Now, hear me out. I´m a Neo guy, so no, I´m not trying to pump my cards. I like Base Set too, just not as much.
But it is still special. Base Set was the first set, with the original trio as chases (along other holo´s). In a market this hot, it seems weird to me that random Butterfree´s and Honchcrow´s sell for 50k+, where you can still buy a Nidoking, Alakazam or Clefairy under 5k. Even cards like the Venusaur and Blastoise don´t crack 10k (PSA 10).
Yeah, the POP´s are higher than holo´s from a lot of the mid era sets, but still, how popular is Blastoise (and also Venusaur). The market doesn´t make a lot of sense to me when it comes to things like this. Everything leads back to Base Set, yet it is the only WotC set that is still affordable in high grades. Ironic.
Yeah it feels weird that Base Set 1st Ed holos aside from Zard and Chansey are still chilling in the 5 figure range when an Arceus Lv X just sold for almost 300k
I´m really fascinated by sales like that. I mean, I get that POP 22 is less than POP 500, but still, we´re talking about ´some´ lvl. X Arceus vs a Base Set starter and a price difference of 300k vs 5k..
It’s not collectors buying random cards at those prices, tbf. It’s digital rips companies who are putting them into their $1000+ repacks as top hits. The organic demand for the card itself doesn’t matter, what matters is that the value entices gamblers to spend thousands on digital rips in hopes of a 6 figure payout. These companies will gladly spend 6 figures on a card that was worth a few grand less than a year ago if it means making millions in revenue off degenerate gamblers.
Not so sure. I get that that´s what´s happening, but why not buy a PSA 10 Blastoise for a fraction of the price, because it should be a bigger card. In the end it´s about what people want more, and apparently it´s the Arceus.
Part of it is the pop report. Many more PSA 9s and 10s graded from Base Set 1st Edition holos than EX era gold stars or random D&P Lv.X cards. That has to do with the actual rarity of the cards. Base Set holos were 1 per 3 packs (12 holos per box of 36 packs), while Gold Stars were 1 per 2-3 booster boxes (1 Gold Star per 72-108 packs).
Beyond pop report and rarity, some of this is generational. The COVID 2020 boom was aggressively Base Set 1st Edition fueled. Six years later, it would make sense that folks who grew up in Gen 3 or Gen 4 are now finding their way into careers with excess funds, and want cards that reflect their memories of Pokemon.
All of this said, I don’t think Base Set is “being dissed” at all. It has increased dramatically like many other vintage sets. Rather, speculative money is flowing toward low pop cards where price movements can be more violent due to limited supply.
Has it really though? Let´s look at the Base Set Venusaur. It sold for about 3k a year ago (2 or more years ago, it sold for about 1.5k). Now, it sells for 3k.
If we pick any Neo card, it has seen vastly higher increases, and these are just the sets I´m following. The Arceus went all the way up to 288k apparently ; )
Agreed, it was on a pace then dipped and has kinda stalled. What’s lagged even worse imo is the true OG first set release Japanese No Raritas—with a few exceptions. I’ve learned my lesson, though, trust the fundamentals and hodl. Might not be the flavor of the day, but once established and things start optimizing at a higher level of making sense, historical significance always earns a place at the big table. Always.
I know you and a couple other members have mentioned this many times, but do you really want grading companies to acknowledge every print? If so, no one has provided a detailed breakdown of each print run, which would be necessary to grade. Right now it feels more like a problem that isn’t actually trying to be fixed.
Also if the differences in print runs require a loop to see, that is going to make them difficult to gain traction. With that said, I think many E4 members, myself included would enjoy the findings, but they have yet to be shared.
I agree. To be honest, I would say three category´s of base set is enough; 1st, shadowless, unlimited. I never really cared about differentiating more. I can appreciate that they´re there (the other variations), but I wouldn´t pay more for them.
I think the word of the moment is low pop and no other logic is being applied. That said it feels like we’re due for a narrative shift soon. But for now random reverse holo unpopular pokemon with a single digit pop report is going to clear so many things that make so much more sense.
