So, as I find myself only two cards away (Mewtwo and Ninetales) from completing the first edition base, jungle, and fossil sets, I realize my craving is not satisfied. Not even close. As a matter of fact, the more and more I’ve indulged myself into the collecting side of Pokémon, the more my interest for rare and sought after cards grows.
I’m aware that I will never own a lot of the trophy cards due to scarcity, price, and overwhelming demand. However, I’d like to collect what cards I can within my means. It is my understanding that there are trophy cards that exist that won’t completely break the bank. However, as a novice to this area of collecting, I’m not sure what they are called.
So I guess my question is - what are some reasonably priced trophy cards? We’ll say under 2k to start.
Congrats! You are going through the same cycle as most trophy card collectors! Start from cards you never had from you were young to the higher end English cards and to rare promos and trophies.
I started by reading on how certain cards were released and how their artworks might tie into the event. I’ve gone through years of forum threads and basically every bulbapedia page for info. Sometimes even those sketchy Japan blogs but I’ve learnt a ton since.
My advice to you is to start by reading on what are Trophy cards and what are rare promos before deciding what to buy. Don’t ask us what you think you can buy as some cards look like trophy cards but are not really trophy cards (Victory Medals) while some cards have trophy-esque artwork but are not trophy level rarity (Grand Party Trainer) and some trophy cards have been awarded in more events making them less rare (Mysterious Pearl and Indigo Plateau).
Spend a few months reading on bulbapedia, this forum and some Japanese blogs if you want to by searching the name of the certain card in Japanese onto google.
If you do wanna get your beak wet with your $2k with true trophy rarity cards, you can look at no. 3 victory decorations in their original cases. 36-72 ever released and only awarded to the 3rd and 4th place winners and after 2018, only to the 3rd place winners of the japan champions league from 2017-2019. They do appear from time to time on Mercari japan or Yahoo and the last one was sold at 189k yen. Around 1.9k after middleman fees. The one before appeared a few months ago.
Good luck collecting trophy cards. If I can start over again, I would have gone for trophy cards from the beginning. But hindsight is 20-20. Enjoy the journey and don’t give up
Brother Project, wait! Have you considered…Errors?
There aren’t many you can’t get working with a ~$2k type budget on a regular or semi regular basis. And owning a lot of cards that shouldn’t even exist? Well, it’s pretty dang cool.
Now ~$2k in the Trophy/Prize/Fan Club world? Not gunna go very far, or get you the kinda ones that make @smpratte legend status. You’ll probably have a collection bottle neck within a few buys… and it’s a bummer. Errors are almost endless. They’re also arguably more niche than what I hunt, and not exactly everyday collector affordable if you decide to dump for another pursuit.
Hopefully that’s not taken as an insult, just a possible reality… One I had to face as someone that’s never had your budget to work with, but still wanted a more distinguished collection.
My recommendations for your ~$2k-ish splurge:
Take that $2k, and see if @garyis2000 still has his BGS Graded ‘No Stage’ Square Cut Blastoise. (You know why I’m sure ) OR
Right Right. I really appreciate the feedback. The only problem I’m having is where exactly to find these cards? (such as the lower priced stamped cards) private sellers? larger platforms such as eBay? I’m having trouble retrieving results. I’m either failing to put in correct keywords or there is just simply not enough supply for me to find active sellers so I can reference some sort of price point.
Any advice regarding this would be much appreciated!
Haha! my dude Gumbo! You already know I’ll eventually get on that error train! XD - but seriously, you were one of the first people I spoke with on IG that legitimately sparked my interest in things other than 1st edition cards. Remember when I was a super noob and had that no stage error blasty?? XD
@pokemoncardproject, There is no one answer. Ultimately ebay is the largest source.
When you start climbing the latter of rarity, naturally availability is more infrequent. There is no discernible pattern for the rarest stuff, outside of smpratte is buying all of it
Understood. Looks like I will have to keep a keen eye out for the good stuff then. I’ll just have to adjust my scope more narrowly so I can snipe eBay with the best of em’ hahaha.
not just Ebay, if you want to pick up some (semi) trophy cards I would advice widening your scope and looking at other websites like Yahoo Japan/Mercari, but also Instagram/Facebook.
Not alot of these cards are available at all time and I can tell you that just looking on Ebay is probably not gonna give you a high chance of getting a (semi) trophy card at a reasonable price.
Also, the chase of these cards is what makes it fun and finding them eventually after a long search is what will give you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment
Agree that the journey to find a card is definitely a fantastic one! And one you will probably remember with a smile, as you look back - or look at the card in your hands
Yeah, I most definitely am active on all of those platforms. I love the chase. However, I am still trying to figure out how to properly navigate Yahoo Japan, lol.
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And one you will probably remember with a smile, as you look back - or look at the card in your hands