As one of the unicorn English only speakers who prefers collecting Japanese vintage, I just want to add that it’s perfectly OK to collect things that aren’t undervalued. If you’re making a value play it’s key to be aware of demand, pop reports and and the other important factors that go into price. It’s important to distinguish between your preferences and those of the wider collecting community.
My collecting is driven by specific aesthetic preferences rather than nostalgia. I aesthetically prefer the artworks and card layouts of many Japanese vintage cards even though I did not grow up with them. I can appreciate that I’m getting these cards at a great value compared to the personal enjoyment I get from even though these cards might not necessarily “stonk” for me.
I got into buying vintage era mostly because English is too expensive I make around 50k a year which is middle class so I can’t compete with the English vintage market. But I did think it was very undervalued when you look at vintage Japanese near mint raw are all 20-30 bucks with only a handful really over 100 bucks and when you go in psa 10s seeing lugia is a prime example where between base unlimited and Japanese lugia the English 10 going for 30k when the Japanese goes between 900-1100 because is insane. I’m also taking advantage of it because I do feel they will skyrocket in price maybe not English high but will double if not triple in price and then the middle class collector really won’t be able to afford them.
Nobody can predict the future but I feel something can be said about the interest in modern Japanese cards eventually leading to more obscure vintage promos with no English equivalent.
Well said. Its hard/impossible to remove nostalgia from one card to its other language counter part where there’s blatant differences when you’ve grown up knowing the other your whole life.
I think there will always be a strong Japanese market for both Japanese and western buyers. Undervalued can be useful in describing particular cards or products, but once you start applying the term to many things at once (like Japanese cards at large) it starts to lose its usefulness and you get into generalizing things. Some cards may seem cheap for what they are, but that doesn’t mean they are for certain undervalued. Something may have all the hallmarks of an expensive stonk card, yet it never reaches the heights of a card like Base Charizard, or Moonbreon. You could buy an entire gold star set multiple times over for the price of the 12k Black Label Moonbreon. Sometimes the prices on things just dont seem to make immediate sense.
Lugia has already been discussed in here, but I want to reiterate some points. Japanese cards have much cleaner holos compared to WOTC equivalents meaning they tend to have a higher chance of a high psa grade right out of the pack. Wotc also has lower pull rates (1 holo in 3 packs generally) and fewer packs per box (36 vs 60). Its “easier” to grade the Japanese Lugia in PSA 10 than English. The English one has 1st edition which further elevates it in peoples minds (even if the amount of 1st editions relative to unlimited isn’t as skewed as say 1st edition base). Japanese cards are, well, Japanese! Its harder to quantify the difference in language in how people perceive cards, but its there.
As others have said, I think the major area of growth in vintage Japanese Pokemon card collecting is in promos and Japanese-exclusive releases rather than in set cards.
I think many assumed that the release of Pokemon cards in mainland China would have spurred a boom in Japanese set cards as a rising tide lifts all boats. But I don’t think we’re seeing that. Some promos and Japanese-exclusive releases have increased in price, not necessarily set cards.
This is a great comparison that should also apply for the whole vintage vs modern debate.
New collectors will not have the nostalgia for vintage cards so if the art isn’t great (Sugimori) then it’s hard to see them eventually wanting those cards.
This is true for pretty much every set after the Neos. But in my experience growing up in San Diego, there was definitely A LOT of Japanese cards floating around when English cards were selling out everywhere.
I definitely feel some nostalgia for Japanese Jungle through Neos but everything after, not really. Never saw any Japanese E-Series, EX cards etc.
I do vividly remember buying a Japanese rocket pack from a book store and pulling Dark Charizard. A glorious day indeed.
Some really great points and overall a good discussion.
Just my perspective on promo cards, I think the old backs are not only undervalued but also underrated due to lack of interest and knowledge. The most popular set is the 1998 CD promos due to the big 3 but other than I feel, not many are exposed to old back promos.
Also, seldom does anyone care about the semi-modernish? promo sets like from the DP / LP / PCG eras because there are always English equivalent to those cards. The cards from these sets which have absolute rarity (tournament prize cards etc) or Japanese exclusive are also less known to most collectors.
I think modern Japanese promos are correctly valued or often overvalued due demand of course but also coupled with FOMO. Japanese exclusives are very popular and also widely known to most collectors. Any collection with the Poncho Pikas / Mario Pikas are a reason for envy and are often cited as top-tier or stonks collections.
I think as a promo collector I am severely priced out on most popular modern Japanese exclusive promos but I feel it’s a healthy and challenging place to be for a promo collector for anything prior to SM-P cards.
Just food for though.
The english market is tapped out. Not going down , but pretty much stable. For the Japanese vintage. The Japanese market may , i cannot tell the future , MAY explode cause pokemon is huge in japan right now, and vintage is 2x the prices as in USA. Mint pokemon cards are very hard to find. If , a big if, the Japanese start collection . Japanese vintage will explode. Just a opinion.
