I’ve been looking at the valuation difference between original Japanese releases and the English expansions that followed. Specifically, I’m curious why the 1999 English versions often command a higher premium than the technical predecessors from 1996 and 1997, the literal DNA from which the global expansion was born.
3 Likes
People in the USA prefer English, and that’s where the largest buyer pool is.
That being said, the most valuable cards in the hobby are Japanese.
35 Likes
I think it’s literally as simple as there is a higher demand for English cards due to there being a higher amount of people who can speak/read it. The only reason I know what Japanese cards say half the time is because I’ve seen or owned an English copy.
5 Likes
Japanese>English>Japanese
23 Likes
“investors” dont know how to read japanese
5 Likes
nostalgia matters
11 Likes
A combination of the nostalgia and market demographics. English speakers may prefer cards that they can read, and English-speaking countries have the largest market presence.
6 Likes
Like others said, nostalgia surely played a role, since people naturally prefer to buy, grade and collect the cards they saw/owned during childhood.
When collecting became more widespread the English market was already well established and it’s the natural choice for anyone approaching the hobby, considering that the chance of them being from an English speaking country or being able to (at least) read english names, is really high.
JP also got the reputation of being the budget alternative, which consolidated it as the less desirable version. And the world essentially decided to agree.
6 Likes
Conditional rarity simps and a holo in every pack after base likely play a role
7 Likes
Funny thing about that is while the general condition of Japanese old back cards is far superior, the centering is abysmal. Definitely not as easy to pull 10s as people think.
6 Likes
My pile of 9s agrees with you
4 Likes
Nostalgia and demand as people have mentioned
That said, the value discrepancy is large. I was buying up Japanese jungle / fossil holo PSA 10s like crazy a few months ago when they were going for sub $200. Didn’t make any sense that a pack would be worth more than the hit graded in a 10
Buying PSA 9 Japanese holos for personal collection is amazing value compared to English. But don’t expect large upticks there
3 Likes
Early Japanese set cards:
Better conditioned, easier to grade
More common to pull holos than wotc, 100% per pack from jungle through end of neo (33% for wotc)
Seen as niche, “foreign”, and less desirable by the western market since inception
Less nostalgic to the west
Limited geographically to japan region
This really means little to nothing for pokemon. It may matter more for sports, but there is really no correlation or concept of “first” in regards to japanese vs english and the price premium. Any attempts at it have been more niche and sometimes not even accurate (topsun).
English does have 1st edition…, but this isnt the thing you are discussing.
Also no rarity exists, but this is just for base and i have a gut feeling 1st ed base still outperforms? It wouldnt support later sets regardless
6 Likes
7 Likes
This was before the age of AI, real deal!
4 Likes
For me personally, I have no attachments to vintage japanese cards cause I grew up with the english counterparts so unless it is a unique art, it isn’t for me. Many people feel this way too and the prices reflect it.
7 Likes
its as simple as that but only e4 can bring this up as a topic every month lol
7 Likes
What’s funny is that no one actually reads the cards.
13 Likes
Was the centering really that bad for everything? I always thought they were stricter, so they were always perfect.
1 Like
I prefer looking at the artwork anyway as well. lol.
4 Likes