You can’t have a ceiling on collectables like this.
Wait long enough and these cards will go up. This week somebody bought a PSA 9 unlimited Charizard on ebay for $250, that’s unheard of.
Nobody is making more of this stuff. It’s a seller’s market and will remain a seller’s market for everything up until Call of Legends for a long time.
There’s a post in the Pokemon - Australia facebook group of a woman looking to buy a base set box for her 12 yr old son.
Nostalgia is definitely a part of it but I also think it’s that people will always gravitate towards the original of anything.
People my age still think that Mustangs are cool and sneakerheads still pine after the first pair of jordans.
I got my first cards in 2003, when I was 5 years old. My parents got a few random lots on ebay eventually, and some family friends who weren’t collecting gave me their old cards. This stuff was primarily WOTC, but almost everything I opened from the beginning was Ex Series onward.
Once I got a grasp of things, in a few years, I was only really buying newer sets when they came out… ex packs were easily available probably until BW.
Because of the cards I received (primarily non holo c/uc) those cards and the shinings and crystals are the most nostalgic (because I could never get my hands on those pre ex series, highly coveted ultra rares)
There wasn’t really any appeal to the holos though for me (now there is, as I can appreciate the artwork and history, and have actually seen them all)
So I have nostalgia for some cards that I have never owned, and “weren’t from my time”
The Gen 3 sets (2003-2006) all have loads of value. That’s the Gold Star era and a low point in the hobby where there was less product being printed, meaning less available with very high demand.
I’d have to say my personal order for favorite sets/generations is as follows - Gen 2 (Neo/early e-Series), Gen 3 (Delta Species) and then Gen 1.
I understand that Gen 1 is the start of it all but I feel like the overall sets from that generation are the weakest of the three. Gen 2 has the Shining cards and some beautiful artwork, especially in Aquapolis and Skyridge. Gen 3 has the Gold Star cards along with some amazing sets like Team Rocket Returns, Holon Phantoms and Dragon Frontiers. Gen 1 just has the “originals” thing going for it and that isn’t what strikes nostalgia in me personally. I’ve never been much of a “genwunner”.
EX series is relatively comparable to WOTC, aside from Base set 1st edition
Also there is plenty of EX series product that are rarer and can contain significantly more valuable cards than WOTC sets
I feel this way too tbh. I have an affinity for neo sets, e-series and early gen-3 product more than I do for base, jungle and fossil.
Gen 3 will always have the hardest to find cards outside of 1st and Shadowless print runs but the OG sets are where the interest of the majority lies.
About post WOTC cards: I also think nostalgia for some of the OG EX’s (various ones spanning ruby to power keepers) hasn’t kicked in as strongly yet but will in time.
The Neo sets are just the bench mark for me. Nostalgia + Amazing Pokemon + Amazing Artwork + Incredibly rarity?
= Homerun.
Why would these current 7 year olds be any different? They’ll want to experience opening these current sets again in their 20s just like me. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt this year…I’m not unique, PEOPLE aren’t. We all follow patterns.
As I mentioned the difference is there’s far more of the current product compared to wotc and there are heaps more people stashing away current sealed product expecting to make bank in 10 years.
When these 7 year olds are 17 there will probably still be plenty available for a relatively cheap price. Pokemon’s current print run on sets is massive, you can get packs and boxes everywhere … even my local post office sells pokemon cards.
Comparatively when you look at MTG the print run was ramped up massively starting around return to ravnica set … six years later you can still buy return to ravnica boxes for $80/box and there are individuals selling literally hundreds of them on facebook. This goes for almost all MTG sets from RTR onwards, the massive print run has killed box growth to the point that finance advice for MTG is to not buy and hold boxes at all unless you plan on a 10 year+ hold. The opportunity cost for tying up money long term in a readily available asset that is flat on price isn’t a good idea.
I feel pokemon is at the same point as MTG, where print runs are so high that yeah you could make some cash sitting on sealed product, but you’re going to be waiting so many years for your return that you’re better off putting that money elsewhere and buying into the sealed product when you notice the uptick start.
7-15 years
Hell yeah I’m 16 I remember cracking Neo packs straight out of the womb.
I agree though, the generational shift could be important but one of the main things is that people know how to (and in general just know to) preserve cards now, making it infinitely easier going forward to find NM-M cards and sealed product. Back then there was just no indication that Pokémon cards would be so valuable. That’s part of why they are: most of the product was broken and played with.
Nostalgia is the spark but eventually pure desirability will drive the price of cards. I’m sure there are people into collecting gold stars that never collected during the EX era. Gold stars are items that have developed a high desirability status and people want them just because other people want them. Same could be said about valuable WOTC cards. My young cousin whose only now old enough to be playing the video games and collecting card really likes the 1st ed base cards because he knows everyone wants them (you can thank those youtube hype channels)
Or for another non-pokemon example. I’d love to own a Wayne Gretzky rookie card but I pretty much have absolutely no interest in hockey or sports in general. It’d be just cool to own such a valuable and desirable item.