Newbee collector

Hi im new here and I wanted to start collecting some cards. But I don’t know where to order legit cards to start my collection. Hope you guys can recommend me some trusted online shops to buy.

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Local game stores, Ebay(be careful of fakes),Amazon, local stores such as walmart Target etc they will be carrying official product, online websites such as tcg player, troll and toad and others(you can google search card/gaming websites).There is a plethora of resources out there to buy cards from.

Are you looking for modern sets that are currently in print (new in packaging) or looking to buy off secondary market?

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I started last year and bought all off eBay. I got good deals and bad deals and learned the whole way.I was able to flip some to finance my own collection after some practice. I payed attention and while studying the hobby I can confirm still dont know the secret answer … Look for sellers with good feedback and compare prices to other sales of the same card and zoom in on condition and try your hand at negotiation . Thats really all it is in my experience so far

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If you are in the US, i would recommend TCGPLAYER, it is a market place for TCGs. Buy from high feedback seller is usually a safe bet

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I’d add Cardmarket to what’s already been said if you’re in Europe.

Finding fakes are rare. Just look up the prices to what you are looking at. Learn the basics of the PSA grading system and then compare what you see to the website for PSA. If there is some wildly differentiating price, you most likely just have someone who doesn’t know what they have - but sometimes they can be fake. They will usually look “off” but since youre new, you can ask others. Here, or join some Pokemon buying/selling facebook groups. Post them in there, they will help you.

My eBay listings! Link in my signature! :grin:

In seriousness, like somebody else said, it depends what you’re looking for. Given that you’re here on E4, I assume you’re interested in vintage (which is way cooler than modern, in my totally unbiased opinion). eBay is usually a good bet as long as you’re somewhat careful and only buy from sellers with relatively high feedback scores. However, I will say that it’s become verrrrry difficult to find genuinely near mint to mint raw (ungraded) cards on eBay these days. Even if you find a card that’s listed as near mint or mint, the chances of it actually being in the stated condition aren’t great. Many sellers try to pass off LP cards as NM. If you aren’t super picky on condition, though, this isn’t a huge deal.

I actually find Virbank City PokéMart on Facebook to be the best place for picking up raw cards in good condition. It’s a little harder to navigate than eBay and there’s not as much buyer protection, so you have to be more careful. However, you can work one-on-one with sellers more easily, negotiate, and get extensive pics of conditions, and I’ve found that sellers on Virbank are more forthcoming and honest about condition. Without the wall of anonymity that eBay provides, I think people are a little less likely to try and pull one over on you. You’ll also get better deals on Virbank because sellers don’t have to contend with the outrageous fucking fees on FeeBay.

I’d advise against TCGPlayer for anything vintage other than low-value c/u/r. Conditions on TCGPlayer are all over the place, you usually can’t see pics of the exact card you’re buying, and high-volume businesses don’t have as much incentive to satisfy a single buyer as an individual on Virbank or eBay does. Not a great fan of TCGPlayer.