I think grading any Revised is pretty dumb. Not only was the print run massive, but the cards are still easy as shit to find in pristine condition. If I want a PSA 10 of any cheap-ish Revised card, I could order a few NM ones off TCGPlayer and more than likely get at least one PSA 10 candidate. But if people enjoy collecting graded Revised cards, then more power to them. I happen to feel the same way about Base Unlimited, or at least as far as grading the non-holos are concerned. I know that grading PSA 10 Base Unlimited holos is not that easy. Pack fresh cards, from what I understand, are very often 9s. And holos are just so fragile that your probably not going to find a 10 outside of a card straight from the pack. Still, I 100% agree that, from an investment standpoint, I’d much rather have PSA 8/9 Shadowless and 1st Edition holos than random Base Unlimited PSA 10 holos. Though perhaps the original starter trio as Base Unlimited PSA 10s is an exception, since those are just so iconic and nostalgic for people. But, just to take an example: a PSA 8 Base Shadowless Venusaur is ~$400 right now and PSA 10 Base Unlimited Venusaur is ~$800. I’d personally much rather own two PSA 8 Shadowless ones than one Unlimited one. I get the allure of PSA 10s, but there are still so many Base Unlimited packs left sealed that the PSA 10 pop is going to continue to grow for a while. Shadowless is just much, much more rare than Base Unlimited, and so (IMO) is collectible in a way that Base Unlimited will never be. It’s kind of like a PSA 10 Revised Underground Sea vs. a PSA 8 Unlimited Underground Sea. Given the choice between one of either of those, I would always choose the Unlimited one. Unlimited is highly collectible whereas Revised was produced on an absolutely massive scale. For Pokemon, with the exception of 1st Edition Base and Base Shadowless, everything was produced on a massive scale. But Base Unlimited and any Unlimited WotC sets were mass-produced in a way that WotC e-Series or EX-era sets weren’t. Nothing that was mass-produced is particularly ‘rare,’ but the print run of Base Unlimited or any Unlimited WotC set outside of the e-Series is just too large to be truly collectible, in my view. If demand ever dropped the market would just be absolutely saturated. Whereas that’s never going to happen for Skyridge holos or post-EX Dragon exs or gold stars (besides the dog trio). So yeah, this was kind of a tangent, but rarity is a really big deal for me as a collector. In the end, we’re all buying mass-produced items. But I’d much rather buy a card with a print run of 100k than a print run of 10m.
The closest thing to species collecting in MTG is probably collecting certain tribes. There’s a reason why an English Zodiac Dragon is $300 and it sure isn’t because it’s a good card! Other than dragons, the other main one is angels. But 100% agree that MTG has much less interest in ‘species collecting’ than there is in Pokemon.
Value of the Starter 1999 Grim Tutor will be WAY above $10. I’ve put together complete sets of everything up through Scourge (besides Alpha, Beta, Arabian Nights, and Legends) and Starter 1999 had a pretty damn low print run. Not crazy low or anything, but probably less than 1/10th that of any Urza’s or Masques block set.
Yeah for sure, not the starter version @zorloth, haha sorry I wasn’t specific. I meant the reprinted one. But the starter version won’t be USD 200 either, and I have my doubts that it’ll ever reach that height again.
I’m with you on scarcity being the first priority, followed by condition. Ever had that bit of your “collection” just appeal to the masses? That’s how I treat Base Unlimited, and I’d rather have 10 NM base unlimited blastoise(s) than 1 PSA 10 base unlimited blastoise. I feel the current premiums on PSA 10 base (even for the 3 chase cards) are just too high, but yeah that’s my personal take.
I consider myself a low-end collector and if prices keep climbing like they have in the past 3 months I’ll definitely have to adjust my goals.
But I don’t worry of getting burnt out since I don’t think the majority of collectors are able to buy every single card they want. Imho it’s an essential part of the hobby to evaluate your own preferences and set your personal goals. It’s the ‘money can’t buy you everything’ aspect that brings low- and high-end collectors together.
It has been talked about here before but I want to mention this again: As long as modern sets are being released the entry barrier is really low and will give low-end collectors plenty opportunities to scratch their collecting itch.
zard is still climbing! 1 1st Ed zard psa 8 just went for $9500 in UK cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?viewitem&item=264752287871.
messaged the seller an he confirmed the buyer paid!!
I feel like a 9 may soon move to $15,000
Honestly, the PSA 10 is hardly an alternative based on availability and affordability so I don’t find this shocking
thats very true! 10s are just so out of reach for the majority of collectors at the point in time but the demand to own this card is stupid high!
We pay a premium in the U.K. as anything outside of the EU ends up getting customs tax etc - so I wouldn’t use uk pricing too close as a guide to American market ( especially as you have much more supppy of 1st edition)
Although still strong price none the less !
also true!, good to sell cards at a premium but also have to buy cards at a premium!
as in life, anything worth having takes effort. if you can get everything you want out of the hobby in 2 years, you’s see huge turnovers. and it’s probably not great for the hobby long-term either, as communities need members to stick around. i personally want pokemon to continue to grow for the next 30-50+ years if possible. i would love to still be talking market movements and get salty about a card that just jumped massively in prices in 2050 with you all.
I appreciate that perspective. As it is, my card collection is less than 200 cards so it feels frustrating to know that some cards are out of reach. Well really only one. In the past few months of finding replacement cards, I’ve come across graded cards that are out of my budget and will continue to climb. I need to be better about being grateful for what I have and maybe not check listings every day so I don’t burn myself out of the search.
This is a subjective way to look at it, but i genuinely think ANY new collector who perhaps collected in the old days should just buy a raw binder set on ebay of base/jungle/fossil/rocket.
Forget the fact the conditions are probably psa 5 to 7 grades if graded, just the appreciation to own that part of history really is something special. I know a single PSA 10 card i have is worth my entire binder collection of those 4 sets yet I feel much more connected to just seeing those cards in a binder, no one judging them, not so valuable you get stressed about them…but a real appreciation for the cards.
Its only then I would build up PSA graded cards.
One thing as well is if the PSA 10 grade of whatever card you are after is out of reach and you start to look to PSA 7s, 8s and 9s, I would genuinely at that point buy the card raw as you will save money majority of the time and get it graded yourself.
You pay a big premium for the psa 10 compared to a card that is raw that would grade in the 7-9 range…its like your saving on the money of not paying for PSA 10 grade and your saving on the fact its raw itself if that makes sense!
You can still grab pretty much everything unlimited WOTC for very affordable prices if going ungraded and/or around PSA8 with some exceptions ofc.
Even those have climbed a lot but still, you can get the neo revs holos, neo genesis holos,fossil, etc for affordable prices if you go the unlimited route. It is exactly the same card as 1st without the stamp, so we still have those options but i wont deny that is getting harder and harder by each passing day.
I’d probably do a Japanese set of Rocket and Gym Hereos/Gym Leaders if that were the case, as they held the most memories for me as a kid. Thankfully the Japanese cards are a LOT more affordable. I also continue to bounce around the idea of collecting every single Pokemon but choose my favorite card art of it.
I have no interest in graded collections. It’s nice to have one or two slabs, but graded cards don’t appeal to me in mass quantities. It takes away the fun from going through binders, but I understand I’m of the minority in this case.
As for buying the card raw, that goes into my original point - for rare cards, it’s harder to buy raw as more people are getting them graded with the intention to sell. I’m lucky enough that I got most of the hard to get cards before this was the settled norm.
Earlier this week, I tried to pay for a PSA 6 1st Edition Shining Gyarados for around $300 that I planned on cracking. Back is okay but the front looked good. I wanted to replace my own copy because of a dinged up bottom. The seller wouldn’t let it go for less than $475 which is out of my price range and preference. Because of the price hike on Neo Revelations, I’ve even thought of selling my 1st Edition Shining Gyarados in order to help with purchasing a second one, but I don’t want to run the risk of not being able to afford it at all and then suddenly have it completely missing from my collection.
Timing of events also doesn’t help. In normal circumstances, I would take the dive to buy the card and then sell my double, but with COVID, my original summer job fell through, so I have to keep the money I have on hand in case I’m not able to find one by the time my high schoool job ends.
Bleh, I hate that this all sounds like I’m complaining. Please don’t mind my rant. Things have just been stressful back at home base since quarantine. And when it comes to collecting, I have cards trapped in Japan at the moment and my two recent hunts have been halted due to price hikes and being only available in graded quantities - so it’s been especially frustrating - part of it is also my own fault for waiting too long.
In the end, I’m grateful for my collection. I’m also lucky that I was able to get some hard to get cards for a steal compared to the prices they’re going at now. Neo Revelations, Staff Promos, and Holon Phantoms are continuing to climb and I’ve probably paid less than 25% for what the current prices are now.
@slippingjimmy, yes, please take your time! I think we all have a fear of missing out to a great degree, especially when we see prices rising, but I’ve found it good to reflect on what I’m comfortable on spending and adjust from there.
Out of curiosity, what would be the maximum you’d be willing to spend on a card though? Since everyone has different price thresholds
@azulryu I really liked your post. I can feel your struggle. You were even going to buy a PSa 6 and price was too high. And yes I don’t believe selling one shining Gyarados to get another is a smart idea in case you can’t replace it at a comfortable price point. I also liked the part where you said you prefer binders over PSa cards. I rather view my collection in a binder as well. I like to have some graded cards but not boxes full to just collect dust. Good luck finding a better Gyarados. I’m sure there is a ungraded one in that 6 range category that wouldn’t be too expensive. I paid $110 or $120 for mine a few months ago and would probably grade around a 6. Perfectly clean front a tiny bit of whitening. I’m going thru a similar situation with Tyranitar ex from unseen forces. I bought a light played for $15 and it came in extra heavy played condition all creased up. When I search the card I’m finding nothing below $300 range even ungraded. Which is a little high for a PSa 5-7 range quality. So for now I keep my banged up T Tar while looking for a cleaner one less then $100
@azulryu, @mcorey777, I feel your pain, I’m also primarily a binder collector. I appreciate slabs but the main value for me from a slab is the condition the card is in and less the value or number it has. I’ve been cracking some slabs for my binder since sometimes I’m lucky and can find graded cards for the same price as ungraded. I don’t know how long this current boom will last but until then, I’m focusing on my modern collection and setting the wotc/vintage aside. I’m hoping prices calm down a little but if they don’t, then I’ll just be happy with what I have and exercise patience to find the deals when they come.
Hallelujah, Cardmarket now has Japanese sets for cards and booster boxes in their registry, starting with Sword and Shield! This is long overdue and amazing for everybody I think. Finally some more accuracy for price charts and listings in general.
Edit: Promos like Graffiti Pikachu are included! Nice.
Yeah, I noticed that as well. Weird that they start doing that now with Sword & Shield, considering the amount of Japanese sets that are already released years ago. And a lot of people were advertising their Japanese cards already on other cards with added pictures… 
Ah well, better late than never. 
Greetz,
Quuador
Please tell me this is shilled, it was going for almost half that a couple of months ago!