I was wondering everyone’s opinion on which promos are not in the spotlight right now as well as trophies?
I am mainly a WOTC guy as it is all I understand. Lately, I have become much more intrigued by trophies because the PSA pop does not dictate everything. As for promos, I know there are a TON in existence, but wasn’t sure why so few are graded in comparison to standard WOTC? For example: Southern Island to me is one of the most well known collections, yet there are only 12 PSA 10 Togepi’s and it sold for $3000… Then Yanma has 12 and is selling for around $7000 (just my guess- don’t burn me).
I may have just wanted to right this out, but would love to get a thread going on your opinions on Promos/trophies and what you’ve been seeing in the market. Please, don’t write that you hate that stuff is “overpriced”… be stoked our nerdy hobby is kickin some ass
Pretty much every trophy from 1997-2010 has solid demand. The issue for new members understanding the trophy market is most sales are private. I know a couple E4 members submitting some solid options in the next pwcc auction. It will be interesting to see what they earn publicly.
Overall Rarity is the final frontier. It’s the natural progression. Once you achieve your wotc goals, the promos/trophies are where you end. Which specific ones you prefer is personal.
I am that exact guy! I am having a ton of trouble deciding what price is fair compared to the others since sales aren’t eBay driven. I am now excited for the next PWCC auction now!
I will have a long way until I can be confident buying high-end trophies, but it’s fun to learn about until then.
As for promos, why do you think S.I. isn’t at the higher tier range when there are so few 10’s compared to other collections? I was thinking it was because you can get the box/binders for a decent cost in comparison. I appreciate the feedback! It helps a lot
The biggest difference between collecting set cards and rare promos/trophies, in my opinion, is that with the latter, FOMO is a legitimate fear.
The highest-end promos and trophies are actually rare. If you don’t act, you’ll probably never see it at that price again. And you may never see the card again.
That’s a tough adjustment for people who are used to waiting to move on things until the time is right. You have to abandon the idea of “getting a deal” and accept that the opportunity to purchase at all IS the deal.
There aren’t TONS of every promo. Some have thousands of copies and some are more rare than trophy cards.
The key is rarity. I’ve bought several rare cards without any knowledge of recent sales. Yet, they were some of my most confident purchases because I know the market won’t become saturated.
Assessing value is an acquired skill in this hobby. It’s easy for wotc cards where you can track every sale, but not so much for rarer items. Takes notes from the two guys above.
You’re right and apologize as the ones I was referencing in my brain were like Birthday Pikachu, Southern Island, the Newer Pikachu’s. Quite a lot on the market and that were produced compared to some other cards.
I 100% understand the rarity aspect as the math makes sense. My brain is confused about knowing how many Master Scrolls there are in comparison to University Magikarps? There are more Magikarps submitted, yet less 10’s. Also, popularity is much lower for the Master Scroll. I am probably right, but there is no exact amount known, correct?
Thats pretty fair. Both are popular, in that there is demand. I would definitely put the university magikarp, trophy kangaskhan, 1999 topical wind above. Those are staple golden era cards that have a ton of nostalgia, rarity, history; everything.
As for release numbers, its impossible to know 100%. The pop is the best resource, but even then its not 100% accurate. There are around 10 false numbers in the unikarp pop from re-grades. Another example of private knowledge. Even with the inflated pop, its still extremely low overall.
Listening to these guys and the last sales of each card gives perspective. A good example is Trophy Khan. The people that have owned it have talked about how it was under $10k, and now that would be a steal. Uni Karp is another will low overall total pop.
I’m glad this was brought up. I recently completed my WOTC goals (for the most part), and have been looking to get into something more rare. I have no knowledge at all, on trophies or Japanese promos, but I want to learn. How rare they are is starting to intrigue me.
In 2016, I purchased a PSA 10 Trophy Khan for $5k. When I purchased the card, the previous high sale had been for $3.3k a year or so earlier, and I recall that not long before that the card was selling for less than $2k. Strangely enough, even though the card was pop 6 at the time (now it’s pop 11) there were two for sale at the same time. (Obviously, I’m a moron for not having purchased both).
Fast-forward 4 years and now I could easily sell the card for 10x what I paid for it… but I just don’t see why I would.
My personal opinion would be the Natta Wake promo set. If you like the early hand drawn art style I think Himeno really served up some great work. It’s a concise 6 card set all done by Himeno. They offer a nice challenge and don’t break the bank to quote smpratte. I’ve been after a 10 set for 2 years and am still 1 card away. Part of the reason is due to my stupidity and being too picky about centering, but they are getting increasingly difficult to find in psa 10. You can pick up 4 out of the 6 cards in psa 9 for around 50 or less. Raw copies are super affordable.
As others have said, there usually won’t be a benchmark price for high end items. I will say I regret none of my high end japanese promo purchases.
It’s kind of like jumping into water where you can’t see the bottom… you just have to trust your ability to swim!
As far as I can tell, there has yet to be a retrace on prices for any high end cards. If you’re afraid to lose the deal that usually means go for it.
I always forget about re-grades. It is cool that the cards are so rare, and a serious adjustment coming from all WOTC since we’re (speaking about us as a majority) are used to chasing holographics or that 1st edition stamp.
This may need to be a Patreon message, but how come some STAFF options are more expensive? I would imagine STAFF would have the highest population and doesn’t have that history of a player having to earn it.
For me personally, I think that staff is the cleanest looking out of the “lower end” copies. I also just don’t particularly care for a top 32 or top 16 placement when something like a champion copy exists. If I had to rank what I prefer and the price I would pay: top 32<top 16<staff<quarter<semi<finalist<champion. In the end it is just preference though, some people like copies that had to be earned while others value the aesthetic.
