Can a Pokémon Card Really Buy You a House?!!!
Growing up in the early 90’s-00’s meant you at least had the chance to obtain the greatest treasures known to a child: Pokémon cards. However; as the game grew there was one card that towered above all the rest. With its fiery breath and wingspan larger than a model 747 this card was what dreams were made of. Some now call him the ‘Zard, but that’s only to the select few that have respected him all these years. If you were lucky enough to obtain the Charizard you may be sitting on a lotto ticket of epic proportions. That is right the 1st Edition Pokémon card known as Charizard might just pay off all your student loans and put a deposit down on a house. You might even be able to get a Lambo!! “Lambo when?”you ask? Lambo now! But if you want to learn more about the Charizard, I implore you to read my brother in laws article explaining the truly magical tale of a young Pokémon trader finally releasing his prized Zard back into the wild world of EBay collectors and consumers.Be wary though as Charizard trading can burn you right to the crisp with the power of its mighty Fire Spin.
That is right the 1st Edition Pokémon card known as Charizard might just pay off all your student loans and put a deposit down on a house.
After helping my brother in law, successfully grade and sell his 1st Edition Pokémon PSA Mint 9 Charizard holographic card for a bountiful sum, the old Pokémon junkie in me awoke from its deep slumber like a great Snorlax in the wild ready to take on the world. My childhood was filled with trips to the comic book store a few minutes from my house. A lovely place called “Time Warp” where I successfully convinced my mom to buy me box after box and pack after pack to obtain all of the holographic cards that could possibly be collected. Hey mom I got an A in class, let’s buy another box. Successful Pokémon trading 101! Pokémon cards for good grades! As time went on and my binder and cases of beautiful 1st Edition Pokémon cards sat safely at my parents house, the unexpected happened. Hurricane Sandy came in and decided to hit Pikachu($3,000,000)Charizard($500,000), Venusaur($70,000) and even Blastoise($150,000)himself with his own finisher: The Hydro Pump! My parents house was flooded and it was game over for my dreams to become the greatest Pokémon trainer in all the land. Pokémon collecting was now dead to me or so I thought.
A few years past and I saw Pokémon cards were now trading for larger sums of money. I died a little more knowing how much money had been lost in that superstorm. All my cards were ruined and gone so why should it matter to me.? Well the unexpected happened, I was hanging with my lovely wife and her family and I stumbled upon the greatest “time warp” in the history of childhood nostalgia. Just like Dr. Strange, I had entered into the collector’s multiverse of madness or rather the guest room of my mother in law’s house! What we began to find in her home was a king’s ransom of collectibles. We found room after room, closet after closet of Mint condition never opened toys from the 1960’s-2000’s as well as binders and binders and binders of Pokémon cards. We began to study the toys one by one. Megazord $200, Barbie’s Townhouse $375, Gargoyles $50/figure. The Pokémon cards though they were still the prized possession.
As we ventured deep into this Alice in Wonderland trip into the previous century we began to realize it wasn’t just the 1st edition cards that had some value. There were the shadowless cards and the error cards, the Japanese pocket monster cards and even brand new releases could be bought and sold each and every day. It was not just a tiny pocket of Pokémon(see what I did there) that could be valuable. It was the decks, the unopened packs, the unopened boxes and the down right obscure.(looking at you Naked Misty’s Tears Japanese Card…if you need to ask you cannot afford it! JK)I began learning the best ways to go about grading the cards. Which companies were the best for grading. Typically PSA and Beckett fetch the most value for your cards. I began to even grade some of the cards that showed wear and use. As long as it was cost effective, I was game for anything.
Looking back on the first trip to PSA I took with my brother in law to get his Prized Charizard graded, I thought at the time I was Professor Oak and he was Ash Ketchum, but instead he might have been Brock and maybe I was Ash. Hell maybe we both were!
This toy/Pokémon business that started as fun and games and nostalgia has slowly morphed into a full fledge business where we aren’t just selling off old inventory, but we are buying up new items as well. If you have Pokémon cards and want to know their values please feel free to reach out so we can offer you guidance. If you want to try and sell your cards, but are hesitant and worried about making mistakes or getting taken advantage of, we have started offering consignment sales to well vetted clients in order to provide the best possible care to them as well as the end consumers.
Want to know what your cards are worth? Click here!
P.S. Gotta Catch ’Em All!
