, either. Double-slotting them is a big concern as well. Grading would be the way to go for “investment purposes” but I highly doubt that you’d see a single 8 unfortunately, and that’s before any word on desirability of any one single.
If it was me? I’d keep them to be appreciated in the future; my biggest regret was listing/selling my childhood collections during the pandemic boom.
Want to add I didn’t recommend grading because you are in Alaska, it doesn’t sound like you have interest in adding in more steps, and I’m apprehensive about the conditions of the top cards.
But if the cards are really as pristine as you say, I’d share photos of front and back of those 3 cards I identified so people on the board can help you with reviewing condition. If those 3 cards are truly pristine (doubtful), in that case I would consider grading those—that would be how you could really multiply the money you get out of your collection
Hi. I’m not seeing anything crazy valuable (unfortunately!) so it would be wiser to curb a bit your expectations about investment for your kids, at least for now.
First steps: I would buy some packs of penny sleeves so you can safely store your cards, and later assess their conditions. Those binders can be pretty rough on them.
Then a careful comparison with last sold ebay prices should give you an idea for the holos, although you have to consider that card condition is very important in Pokemon. It’s also important to distinguish 1st edition ones from unlimited, base2 and JP, because the value varies a lot!
take photos from multiple angles. not just straight down with back and front pictures. people like to see surface of cards, edges, or curvature of card.
highlight the swirls where applicable on cards (like the charizard)
compare with other sellers on quality of card and what they’re showing or not showing to buyers. you can set your prices based on information is already available with recently sold or active listings. how some list conditions are completely off at times, you must look yourself.
watch a few auctions to get a feel of what people are willing to pay vs “buy now” with some of the more expensive cards.
some might be worth selling in a single “lot” together depending on prices so you can consolidate your time on selling less expensive cards.
Best practices to selling: take pictures of you packaging cards to send to buyer as what to expect. use tracking (smaller items can use ebay tracking, i’d recommend USPS over rest personally). this helps protect you from potential liars or packages said to have not delivered. just better safeguards you.
and since you’ve been out of the game for 20 years, i can’t stress enough on protecting the card for shipping. using old card savers are fine. a plastic sleeve with bulk energy cards on the outsides of cards are fine (maybe 2 on each side). or taping it inside something like a folded notecard is fine. but something to keep it from getting rekt.
id pay double its worth for my old childhood collection, the foresight was lost on me. So op even if you sell its good that you have options to consider
I agree with this. Also, I would like to add, I would just keep them and enjoy. If you´re really tight for money then it could net you about 500-700 if the condition is decent (can´t judge that like this), but is that really worth it?
Welcome! That’s very cool you were able to find your childhood collection!
Just eyeballing the holos you’re looking at roughly $300-$600 in market value. The majority of the value is from the 1st ed Dark Blastoise and the base 2 charizard. Followed by the 1st ed nidoqueen. They will also be the easiest to sell.
Condition is everything though and greatly influences price. I’d start with evaluating the condition of those cards to get a better idea of what they are worth. TCG Player is a good place to start. I’d expect the conditions to be anywhere from Damaged to Moderately played.
Your remaining holos have some value but unfortunately they’re easy to find. Unless they happen to be in impeccable condition you’ll have a lot of competition and will likely have to wait a while to find a buyer if you want full market value.
If you’re dead set on selling them I’d personally do it as a packaged deal for everything. Since you’re in remote Alaska I imagine you’ll be killed with shipping costs if you try piecing it out.
I do have about 30 pages of cards, these were just the ones that jumped out at me as if I was 11 years old remembering my excitement of them. I understand value now does not translate to what “value” felt like back then…or maybe it does? I have a bunch more 1st edition cards. I guess I just need to sort through those and get this TCG app?
I’ll start there. Too me they’re just cards, not as passionate about them as I once was, and I’d much rather someone that’s going to enjoy having them have them instead of just holding onto them to hold onto them. I have great respect for having a niche collection as I do of other things. Pokemon just isn’t for me anymore.
