this is the liveliest i’ve seen of the HP thread. are we in a bubble?
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the boxes didnt move in price for 18 years…so maybe, maybe not lol
haha, yeah, half joking, but half serious. however, i’d be interested to see just how much sealed stuff is still out there? if there is some level of interest and supply is actually low, this could be interesting.
I can only speak to the quidditch box (the least valuable) but last year when I was looking Collectors Cache had at least 50 boxes available that they couldn’t give away even at a discount
Even Pokemon base set unl boxes were $100 in 2010, 10+ years after release. I am not saying that they will increase in value, but hey, never say never.
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true. but there is minimal risk. but HP is already dead, so i can definitely see it not really move much.
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Thanks for the Christmas scan:)
Rarity regarding number of cards as originally printed should be (I hope so):
Snare
Fluffy
Backfire
Trapdoor
Leviosa
Rarity regarding current availability, taking into account only cards that have surfaced and which had various owner’s/seller’s photos:
Backfire
Snare
Trapdoor
Fluffy
Leviosa
On Worthpoint, it says Snare came as a CD promo, although it’s not mentioned which CD. Of course it was out only in US, so no Philosopher’s Stone CD holds it. It also couldn’t have been Sorcerer’s Stone movie cause that’s how Trapdoor was handed out, in Toys-R-Us if you pre-ordered the first movie and I believe those CD cases had a yellow Toys-R-Us sticker on them. That leaves Sorcerer’s Stone Playstation or PC game, but good luck with that. I’ve been following all those sealed for a year, none ever had or even mentioned a card inside although a lot of sellers didn’t mind breaking the seal. Thus, it’s a complete mystery. I know of two who definitely have Snare, then 1 was a fake seller on FB but definitely with a different photo, one sold on Worthpoint, one scan on BoardGameGeek and I bought Illegibilus promo from a girl who said she had quite a few Snares and Trapdoors yeeears ago (like 10 years ago), but can’t remember where and when she got them. So there should be like a dozen Snares which definitely exist.
At least there’s a photo of how it looks sealed, narrows down the search because the card that’s against Snare is “Which spell would you use”, so open those up as much as you can 
Promo cards can be slid against each other to reveal which one it is.
I found a sealed Bluebell Flames poster which is on the way. That poster/card shows Hermione casting the spell on the Snare and there is a sealed promo inside which shows “Which spell would you use”. Since Bluebell flames promo is sealed with a token card of regular black background, I hope I’ll pull out Snare, cause storywise Snare is in the same scene with Bluebell flames. Mr Pojo’s site tells where each and every promo was handed out and none of the methods mentions a sealed TCG poster, so this might be a good chance!
Japanese Leviosa came out in CoroCoro magazine in 2001. CoroCoro printed at least half a million copies a month even back in 2001, so imagine how many Leviosas were there originally, literally a whole truck. That’s why it should be the least rare of all if they put it in every magazine that month.
Backfire came out in Shogakukan Yonensei / Sanensei in December 2002, magazines for 3rd and 4th graders in elementary schools. There is a white cover of S.Y. from November 2002 and has Harry with Gryffindor sword on it (from the movie), maybe it was some kind of an announcement for the following month. Since it’s for specific grades and not for all children, since it depicts some really childish animes and not all/main ones like DBZ, Pokemon etc, I think numbers of S.Y. printed in December is incomparably smaller than number of CoroCoros and number Trapdoors which were dealt with preorders of Sorcerer’s stone movies. The most famous children movie of 2001 in US should definitely beat some (a bit marginal) Japanese elementary school magazine in quantity.
Fluffy was dealt only on tournaments which couldn’t have been that numerous, so I’d put the rarity regarding number of those printed right behind mysterious Snare. The other thing is that people actually kept them - anyone who went to tournaments and movies surely collected cards or at least got boxes of leftover movie promos, so that’s why Fluffy comes around every couple of months.
As for availability, Backfire is the undisputed number one. If the 80 test-play card set from 2000 is Pikachu Illustrator, Backfire is Charizard 1st edition. One scan on BoardGameGeek, saw one sell on a Japanese site in a huge lot (long time ago, barely seen in the listing next to all others), and I have one, so only 3 known compared to dozen+ Snares.
I’ve been offered 600$ for Backfire, while Snare should be like 350-400$. I got my Trapdoor for 250$, but then it was listed for 150$. Not perfectly mint, so I think a mint one will find the right buyer for 200$. It’s a fair price, get it so you don’t waste anymore time searching, 50-100$ more on each of these ones isn’t a big deal.
Let me know your thoughts, if anyone can correct me:)
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In reference to your forum listing of August 19th, 2020, in which you are offering $400,I am letting you know that I have one I will sell to you for the $400. I have taken it to 3 card shops, and all 3 seem to think it is real, but wouldn’t DEFINITELY make that commitment. I have 3 photos, but don’know how to show them on this forum. You can contact me by email at daavelin50@gmail.com for more info.
Thorlan
With the new Hogwarts Legacy game being announced this week, I think this TCG will experience a slight uptick and renewed interest.
The video game looks amazing and I will definitely pick it up— looks loads better than the EA adaptations.
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i have been begging for an actual HP RPG game that’s not the LEGO or the other mediocre versions they’ve released over the years. HP deserves way better. I mean the source material is amazing. Legacy looks pretty bomb, so I am excited, but I don’t own any of the consoles this game will be released on. I guess it’s time to get a new computer. I think it does come out on PC.
As for the impact on the TCG, I don’t know how much impact it’ll have on the game. Did the HP movies or the Fantastic Beasts do anything for the TCG? The fact that it’s been a dead TCG for years doesn’t bode well for growth right now, only nostalgia. And I don’t know many people who are actively collecting HP, outside of a few boxes…
Added this to my collection for £75 ($95):
- 38 Qudditch Cup booster packs
- 9 Base Set booster packs
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I may grab a box for my gf, she doesnt want to get into pokemon with me but this might work hahah
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i want to get a few base boosters…quidditch is still so cheap!
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Idk which set is best but oh well my gf will def not know the difference. She will however want to open the box lol She asks me to open my pokemon boxes and packs all the time even after explaining that the value sealed is 300% opened value
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screw it Ill just get a quiddich for now. its like 40$ and the box art is pretty good compared to the rest imo, idc if it goes up in value really
Go for it, and not for long they won’t lol ~
Yep, I’d recommend it; if it hasn’t increased a year from now (September 22, 2021), then I’d be VERY surprised - especially factoring in the release of the new Harry Potter game next year, how quick Chamber of Secrets has increased in price and how many people are locked out of Pokemon WOTC due to the sheer prices of sealed-product. Also, Fantastic Beasts 3 started filming this month ~
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If the first 2 fantastic beasts films didn’t make the prices go up what makes you think the 3rd one will? To revive a dead tcg and garner interest is extremely hard. Also if the pandemic that has made nearly every collectible quadruple in price has not had any affect on dead tcgs are naruto or Harry Potter, I don’t think anything will in the short/mid term. Coming to gaming, Pokémon go had a very positive effect on the tcg collectible aspect but Harry Potter has its own mobile game just released but that didn’t have any affect on the Harry Potter tcg.
Bottom line is while Harry Potter is an equally popular franchise it’s just not associated with trading cards. Pokémon on the other hand has always been about collecting cards and heck the literal show is about collect em all. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to get Harry Potter tcg as an “investment” that you’re gonna see an increase. There’s a million better things to invest in including Pokémon. Get it, if you like it or just wanna enjoy it but buying it because it’s cheap now is going to hurt later.
PS: The only reason chamber of secrets is that expensive is because it had an extremely small print run but the buyers for it are far and between
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- Because controversy sells - or at least intrigues: Ezra and JK are some polarising figures presently, and Depp’s been newsworthy with his trial against Heard.
- You’re right: HP isn’t as associated with trading cards, but that’s not stopping a steady growth in sealed product.
- It’s never good to invest in most things really, and I wouldn’t recommending collecting items purely to gain profit - as it rarely works in most cases with in a niche market.
I’ve always speculated that they might - whether it be WOTC or not - attempt to create new sets, as they never developed anything post Chamber of Secrets; I wouldn’t rule that out in the distant future.
Sure controversy sells but the controversies have been for so long with Rowling. And again, the original HP films, the first two fantastic beasts films, the original games, the cell phone games etc did not do anything but now suddenly Johnny depp and the new game + film will do something? That’s very polarizing. Most people including myself are extremely excited for the movie and more so with the new game. Finally an actual HP rpg game. But let’s not get that excitement mixed with an increase in popularity of a dead tcg. They are very, very separate things in a very, very different environment as compared to Pokémon.
Coming to new sets (if any or ever) that may come out it’ll be a new game altogether. The best and most popular example is dragon ball. The new dragon ball super game has nothing to do with the old dragon ball z games. And even an actual tcg (!) back and being extremely popular right now with the tournament of power box selling for $2k has done absolutely nothing for the older dragon ball z sets. I can still find boxes for dirt cheap. It has been the same like Pokémon where newer players have started to collect old sets.
I’m not saying Pokémon is the one all, be all. But speculating that a movie, an actor or a game will revive interest in a dead tcg is extremely farfetched. And the people that are getting hyped trying to buy boxes for cheap now reading at some of the comments shouldn’t fall for that hype. Trust me I have dealt with both with HP and dragon ball lol.
So again for anyone that’s reading, buy it if you have money to spare and want a cool HP tcg box to showcase or open but don’t do so because it’s cheap now and you feel it’s gonna increase in price like some of the comments above. Tread carefully with your hard earned money