OK I have looked around the forums and I haven’t really been able to figure out my answer about this from previous posts, and I ALSO am a bit unsure which board this should go on, so if I’m posting in the wrong board, I’m sorry! …ANYWAY:
A few years ago I found my old collection. (Old as in, 98-03) However, a lot seems to have been thrown out by my parents at some point, because it’s far from what i used to own as a kid.
I miss collecting pokémon cards a lot. The feelings of nostalgia looking through my old cards are immense. I’ve been thinking about starting collecting again for a couple of years, focusing on the pikachu evo line; Pichu, Pikachu and Raichu.
However my question to you is; where is a good idea to look for these cards? For the moment I’d like to get the different versions of the jungle set Pikachu; the generel “unlimited” jungle set one, the w-stamp, first edition jungle set, japanese etc… I think it was re-released in some other set later on too. (+ pretty much all the cheaper cards of all the three 'chus!) in at least near mint condition. That’s my first focus before tackling cards that cost a bit more.
I’ve been casually buying cards I like from troll and toad some years ago, and they seem to stock up a lot of the cards I want, and the shipping is ok to me, and I’ve never had to wait more than a maximum of two weeks for them to arrive, if even that long. I’ve found it pretty…well easy to order from them, and even cards i bought in played condition when i was just putting together a deck to play with, together with a friend, were in really great condition. No white corners, no scratches, no little specks of dust or dirt. However I’ve been reading around on forums, and some people seem to dislike them for some reason?
Is there something I’m missing?
Will I be wasting my time and money buying most of my cards from there/are they overpriced/not best place for quality/“buy it from somewhere else goddamnit”?
(Also I’m swedish so if my grammar/spelling might be odd sometimes, that might be why.)
I hope I’m in the right board for this. I found a pricing discussion QA thread but it was locked. I’m sorry if this is off or answered somewhere else!
Depends on how much you care about conditions of your cards.
TnT is the generally accepted pricing guide for current metagame card prices, and most people will reference that when trying to sell cards. However if you want cards that are in good condition it’s probably best to avoid TnT and other card sites. That’s not to say you will never get Mint condition cards from card sites. I have had a few get 10s from PSA before, but it’s a rare occurrence.
It’s surprising to me that you have had good experiences with TnT when it comes to conditions, from my experience they seem to throw their cards around and don’t really treat them the best. Even new stuff that they have just pulled always has nicks and edgewear for me.
I think if you want to make the most out of your collection you should branch out your search areas. eBay is an obvious one, although that can be extremely unreliable at times, the main problem I find with eBay is ‘Mint’ is a very subjective term. The positive part is you will find a few sellers that are actually honest and accurate with their card descriptions, and most of the time you will do business mostly with a few different people. It just takes a while to find them.
Tl;dr: TnT is fine if you are willing to accept the risk of poor condition cards, but you should branch out as much as possible. There are always deals to find elsewhere.
Though I disagree that TnT is any sort of price guide (eBay completed listings is the go-to source across the board), everything else Milhouse posted is spot on.
In my city the TCG players go off those prices for current meta cards. No way is TnT an accurate or reputable price guide for older cards, I just mean in-format stuff.
I just use ebay , i tend to buy bulk lots and hope for some winners, or then buy single wants etc too
also In the uk things called bootfairs can be good places to pick up bulk cards, with rares hidden in them however condition won’t always be winning, but it’s more of a buzz when you strike gold with a find as they generally are sold for way undervalue at these
I think I’ll go for both actually! I got a few japanese cards for my birthday from a friend earlier this year, and I’m just in love with the quality. When I got my interest in cards back a few years ago I’ve been buying random boosters (very randomly, just for fun) and when I opened my first booster pack since like…02-03 I was first really disappointed because I thought I SOMEHOW had ended up with fakes. The english cards are much much thinner these days, or is it just me? And IDK if I’m just a nitpick but in some sets cards often look like they’ve been cut sloppily. And I just hate what some holos are doing these days, what with the energy type being scattered all over the cards, looking super messy. I still want the english cards though haha.
Anyway, thanks for all the response and advice guys! I guess I’ll ditch troll and toad when it comes to collecting and only use it for quickly getting cards for actual playing instead. I guess I have to do some ebay research because I have barely ever used it before. (Only thing I ever bought was a Vulpix from the vending machine series way back.) I’m glad I asked you guys first!
Oh and also: what would be a good collectors “starter kit” to have home? I really don’t feel like buying cards and then just have them lying around without protection. I have some ultra pro sleeves that are pretty good. Is it best to keep them sleeved (possibly double sleeved?) in binders, or top loaded in boxes? I have a friend who have a pretty cool homemade box where he keeps his toploaders almost like cd albums in stores. All flippy flippy. (Though I probably won’t do that because flipping through them a lot has made the toploaders a bit scratchy in places, sort of ruining the experience looking at the card. :I
Anyway I read on the board about a really cool toploader binder, but until I get one later on, what would be the best idea to store cards like until then?
Someone already mentioned it in another thread awhile back I think, but the UltraPro Premium binder is an awesome way to store them. www.ebay.com/itm/like/231189889499?lpid=82
If you look around I think you can get one for about $20.
I put my cards in either deck sleeves or penny sleeves then you put those into the sleeves in this binder. Its sized to be stored that way. This is a superior way to protect them rather than the 6 card clear sheets in a standard binder. For really expensive single cards I put them in top loaders or other protection and have them stacked in a separate box with my PSA stuff.
I kind of cheat when I buy bulk I make sure the cards come in an ultra pro one already , or an oldschool pokemon one (not for protection but because it’s pretty awesome)
@guppy, you should seriously consider the Ultra Pro Premium Binders or simply a D-Ring Binder with 9-Pocket Pages. I would stay away from the Top loader binders simply because it is so much plastic to look through when you are in the mood to enjoy your collection. They are also terribly expensive. Those are just my thoughts, based on trying out just about everything on the market. I personally use Ultra Pro Premium Binders and double sleeve every card I store in them. My bulk goes into Ultra Pro plastic boxes and then a typical collector’s cardboard box.
My recommendation as well, I personally use the Black Ultra-Pro Premium binder, it’s great and the leatherette feels nice plus it will offer a degree of protection is for some reason you drop it.
I just realized they added new colors! Purchased a Brown one and a Grey one today, they will take some time to arrive, but IMO buy one!
There’s a bright pink one, but I doubt you’d be interested in that one. lol
BTW I -HIGHLY- recommend you buy some deck-protectors for your cards before you store them, the back of the slots where you place the cards is abrasive and WILL hurt the back of your unprotected cards, this is to help them from slipping from their place.
Buying in bulk saves you some money, this is where I buy them, I think he has other colors too:
For extra protection you can double sleeve them with the pro-fit soft sleeves, basically you sleeve them up with the pro-fit and then you sleeve them inside the deck protectors, that’s how I have them, they’re really cheap to buy.
Thanks for all the info cujucuyo. I didn’t know that had released the other colors. Do you think you really need the doubled protection of the slim sleeve inside the deck protector? Mine are all just one or the other, most are in deck protectors.
You definitely don’t need to double sleeve your cards. I do it so I can take cards out to inspect their condition without actually handling the card. There is a risk with KMC “Perfect-Fit” sleeves, however. It is very easy to nick the corner of a card if you rush to put it inside the sleeve. I double sleeved about 3,000 cards over the past few months and nicked 4-5 inexpensive ones since I was impatient. :\
I totally understanding being OCD about pokemon cards 