Yeah I think loose packs are so “cheap” because the market continues to to fed with cheap packs via kanto power collections, evolutions ETBs, among other collection boxes stocked at Walmart, target, etc. I can easily find a box that has an evo pack where it’s averaged out to be only $5/pack still. This also helps explain the price discrepancy between the ETB and the booster box. Bb supply has been mostly cut off or limited by online retailers, but Walmart has been continually stocking $40 ETBs consistently for almost a year.
I’ve never personally tried to weigh evo, but there are certainly white and green code cards that should make it difficult/tedious. Aside from the never ending supply of evo packs in collection boxes to explain the pack/box price discrepancy, there could also be a chance that the buyer for evo is typically someone who’s only ever bought vintage cards. So, they’re used to buying packs that are labeled “heavy,” etc., when that isn’t usually done for modern packs. Sure enough, if you check sold listings on eBay for “heavy” evo packs, they tend to go for more than they typical $10-$15 market price.
I think another question to consider: in October, pack prices jumped from $3 to $10-$15, booster boxes jumped from $160 to $450-$600, and the prerelease boxes jumped from $400 to $800-$1000. How come only the booster boxes have increased in price since then? Is there any other reason besides speculation? While I think packs should be cheaper than bbs right now because the market is still being supply with them at msrp, shouldn’t they go up a little bit in tandem with the box?
With Logan Paul, 25th anniversary, pokemon snap, plus $1400 stimulus checks all coming out in the next month or two… seems like theres quite a lot of room for growth.
I expect the prices to have a small spike when the $1400 checks start coming in… that amount is too close to box prices for sellers to not take full advantage of the situation
Surprised to see them that high when you can still buy them on some websites like deriums.com for $900 a box. (they have 13 at this price at the time of this post)
Dang that’s a good price. They’re already down to twelve since you posted this. Might have some lurkers on here! Kind of weird they want 7k for the case though compared to what they’re charging for a single box.
Dave and Adam’s sold out at $1,050 last week, and now sells them at $1,150. I imagine they’ll raise it again soon.
Exactly. When the first $1200 stimulus checks came out Evolutions booster boxes jumped to $500. When the second $600 stimulus check came out Evolutions jumped to $1000. When the $1,400 stimulus check comes out, Evolutions booster boxes jump to… $X,XXX?
You really want to be like the people who bought Base Unlimited Charizards at $4000? Unless you really want the item, it’s generally unwise to buy something after it has increased in value by 1000% over the past several months lol. Not trying to predict a crash or be a ‘naysayer,’ but this is just commonsense advice. As quickly as items can increase, they can decrease.
Yeah, true. I don’t like evolutions at all either, and at that price I could buy Luigi pikachu or a near full set of victory medals or some shinings. I’ll just go buy one of those
I’m not even talking about Evolutions in particular. It’s just a general good piece of advice not to buy things after they’ve spiked significantly in value unless the fundamentals of that thing have changed.
I need several MTG cards for sets that I’m holding off on buying for this exact reason. Serendib Djinn was the exact same card 6 months ago as it is now. But 6 months ago, it was worth ~$150 NM. Now it’s ~$350 NM. Could it go to $700 or even $1000? Sure. But it could also go back to $150. The $350 price point simply isn’t established yet. It’s generally a bad idea to buy things that have recently spiked in value. If Evolutions is a $1500 or even $2500 box in 2023, then it would be totally reasonable to buy one. But it’s only been above MSRP for less than 6 months, and the product was released over 4 years ago. Personally, if I wanted an Evolutions box, I would wait before buying one. Just my perspective.
Nothing. The people that are spending stimulus checks on pokemon cards are the people getting money that don’t need it.
Anyone buying in at this price point will hold until it rises.
It’s not much different than the people who go on game shows and let it all ride. It was never ‘their money’ to begin with so they’re willing to risk it all.
Yup, this is how markets work! People never sell things for less than they bought them for.
Yeah, no. There is a psychological aversion to sell something for less than one paid for it. But if the price on boxes started tanking, you better believe that people who bought in at the peak are going to cut their losses lol. So many of the people who bought PSA 9 Base Unlimited zards at $3k or $4k sold at a loss – and this is demonstrably true if you compare cert numbers of cards sold in that period. A lot of flipping, and a lot of cutting losses. For better or for worse, panic selling is a thing.
People are unpredictable and panic selling does happen