Found vintage Pokémon Cards in your loft? Here’s what to do next…

In this article, Clive from cardcollector.co.uk shares his expert advice on how to profit from finding your old childhood Pokémon cards.

Over the last few years, there’s one question I get asked time and time again:

“I just found my old Pokémon cards in the loft, are they worth any money?”

In this guide, I’ll help you distinguish whether they have any value and the best possible way to make money from them.

That’s if you want to, of course…

Does nostalgic value mean more to you?

When I found my old childhood cards, the nostalgic value way exceeded any monetary value I could have sold them for.

Opening the first page of that old binder instantly transported me back to my childhood and the buzz I got from pulling holographic cards and trading doubles in the playground.

Often I feel that letting that go for the sake of some cash isn’t worth it.

But there are, of course, exceptions. If they really don’t mean that much to you, or you potentially hold something of significance, selling your old cards can make a lot of sense, especially in today’s financial climate.

So let’s get into it…

How to determine what Pokémon Cards you have

If you’ve rediscovered your old collection, the chances are that the majority of your cards will date from 1999 to 2003. This is known as the ‘Wizards of the Coast’ era, as this is the company that printed them before Nintendo took over.

The first ever set is known as Base Set, and was swiftly followed by Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket and a few others.

The majority of old collections I see contain cards from Base Set, as this is what most people went crazy for all those years ago!

Your cards will also have a symbol on them to help you identify which set they’re from.

If you need help identifying your cards and what set they belong to, I’ve created these handy references below:

• See here for a complete Pokemon card set list from 1999 to the present day
• See here for a complete set symbols list

Recent history of the Pokémon Card market

Now that you know what cards you have let’s lay the groundwork so you can better understand the current market situation…

In 2020, when people were stuck at home, a lot of people rediscovered their own Pokémon card collections.

As soon as people realised they were actually worth a few quid, the market heated up massively. As Pokémon card collecting hit mainstream media, prices continued to spiral out of control.

People had lots more disposable income to play with, but a lack of understanding of what actually makes a card valuable caused many people to buy at overinflated prices. This was great for sellers but terrible for buyers!

Fast-forward a few years, and the Pokémon card market has stabilised. This is why many people think they have super valuable collections when, in fact, they’re really not worth a great deal.

I just wanted to lay the foundation to manage your expectations before we get into the specifics.

How to determine if your Pokémon Cards have value

Now that’s out of the way, let’s get specific!

The main factors that determine Pokémon card values are:

• Card rarity
• Card condition
• Character popularity

Card rarity

The following factors will make cards more valuable:

• Cards that are labelled as rare and are, therefore, hard to pull from packs. These cards will have a small star, usually in the bottom right-hand corner
• Holographic cards
• 1^st Edition cards. These are cards that are produced in the very first print run of a particular set
• They will be distinguished by a 1^st Edition stamp on the card
• Cards with a limited print run or special promotional cards
• Cards won as competition prizes
• Misprinted cards or error cards. See here for this wonderfully detailed complete list of known errors

Card condition

The following factors will make cards more valuable:

• Cards that are free from scratches, bends, edge whitening, print imperfections or other blemishes
• Cards that have been graded by an established company and given a score out of 10 for their condition will also affect the value. See here for a detailed guide on Pokémon card grading

Character popularity

The following factors will make cards more valuable:

• Charizard cards are by far the most sought-after amongst collectors (see the latest eye-watering Charizard auction values here)
• Other characters such as Pikachu, Blastoise, Venusaur and Mew are highly desirable too

How to determine the current values of your Pokémon Cards

So now you understand the key principles that affect values, it’s time to highlight the cards in your collection that you think may be worth something.

Once you’ve done that, we’re going to head over to eBay and do some research.

Type in the name of the card in question:

• e.g. 1999 Pokemon Base Set Charizard

Then, on the left-hand side of the eBay search results, you can filter for ‘Sold Items’. As long as the condition of your card matches what the sold card looks like, you now have a decent indication of its current value.

Do this for every card you wish to sell, add them up, and there you have it – the approximate value of your collection!

A word on Pokémon Card grading

As I referenced earlier, you can send your cards off to established companies to grade your card. This means they’ll assess the condition of your card, give it a score out of 10, and encapsulate it in plastic to safely preserve it.

By doing so, you can potentially add significant value to your card – if it scores highly.

For example, a 1999 Base Set Charizard graded a 9 by PSA (the world’s leading card grader and my top recommendation) sells for approximately £1k. Whereas the same card graded a 10 can fetch around £10k.

This is why card grading has gained huge popularity in recent years. For the right cards, it can seriously increase the value.

PSA is based in the United States, but I use a trusted middleman service here in the UK called Ark Grading if should you choose to go down this route.

Wrapping up

I hope you’ve found this guide useful in determining what cards you have and if they’re worth money.

Remember, though, that the key takeaway is that the market isn’t as hot as it was a few years ago, so don’t expect a huge windfall unless your cards tick all the boxes for rarity, condition, and desirability.

Thanks for reading!