Is it a good time to buy gold stars?

[snap]

@zorloth

@snap

It depends who has been buying them tbh as to whether there will be a drawback. You mentioned you see a levelling off but not drop as people are vested in them but there has been a lot of hype and therefore interest from people who really don’t care all that much about pokemon. If this number is significant and they don’t see returns on their “investment” then they will sell them off. No one knows the numbers though.If its been a ton of invested collectors then significant drops are unlikely.

It’s not as though gold stars appreciated more in price than any other comparable card during the past few months. If anything, exs rose in price more significantly (relative to what they were worth 4 months ago). If people are confident that gold star prices have been artificially inflated by “people who really don’t care all that much about Pokemon,” then I don’t see why that argument wouldn’t extend to most other cards that saw comparable price increases (i.e., pretty much everything).

Personally, I also don’t think gold stars are what non-collectors would target for ‘investment’ purposes anyway. Why would a non-collector prefer purchasing some random card from the mid-2000s over a PSA 10 1st edition WotC holo? For an outsider, the latter seems much more appealing. Now, of course, gold stars aren’t really just ‘random cards from the mid-2000s’ – as a class, with the exception of the Power Keepers ones, they are probably the rarest set cards ever released – lowest print run era, and equally low or lower pull rates than any other set card. But for non-collectors, I think they would be more inclined to purchase the most iconic and well-known cards of the hobby – namely Charizards. Gold stars are much less visible and known to people with only peripheral knowledge of the hobby.

I think that argument can be extended to a lot of other areas. My comment was more general in nature towards the current price trends as opposed to ONLY gold stars. Having said that I don’t believe they would not be a target for invested due to the time they were printed. They’re some of the most expensive cards out there.

Apologies if my comment caused any confusion.
Regards.

[caughtatpoint]

@pokeforever

@thatblastoiseguy

No I really dont care much about graded cards as long as the fronts look great and not too much whitening on the back. Also which ones would be harder to find gold cards? I would think they are all pretty equal in rarity. I’m really only interested in collecting the ex series of cards as those are the most nostalgic for me personally and have the best art imo.

In English they were all released in sets (Umbreon and Espeon were part of POP series 5, so slightly different). It’s hard to gauge print run, but if you check the Population report on PSA, you can see how many graded cards there are (some are duplicates as people re-submit them to get higher grades).

PSA pop reports don’t correlate perfectly with print run, but if you consider other factors such as availability of other cards in the set/price of booster boxes you can maybe get a better idea.

Japanese is a different story. Umbreon is far and away the most rare, followed by Espeon, as they were given as prizes based on how many points one accumulated in the Pokemon Players Club. Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon were also distributed this way, but they were also printed in the World Champions Pack (only available online). The Mewtwo and Pikachu were also only available in the Mew/Lucario gift box.

[pokeforever]

@caughtatpoint

@pokeforever

No I really dont care much about graded cards as long as the fronts look great and not too much whitening on the back. Also which ones would be harder to find gold cards? I would think they are all pretty equal in rarity. I’m really only interested in collecting the ex series of cards as those are the most nostalgic for me personally and have the best art imo.

In English they were all released in sets (Umbreon and Espeon were part of POP series 5, so slightly different). It’s hard to gauge print run, but if you check the Population report on PSA, you can see how many graded cards there are (some are duplicates as people re-submit them to get higher grades).

PSA pop reports don’t correlate perfectly with print run, but if you consider other factors such as availability of other cards in the set/price of booster boxes you can maybe get a better idea.

Japanese is a different story. Umbreon is far and away the most rare, followed by Espeon, as they were given as prizes based on how many points one accumulated in the Pokemon Players Club. Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon were also distributed this way, but they were also printed in the World Champions Pack (only available online). The Mewtwo and Pikachu were also only available in the Mew/Lucario gift box.

Thanks for the info. I think I have a general idea on which ones I should be more looking out for now

[sapphireblue89]

@pokeforever

@lolzicost

Welp Gary V just hyped the hobby up to over a million of his followers. Investment channels popping up left & right, big youtubers hyping up pokemon cards constantly & wealthy people flooding the hobby. Gold Stars are easily some of the most well recognized cards and a lot of them especially the rarer ones are drying up.

So, is it a good time to buy? That’s something for you to decide.

Thats depressing if its true. Not saying that the cards shouldnt increase in value but having people not even interested in the actual franchise come in sounds like a disastor for people like me who just want to have the cards they wanted as a kid again.

I think that’s a good thing that outsider start buying cards as investment though. Outsiders who are not familiar with Pokémon will start do some research on Pokémon (just so they could make some monies) and throughout the process they might end up love Pokémon. Which will potentially buying other Pokémon products and nourishes the hobby (not just card collector but Pokémon as a whole) which will greatly enhances the life span of Pokémon.

The longer life span of Pokémon which means more people will get into this hobby (which is a good thing - sure the joy). If Pokemon keep releasing movie, games, merchandise then the younger generation will get introduced to Pokémon too.

(Day dreaming here) Would love to see in 20 years Shops using Pokémon as their logo just like in the movies.

I collect cutleries, plushies, watch, as well basically anything Pokémon lol because I just like it.

[pokeforever]

@sapphireblue89

@pokeforever

Thats depressing if its true. Not saying that the cards shouldnt increase in value but having people not even interested in the actual franchise come in sounds like a disastor for people like me who just want to have the cards they wanted as a kid again.

I think that’s a good thing that outsider start buying cards as investment though. Outsiders who are not familiar with Pokémon will start do some research on Pokémon (just so they could make some monies) and throughout the process they might end up love Pokémon. Which will potentially buying other Pokémon products and nourishes the hobby (not just card collector but Pokémon as a whole) which will greatly enhances the life span of Pokémon.

The longer life span of Pokémon which means more people will get into this hobby (which is a good thing - sure the joy). If Pokemon keep releasing movie, games, merchandise then the younger generation will get introduced to Pokémon too.

(Day dreaming here) Would love to see in 20 years Shops using Pokémon as their logo just like in the movies.

I collect cutleries, plushies, watch, as well basically anything Pokémon lol because I just like it.

I dont think we need “investers” to help nourish the hobby. I personally think we have a large enough pool of people already and it seems to me the more popular it gets again the more diluted it gets chasing for the lowest common denomitor (i.e making the new games really easy and a shell of its former self being, and making the cards obnoxious overload of detail to attract kids eyes I guess) Sorry if that became a rant but thats what I see lol

[pikazardcollector]

I can say I have sold some gold stars in PSA 10 recently and while I felt good about the amount at the time, I feel regret selling them. It’s not only because the prices have already gone up but the fact that I feel like now I will not be able to get them back both because of availability and price. Some of the Gold Stars in PSA 10 are extremely low pop and when they come up for sale every so often the price is never cheap.

[pokeforever]

@pikazardcollector

I can say I have sold some gold stars in PSA 10 recently and while I felt good about the amount at the time, I feel regret selling them. It’s not only because the prices have already gone up but the fact that I feel like now I will not be able to get them back both because of availability and price. Some of the Gold Stars in PSA 10 are extremely low pop and when they come up for sale every so often the price is never cheap.

Yea that sucks, I feel pretty bad selling the 6 or so random gold cards that were raw and or psa 8s and 9s. Can’t imagine selling a psa 10 now lets hope for both of us they will at least retrace some amount

[sapphireblue89]

@pikazardcollector

I can say I have sold some gold stars in PSA 10 recently and while I felt good about the amount at the time, I feel regret selling them. It’s not only because the prices have already gone up but the fact that I feel like now I will not be able to get them back both because of availability and price. Some of the Gold Stars in PSA 10 are extremely low pop and when they come up for sale every so often the price is never cheap.

Been following you Instagram and you have so many good cards

Wonder which psa 10 gold stars you have sold aside from gyarados?

[nppokemon]

Never a bad time to have Gold Stars! They are beautiful. They were one of the first sets I went after when getting back into the hobby and I’m a heavy WOTC collector. Something about them! I could never sell mine in the near future without a plan to get them back in some way down the road, but who could tell the future right? Get them and hold them tight!

[masterteal]

The best time to plant a tree buy gold stars was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

[nietzsche]

Do you want gold stars at this time?

[jonandek]

To me the gold stars have it all as a collectible. Many of them came from sets with possibly the lowest print runs in the hobby. Then on top of that they had exceedingly low pull rates within those sets. And on top of that some of them are very hard to grade given the poor print quality of those sets (esp TRR and Deoxys). Plus they feature some iconic artwork (great art AND they are bursting out of the backgrounds) and pokemon. Not only are the gold star pokemon all the “shiny” alternate art versions, but some of them like Gyarados and Charizard also feature a unique Delta Species type. Gyarados gold star is fire type, Charizard is dark type. They are all basic pokemon, so from a TCG standpoint they don’t have to evolve in order to be played, even what would be stage 2 cards like charizard. The unique factors really add up. PLUS, they are not niche or error cards but completely mainstream. I don’t know what more you could want in a collectible! My top three (obvi choices):

• Rayquaza
• Charizard
• Gyarados

Is right now a good time to buy them? Make your own judgment call. No one knows, but they certainly have a lot going for them, IMO.

[sapphireblue89]

@jonandek

To me the gold stars have it all as a collectible. Many of them came from sets with possibly the lowest print runs in the hobby. Then on top of that they had exceedingly low pull rates within those sets. And on top of that some of them are very hard to grade given the poor print quality of those sets (esp TRR and Deoxys). Plus they feature some iconic artwork (great art AND they are bursting out of the backgrounds) and pokemon. Not only are the gold star pokemon all the “shiny” alternate art versions, but some of them like Gyarados and Charizard also feature a unique Delta Species type. Gyarados gold star is fire type, Charizard is dark type. They are all basic pokemon, so from a TCG standpoint they don’t have to evolve in order to be played, even what would be stage 2 cards like charizard. The unique factors really add up. PLUS, they are not niche or error cards but completely mainstream. I don’t know what more you could want in a collectible! My top three (obvi choices):

• Rayquaza
• Charizard
• Gyarados

Is right now a good time to buy them? Make your own judgment call. No one knows, but they certainly have a lot going for them, IMO.

Mew is delta species too!

Also mudkip I couldn’t tell if it’s shiny cause it’s not pink lol

[zorloth]

@sapphireblue89

@jonandek

To me the gold stars have it all as a collectible. Many of them came from sets with possibly the lowest print runs in the hobby. Then on top of that they had exceedingly low pull rates within those sets. And on top of that some of them are very hard to grade given the poor print quality of those sets (esp TRR and Deoxys). Plus they feature some iconic artwork (great art AND they are bursting out of the backgrounds) and pokemon. Not only are the gold star pokemon all the “shiny” alternate art versions, but some of them like Gyarados and Charizard also feature a unique Delta Species type. Gyarados gold star is fire type, Charizard is dark type. They are all basic pokemon, so from a TCG standpoint they don’t have to evolve in order to be played, even what would be stage 2 cards like charizard. The unique factors really add up. PLUS, they are not niche or error cards but completely mainstream. I don’t know what more you could want in a collectible! My top three (obvi choices):

• Rayquaza
• Charizard
• Gyarados

Is right now a good time to buy them? Make your own judgment call. No one knows, but they certainly have a lot going for them, IMO.

Mew is delta species too!

Also mudkip I couldn’t tell if it’s shiny cause it’s not pink lol

I think the body of Mudkip just has a blue tint because it’s underwater. If you look at the tail, it’s the same coloration as shiny Mudkip and very different from that of normal Mudkip.

[jonandek]

Zorloth just beat me to it. Regular mudkip has a gray tail which the gold star clearly does not. Yes every gold star is a shiny version of that pokemon which I honestly think most people don’t know. Shiny = extremely hard to find, gold star = extremely hard to pull. It’s just a great way to nail the theme by making them all shiny

[pokeforever]

@jonandek

To me the gold stars have it all as a collectible. Many of them came from sets with possibly the lowest print runs in the hobby. Then on top of that they had exceedingly low pull rates within those sets. And on top of that some of them are very hard to grade given the poor print quality of those sets (esp TRR and Deoxys). Plus they feature some iconic artwork (great art AND they are bursting out of the backgrounds) and pokemon. Not only are the gold star pokemon all the “shiny” alternate art versions, but some of them like Gyarados and Charizard also feature a unique Delta Species type. Gyarados gold star is fire type, Charizard is dark type. They are all basic pokemon, so from a TCG standpoint they don’t have to evolve in order to be played, even what would be stage 2 cards like charizard. The unique factors really add up. PLUS, they are not niche or error cards but completely mainstream. I don’t know what more you could want in a collectible! My top three (obvi choices):

• Rayquaza
• Charizard
• Gyarados

Is right now a good time to buy them? Make your own judgment call. No one knows, but they certainly have a lot going for them, IMO.

Lots of good points. I do really wish someday I can collect them all but I’m rather young still and just don’t have enough capital to enjoy collecting the cards, I would likely only be able to buy like 1-3 comfortably. I think for starting off collecting again I’m gonna collect what I feel is pretty much the cheaper alternative the BW secret rares. They have very unique style to them that haven’t been replicated really, they were pretty rare being 1 in every 2 boxes(though not as rare as gold stars being 1 in 3 boxes), it was still before the big xy printings and are a way cheaper for me, and of course I like the look of them and they’re shiny pokemon. I can also probably get the whole set before getting 1 of the most expensive gold star cards. Also I’m still not sold that the increase isn’t a bubblebath that will pop or at least plateau as I thought before which I’m perfectly fine with. Thanks for the help everyone though

[justinpokemon2]

I just realized just having fun collecting is wrong unless from a investment point of view. Mb. It seems most people on e4 are investors. Good luck everyone. I will be back when people don’t focus on the numbers. To many cards are loved based on the price.

[pokeforever]

@justinpokemon2

I just realized just having fun collecting is wrong unless from a investment point of view. Mb. It seems most people on e4 are investors. Good luck everyone. I will be back when people don’t focus on the numbers. To many cards are loved based on the price.

Thats very true sadly. People can have their views on what cards they like or want but I do feel like a lot of it is skewed on what is worth the most money. I personally want the gold cards because of memories I have as a kid and the alusiveness of the cards back then, not because I want to buy a thousand dollar card so it can hopefully be worth twice that in a year. I would be most content if the cards were worth a tenth of their current value and just plateaued, but that is sadly not how economics works

[modestmudkip]

@zorloth

@sapphireblue89

Mew is delta species too!

Also mudkip I couldn’t tell if it’s shiny cause it’s not pink lol

I think the body of Mudkip just has a blue tint because it’s underwater. If you look at the tail, it’s the same coloration as shiny Mudkip and very different from that of normal Mudkip.

The refractive index of water makes him look more blue. This is why corals also grow under blue lights

[cullers]

@justinpokemon2

I just realized just having fun collecting is wrong unless from a investment point of view. Mb. It seems most people on e4 are investors. Good luck everyone. I will be back when people don’t focus on the numbers. To many cards are loved based on the price.

What’s your favorite card worth less than $1?