Echoing this. I have an eBay saved search for literally just “dragonite” set to worldwide and was lucky to have a Pop 1 Dragonite card pop up and I basically insta bought it. Other times, you find some lucky deals where cards are listed 20%+ below market price. But it means opening eBay multiple times a day and not finding anything 99% of the time. It can be a grind but it’s also rewarding when you see something you need.
For the cards that are easier to acquire, note that sometimes there are multiple variants. Some Dragonite cards have the same artwork, but different holo patterns, or different stamps on them for example. You can choose to collect all of them or just choose to the collect the artwork with the holo pattern you prefer. I personally do the latter as I like cosmos over all other holo types.
And as @Dyl said, sometimes the PSA 10 version of a card is just so expensive, getting the 9, or getting a 10 in a different language can be a solution. I still don’t have Dragonite LC Reverse in a 10 for that exact reason. There might be 1-2 on the market at any given time, but the price is just too high to justify.
The population of expedition 10s is pretty low (relative to other sets) so naturally they are more difficult to find but not impossible.
All you can do is keep your eye out and be ready when it hits the market.
I’ve been pursuing various Expedition 10s for a while now and waiting a year + for one to hit the market (at a reasonable price or auction) isn’t uncommon.
Just remember patience is key. Even if they seem super rare, there will always be another buying opportunity for the vast majority of cards.
I used to have the generic alert on eBay for “Porygon” but it was very annoying as I was getting every day the same re-listing from various big seller, so it was difficult to spot the good deals.
What I found really useful was to put “monthly goals” on specific cards with dedicated targeting searches.
Yeah that’s the rough part of it. But sometimes you find amazing deals because sellers don’t put “Dragonite 4/62” but “Dragonite rare card” and mis-price it. Other people might have a saved search for “Dragonite 4/62” and miss out because of the listing title. I agree though, you get a lot of other junk that you need to scroll through.
