Hello I’m looking for some advise on best places to buy single Pokemon cards. I’d like multiple options and I’d like to avoid eBay. Currently I’m using Tcgplayer and they have been working out great but sometimes I’m searching for a high end card and usually most I spend on a card is 200 range. Currently the next sets I’m looking to buy in singles are all the Holographic cards from Team Rocket. Gym Challenge. Gym Hero’s. And all the Neo Series. I have been buying first editions in near mint or sometimes lightly played condition depending on price point. Any advice would be great. I’m new here but my collection already contains. Base set not first edition all Holo’s. Jungle and Fossil first edition all Holo’s. All Rainbow secret rares and trainer cards from Sun and Moon. And a complete Hidden Fates set. I’m most likely thinking about not collecting X and Y series. And skipping Black and White series. Others thoughts are definitely welcome. I’m collecting for myself but do imagine selling maybe 20 years from now. I’m not looking for quick flips. But advise on good cards that will most likely go up over years would be great info. I found this forum thru YouTube and watch a lot of videos. Thanks everyone!
Try here. List what you want. Condition. And price you’d pay. Some of the biggest and best sellers are right here.
It’s just a huge list. And basically I’m buying near mints or light played depending on price. The problem sets I noticed which I’m most concerned about are trying to find reasonable priced first edition Shining neo cards. I might even have to settle for moderate played on those ones. I just usually max out at $200-$300 range if it’s just one card. I usually aim for best deal I can find. Congrats on your collection Gary I’m a big fan of yours. Very surprised your the first response sense I joined haha 
Spend some time researching the average sold price, make a list and post it on here. I guarantee as long as your prices are fair and you are after set cards you will have plenty of luck here with people willing to help you out. Also as long as you aren’t after raw ungraded cards expecting PSA 9 or 10 quality for near mint raw price. It sounds like you are collecting binder sets but you could look at PSA graded Shining cards and break them out of the case. This way you know what condition you are getting. I think for most 1st Edition Shining cards in PSA 7 or even PSA 8 you could get for $300 or less.
You actually brought up a great point which I’ve thought of but had no idea the result. Lets say I buy a card off tcgplayer as near mint. It comes in beautiful looking pack fresh. Do you think it still wouldn’t get a high grade 8 or better? Also I assumed kinda that if I sent in a light played it might be about a 7 but I might be getting dangerously close to 6 or under. I havnt started a PSA collection because there’s so many cards I don’t want to pay a premium on each one. But yes I’m definitely willing to pay around market price just no over pays. It’s kind of a binder collection but all being kept in top Loaders for extra protection that I figured I might get graded down the road. Hidden Fates actually brought me back finding Shiny Charizard was a blast. Than I got sick of opening packs and bought every rainbow secret rare in singles. Than finished hidden fates. Than I decided to do all Holo’s first edition for base set. Decided not to because of price point but I will probably go back and get them. Than I got all first edition holo’s for jungle and fossil. Team rocket and Gym Challenge and Gym Hero’s was next but the problem sets are going to be these Shining first edition cards. There isn’t many posted so finding a accurate price point on those is the main reason I came here and might aim for those next as well as the first edition holo’s from those neo sets
Combine looking on eBay for prices and checking out www.pokemonprice.com should help you out. If you have enough spare time and enjoy browsing eBay don’t focus on one set, have a nice list of everything you need and prices you are willing to pay and just pick up good deals as they pop up. It might not be as satisfying focusing on one set and seeing it completed but you will probably find yourself getting better deals on other set cards you need as well as you slowly piece everything together. Just don’t piece sets together too slow and wait for price drops as that may never happen and you could end up paying much more.
Another great point. Smarter to buy whole sets in print or wait till right after? From my research I’m picking up on anything after six months of release while still being printed is about a set price
I don’t collect any new sets so I wouldn’t be able to answer that.
Ebay is going to be the easiest, cheapest, most immediate, and consistent place. Posting here is awesome, but it can take a while before the right seller sees your post.
In all honesty there doesn’t really seem to be a great difference in terms of the new stuff because there’s so much of it. You’re probably better off using something like chaos cards for new singles as a few are like 50p near mint. I use that and eBay and all the XY/Sun & Moon (and even most of black and white) are similarly priced.
It also depends on your collection goals to be honest, for me I’ve recently switched to acquiring as many of the extra cards (prerelease/league promos) as they’re harder to get hold of and will naturally go up in price when less are available.
I will give that site a try. And I just really hate eBay. Too many people that post custom or fake cards and tons of misleading posts everyone just hoping you read it wrong and order their junk. I’ll probably post some here but no idea if I’ll get any off here depends on the seller. Is there buyer protection here? That’s another reason i try to order off legitimate sites only.
The interweb
Try troll&toads website, which lists cards a bit cheaper than they list on eBay or graded Powers website, which is also usually cheaper than their ebay listings.
Finding random eBay deals is still the best way to communicate and find great deals. Some of my best purchases are after I make contact and then exchange info with people selling.
I hate ebay as well at times, but for the majority of my purchases for singles its been the most reliable. Problem with a lot of websites that offer cards is the listing of condition and true to what the condition claims to be. I cant tell you how many times I used troll and toad and ordered “Near mint” cards only to have them come to me with nicks on the corners or scratches on holofoils which has driven me up the wall. Granted they are very good with returns, but for the amount of returns ive made it just isnt worth that hassle, whereas ebay has been easy to see the card in pictures and get exactly what i pay for and desired.
This being said, as others have stated it would also depend on what your collecting goals are. Ive had great results with Coolstuffinc for modern singles, as well as some sellers on TCGplayer that I swear by (frontline games and flipside gaming are awesome) which i mainly use for stuff to play with or just things id like to add to a binder set (coolstuff has awesome scans listed for certain card, and near mint as always been mint for me). Same goes for ebay, as you can catch some amazing deals on full sets of a single card, which i do often (full art, regular, hyper rare). But in terms of going deeper into graded cards, id say check here, ebay, and then the select few vendors online which have psa/bgs cards as those would be your best resources.
Next cards up that I’m buying are 1st edition Blaine’s Charizard. 1st edition Shining Charizard. Crystal Charizard. And Gold Star Charizard all in moderate played to near mint depending on price point. I’m hoping to find a first edition Shining Charizard that might have some Nick’s but no scratches for $100 range the lowest I keep seeing is $250-$300 range. I obviously don’t just collect Charizards but sometimes I get the highest price cards first when starting sets. Shining Tyranitar and Shining Mewtwo and the other Shinings are up next too so a ton of high priced cards. Than i can finally get back to regular priced cards haha
@mcorey777, sadly all those cards go for a ton due to how scare theyve all been in the market which is where youll encounter loads of issues in finding them for that price range. I paid 400 for my shining charizard 1st edition (non graded) and it has some whitening issues on the back, but its in good enough condition to where it might at best grade at a 7, which was good enough for me. Blaine’s you could probably find for under 2 in good condition but the others im not sure. Id scout ebay as best as you can to see and double check all pictures before buying as well, but best advice i could say to pick those up would be to try ebay, try the vendors i listed above, and also maybe try adjusting your prices in buying to open your options up and maybe wait a bit to save to get the high roller cards (thats the exact reason ive been waiting on getting myself a base set 1st edition zard).
Another piece of advice i could give here is to make some solid collection goals to achieve: some long term, some short term. Those zards above id say hit a long term marker, as they each come with a hefty price tag and theres always so few circulating in sale due to demand. Short term could be maybe a specific pokemon you love, or focusing on a single set and buying up the cheaper cards first and hitting the high one(s) last. I prefer doing this personally now as when I started back up with collecting I burned tons of money trying the high cards first, which only lead me to having nothing to spend on the ones i actually loved and wanted (honestly i could care less now about my shining charizard lol, and im only holding it to sell down the road when I want to buy the base set one). So goals ultimately will help here, coupled with lots of reseach and lots of deal scouting. Youll get those cards someday, but its all about finding what price things are at and then finding deals with an open mind while making sure you have enough money to manage of the rest of lifes callings. Hope this helps again!
O definitely I have plenty of short term collecting goals I’ll post some pics later today. I have every single rainbow rare from sun and moon sets which is over 140 or something. I also have a complete Hidden Fates set. All Shining cards from Shining Legends. Than I started vintage. I have all Holo’s from base set but first editions were out of my price point. I have all jungle and fossil and team rocket first edition holo’s. So next is Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge Holo’s than the Neo Holo’s. I just try to somewhat budget myself some sets I finished with less than $300 total. Others like theses Neos are going to be a lot more