'99 Unlimited and '00 Rocket cello packs

General
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Hi all,I’m new to Pokemon card collecting as I’m primarily a sports cards collector. I was referred to this board by another collector and was hoping some members could help answer some questions I have.

First off, in terms of background, when I used to live in NYC in the late 1990’s and go on business trips, I’d attend a collectibles show if one was going on in the town I was visiting. I recall doing this in trips to Anaheim, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and New Jersey. I think at least one of these shows was The National when the show was held in Anaheim, CA.
During these shows, it’s not uncommon for attendees to receive a bag of promotional giveaway items from different show sponsors as they enter the show floor.

I think it was in these type of show promo bags that, at some point, I received two sealed cello packs of Pokemon cards around the time they were first released in the US market. I’ve kept the packs stored away for the past 20+ years and never bothered to open them (or even remembered I owned them until I came across them while looking for something else).

These aren’t your typical 11-card booster packs in a foil wrapper, or a single card cello pack. These are shrink-wrapped cello packs of cards that are about 3/4" thick which contain, I’m guessing, 40-50 cards.

I’m not familiar with Pokemon cards so I’ve recently tried to figure out what I have. From what I can tell in examining the top card that’s visible beneath the cello wrapper, I have one pack from the '99 Pokemon Unlimited series and another from the 2000 Pokemon Team Rocket series. Both packs have a holo card visible on the top – Hitmonchan and Dark Weezing, respectively.

I’ve searched for similar cello packs for sale to try to get a sense for what they might be worth but haven’t been able to find anything similar offered for sale. My guess is that these were special promotional packs to introduce Pokemon cards to people who attended the sports card shows and were not likely for retail sale as there’s no packaging or bar code – all there is is the cello wrapper.

Has anyone previously come across or heard of these type of promo packs for these two sets?

I’m debating what I should do with them. I figure they might be difficult to sell if the broader marketplace is not familiar with them which, in turn, could translate into low demand. At the same time, with PSA currently only accepting submissions for the higher price point grading services, it’s not as though I can bust the packs and submit the cards to PSA anytime soon.

Any insight that anyone could share would be appreciated.

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Welcome. Got any pics?

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It sounds to me like they’re Theme Decks. Pictures would be helpful though!

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Thanks. I think I finally figured out how to get the pics to load…

pic #1
pic #14032×2088 1.4 MB

3752×2060 1.62 MB

3926×1627 1.1 MB

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Looks like you have Blackout and Devastation theme decks without the outer retail packaging.

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Thanks for the insight. I don’t recall there being any outer packaging to these when I got them and am pretty sure I would have kept it if there was any (because that’s just the way I am).
Were these packaged in hanger boxes or some other type of packaging? I’ll try to search for images online to see if seeing a picture refreshes my memory since it’s been 20+ years since I got them. Thx.

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I just did a search on eBay and found some listings of sealed theme decks in boxes from the two series you mentioned. I am pretty sure the ones I have were not packaged like that when I got them. Still, it gives me a better sense for what I have. Thanks.

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As far as I know, the WOTC era theme deck boxes were pretty consistent in the form factor/packaging for the retail releases. Some retailers did add hangers to those, but no special repackaging beyond that. Inside the box contains the plastic wrapped cards as you have them along with accessories for playing the TCG. It’s totally possible that you received just the card pack outside of retail, but for the sake of selling the value is effectively the same as someone parting out the card pack from the box.

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Actually all early WOTC decks (up to the neo series) had 2 versions for retail, without hangers and with, and the barcodes differ depending on the type. You are correct that some retailers would add hangers if needed as well if needed though.

@blue227, These match everything (including the cello wrap style) for how theme decks are packaged inside the outer boxes. It is unlikely that youd received just a cello wrapped stack from a convention itself, but it wouldnt be unheard of to receive it that way from a vendor inside the convention looking to add interest to their product or shop. I have found no information or proof of these ever being given away as a different promotional pack and based on the cards in front, they seem to be the standard theme deck. PSA (or any company currently) wouldnt grade these nor would they classify them as a kind of promotional item. You can find values pretty easily on ebay for “Open box but sealed deck” to estimate your value.