Like what? The fact that Japanese cards are better quality and that it has an effect on PSA prices is an argument I used at the beginning.
Vintage sets like base, up to neo. Its better to buy English because the prices only go up. I don’t expect the same result for most of the Japanese cards.
This was just an observational thread. Like the op said, a mixed sampling of cards from the first decade turned into losers this last couple years. I wouldn’t have even noticed cause I don’t sell my Japanese collectibles, but I stumbled across this box of about 100 which I had price checked a couple years ago. Now nearly all had gone down. This didn’t bother me. It was just interesting.
My instinct is new collectors should probably stick with English.
Ofcourse it’s not 100% of every card from every set from every year. Being general here. Just something I noticed while sorting boxes:)
Anyone who collects both English and Japanese didn’t get hurt anyway cause the English have done quite well.
I accidentally started with japanese and I’ve been collecting japanese since. It’s easier on my wallet for sure but the low pop numbers on the old sets makes it still hard to hunt down certain cards.
I think it’s a worthwhile observation that Japanese cards don’t sell as well in the US. There isn’t as much demand. I thought this has been known for decades now…?
When I sold several complete vending sets in 2011 they were $99 for all three. Now they’re maybe $400? This isn’t a huge increase for such an exclusive art set. The Grand Party trainer has gone from $50 up to $80-$150 ungraded… with $100-150 PSA 9 and $200-275 PSA 10. Though it may not be a great example because of the quantity available… it has sat at this number for years while I’ve watched other English cards soar past it at a much higher rate. Still, these are items that I think are undervalued, but it’s this case because people aren’t buying them. Masaki cards should be much higher than they are right now… but people aren’t buying them.
It’s just an example of the Japanese Pokemon market not translating well into another market. It was the exact same in 1999-2000.
@smpratte The point your making is a good one but I don’t think there was any comment that there wasn’t growth…? just that the growth was somewhat smaller in many instances.
@jkanly The problem is that Gary’s original post said all but a few cards dropped in price, and didn’t mention growth at all. Which is why I gave the examples of growth.
There can never be an exact parallel comparison with japanese and english as the strongest cards in Japanese simply don’t exist at all in english. The markets have a different complexion.
For example, The newer japanese exclusive promo cards have significant demand. I sold 30-40 PSA 10 15th anniversary pikachus. I sold 20 psa 10 pikados fa pikachus. I sold out of my mario luigi psa 10 FA cards. All of these don’t exist in English, but they are new cards earning anywhere from $100-300 psa 10.
The markets are different, and majority of the speculation is from individuals who barely if at all participate in the japanese end. Japanese is definitely easier to grade due to its Kevlar infused print quality. However, this is supplemented by the numerous exclusive releases.
I see 
It’s all valuable for the sake of the discussion. I just wasn’t sure what you meant I guess.
The FA Pikas are a relatively new breed and so a new sub-market. I think they’ll be more subject to market dips in the long run, which I believe is the supposition Gary was making. It’s all speculation no matter who from… Like you mentioned the demand for EX cards is wonderful to see… I hope we’ll see more of it. I love to see the new Pika FA cards… But the language barrier will always be the contending factor between value and popularity. Hope I’m saying that right?
Again, my post was a comment on the drop on Japanese card value based on those 100 PSA 9 and 10 cards. To me that says beware. I lived through the affects of the english B’day Pikachu coming out and totally tanking the Japanese version prices. PSA 10 and 9 values slipped 80% overnight.
I’ve hoped for a resurgence in values so I could get some money back from my cases of Japanese product. Problem is, most have less value today than what I paid 10 or more years ago.
So finally, this is no knock on Japanese cards. They are a wonderful collectible. I have enough to be happy forever and rarely sell any. I only have 50 listed.
My point here was I was surprised in the drop in value and stated that.
Unfortunately you’ve opened a can of worms. I see your point though, from a collection pov Japanese is great as its different. I’m a big fan of language vairants, do I wish my gem mint venusaur was on par with its English counter part? Yes but in saying that I can afford it so it makes no difference to me.
It can get a little frustrating on both sides. Hopefully time will be kind to both sides.
For now though it’s rough. I recently got a request for a Japanese Neo Houndoom in PSA 10. I remembered I had one cause I had submitted 4 and got one 10. So I told him I had one and to make an offer. He offered 20.00. TWENTY DOLLARS. I quickly checked eBay and they had sold for 21.00 and 25.00. Wth.
Let me ask you a question. Is an English one more than that?
You cannot explain collectibles markets with basic economic or market knowledge. What you’re saying about export causing price drop in global markets is 100% correct but only for perfect markets and non-collectible goods. For Pokemon cards (and any kind of collectibles) it’s a different story
Because he lives off it? That’s his job? That’s what making a living is, it doesn’t have to be millions of dollars, it’s living off your job. I wouldn’t say the market is flooded with Japanese cards anymore than it is with English and from my experience of purchasing loose singles off of yahoo.jp and ebay it feels more often than not I’m getting poor condition Japanese cards than English ones. Of course that’s anecdotal but everyone is going to have a different experience.
Need I mention the Snap Charmander that was sold on ludkins for 5k and was flipped at the price of 10k?
It depends in what areas you’re looking towards but various set cards are still worth a good amount. There are certain cards in English sets such as Jungle, Fossil, etc that have premiums for their notoriously hard 10s, the same is comparable for Japanese sets. If you look at Gold Star Mew, Charizard, etc for Japanese they aren’t overly easy to grade 10s in due to their centring. Other areas include the no rarities which @pokemonsyndicate can vouch for. In the Western market it makes sense that Japanese cards won’t sell as well as English but there is a market for niche items such as trophy cards, various promos and so forth that appeal to others and can demand a premium.
All of the highest valued cards are typically Japanese, with English being the exception there, not Japanese.
Not looking to argue, just getting the point across that similar to most foreign languages introduced into the Western market, they all appeal to a certain demographic, whereas English appeals to the majority as is already known.
Honestly? Japanese Full Arts, Rainbow Rares and Secret Rares are all more valuable than their English counterparts as they aren’t easy to pull as mentioned before. You only pull 1 FA OR Rainbow rare OR Secret rare from a box. There is no such a thing as flooding the market with “cheap” Japanese cards. Have you even noticed how the newer English GX, EX and FAs are worth nothing ungraded if they aren’t good cards in the TCG meta, basically?
If you want to complete Japanese double sets with all the Secret Rares and everything, the amount of money you’ll use is probably going to be much more than in English. Now, remember something as well. Japanese boxes are cheaper than English because a) there are less booster packs b) there are less cards in 1 pack c) they are usually released as doubles, so you usually end up spending around $100 anyways when getting both counterparts.
Sorry that I continue on this topic, but I just couldn’t stay quiet. Grr
Maybe you guys are right on the new cards. Ill keep an eye out on goldstars and hyperrares. At the moment they are traded nationally cheaper than their English counterpart. I never considerd there would be a difference in pullrates.
But I will never pay marketprice for Japanese graded Kanto cards.
Japans economy is doing terrible and I dont see a bright future for Japan. It seems like they can’t keep up this rich lifestyle anymore. More Japanese peope are learning English aswell and I expect more and more Japanese cards to hit the global market.
The thing about WOTC era japanese cards is that in most of the sets you got a guaranteed holo in every pack. Regular japanese holos aren’t going to hold much of a premium considering boxes had to up 60 packs in them. If we take your neo 3 example there are 19 possible holo cards from that set and 60 packs in a box, you are looking at 3.15 of each holo per box here. Now, if the distribution is equal, when you factor in the rarity of the 2 shinings and exclude them from this it goes up to 3.5 of each holo per box given equal distribution. Tie this in with reduced demand compared to ebglish cards (there’s more English speaking people surprise surprise…) makes japanese set cards cheaper.
People need to realise that English set collecting is a completely different thing to collecting japanese cards where people look for exclusivity, ultra rares or cheaper alternatives to their English counterparts, because of this, the growth is in different areas to English cards but this doesn’t mean it’s not present.
Good explanation.
Oh I see what you’re doing here…$
Not all cards of the same magnitude will be worth the same amount graded or not.
Take e series cards. In Japanese e1 had a guaranteed Holo per pack. In English, expedition did not have every pack with a holo, so as such a PSA 10 expedition Holo should be worth more than the Japanese counterparts.
What are everyones thoughts on sealed Japanese Shining Legends boxes? Would those appreciate in value or not?
Like any mass produced item, it’ll take quite a while to appreciate I think.