I was wondering what everyone’s experiences are with regarding to (graded) (out of print) Pokemon cards being classified as collectables?How easy/difficult is it to get proper insurance on them?
I’m mainly asking because there are different home insurances that insurance collectables and valuable items up to a certain amount in total (for example 35000 euro), do insurance companies have issues with insuring Pokemon cards and believing that they are collectables? And has anyone talked to them before to figure out how they will pay out in case the insurance needs to be used? I know we as collectors will most likely use eBay’s past sales as an indicator of the value of an item, but do insurance companies care about that?
A secondary reason why I’m asking is EU customs… They refuse to believe that Pokemon cards are collectables and will always, no matter what, treat them as playing cards, without caring about the fact that the majority of the collectable cards are out of print and most cannot even be bought in stores anymore.
Just interested in your opinions and I’m pretty sure most high-end collectors will have some form of insurance, so would like to know something more about them.
I use storage lockers, Bank deposit boxes, and Smith&Wessons.
Here in the states there are company’s that insure only collectibles including Pokemon.
I don’t have an answer to your question but this part left me wondering… What do you mean with EU customs doesn’t treat them as collectibles? Because when my purchases go to customs here in Finland, I pay the tax online and when I specify what category my item belongs to, I click collectibles and under that there are trading cards (literally translated into “collectible cards” in Finnish)… So I guess it depends on country. Playing cards are under a different category meanwhile.
Lmao Smith&Wessons.
Rugers and remmingtons work well too!
Good question. Following for free knowledge lol
I don’t have sources right now but that’s not my experience at least, all my customs forms always had playing cards on them as category and I believe it has around 3.4% of import charges.
Next to that I may have mixed something up as I believe you can import several collectible items (think about art, old money, etc.) with no or lowered taxes, in my opinion Pokemon cards should fall under that, but in reality they don’t seem to be given the fact that we are still taxed at full.
I’m getting more and more confused @skiwi xD I have to pay 24% of tax for everything no matter what it is when it comes outside from the EU
I have my collection insured by the UK company Hiscox:
www.hiscoxcollections.com/get-a-quote
I didn’t have a problem getting my cards insured as collectables with them but if I remember rightly they did do some checks online to see the value I was quoting was realistic for the cards (they were a little surprised I think 
). They insure them under the collection category ‘pop and sport’.
I’ve not had to claim yet but I keep a fairly comprehensive collection record incase I ever have to. I would also use sources like psa auction prices website and ebay if I did need to provide evidence of card values. Not perfect I know but probably about the best you can do at this stage.
I found something, though not exactly what I was looking for, but importing books from outside the EU is taxed by 6% here. So it’s not all 21%. I’m still pretty sure importing antiques is tax-free, only haven’t found that yet.
As a caveat to this though, how would a company determine value vice hard numbers? I know some cards carry a certain value due to liquidity such as Charizard 1st edition as stated by Scott. Are Ebay sold listings your determination or even PSA past sales?
I had trouble insuring my collection (Belgium), and had to ‘treat’ them as pieces of art to get it insured. It is for a locked value though and I have to adjust it every 3 years.
Sadly unlike America, there are very few to no lockers or bank storage deposits, so I have to purchase a safe myself.
For the tax import thingy, in Belgium, if you are unlucky enough to get your package through customs, you pay about 1/3rd of the initial value on top of it + customs duties. (Also I’ve had multiple cases of having to pay nearly €30 customs fee for a €25 card…)
You are correct in regards to tax exemption for antiques, it does not apply to Pokemon cards though as they do not fall within that category.
Usually tax exemption on antiques and collectibles (at least in the UK) requires the item to fall within very strict criteria. As much as we see pokemon cards as collectibles they are, in the eyes of the tax authorities, mass produced trading cards, so they will fall within the toys and hobbies tax profile. Same goes for Lego, Action Man, Barbie, etc.
The point is, just because we collect something, it does not mean (unfortunately) that it qualifies for any collectible tax exemption. Regarding the books tax, most governments will have lower taxes on items that are considered of significant value to the functioning of society like basic foods, babies clothing, books, etc.