Success in Pokémon Investing: 4 Great Trainer Tips

Pokémon isn’t just the most popular franchise in the world: it’s also a smart investment. Have I bought a car with Pokémon cards? Yes. Have I funded a wedding? Maybe. Bought a house? Not yet, but check back in a few years. That said, there are a few different ways to go about “investing” in this franchise.

If you don’t have access to all the shopping bots or are generally unwilling to camp in front of a store overnight, I know the feeling. It can be daunting when you want to ride the tide, but the vendor you’re looking at has a throne made out of cases he somehow came across and is selling them at a “premium”. Where do you start? How do you start?

Well, I’ve seen local collectors with half a binder put in the effort and have a sizeable booth of their own at a card show. The important thing to remember is that this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Yeah, you can find a $70 box at Walmart and flip it for $200, but that is not a sustainable model. There are three rules I follow that will make investing in Pokémon much more rewarding.

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4) Pick Your favorites

Charizard, Pikachu, Mewtwo. Easy picks, but if you’re not a fan of Magikarp, don’t go all in on Magikarp when a new SIR shows up. I sometimes have cards in my inventory for years, appreciating, but they’re cards I like. It hurts much less when you don’t make a sale when you actually like the cards you’re holding on to.

For instance, when I was first starting out, I began by collecting VS cards. These were Japanese exclusive cards that I hadn’t known existed. I actively bought them in PSA 10 at full market price years ago. It was a fantastic collection, and I only started selling them a few months ago. Selling Karen’s Umbreon covered the majority of expenses, and at this point, it’s all profit.

3) Don’t Buy the Hype

Building on the previous point, this hobby moves at a breakneck pace. It seems like every week, an influencer is hyping up a new card to be the next big thing (they definitely don’t have a binder full of that exact card). Avoiding the hype means looking at a new set and seeing if you personally like it.

The “weakest” set recently was Perfect Order, without any of the top cards people look for. Fans of Meowth, Zygarde, or Clefable would disagree, as Mega Zygarde looks incredible and Clefable has retained much of its value. Despite the public opinion still decrying Perfect Order, it’s still quite difficult to find at the market. Much like the first rule, buy what you like. If you’re lucky, the social algorithm will decide your favorite cards are worth hundreds.

2) Patience Pays

This is the most important of the rules. I’ve had many “investors” approach my booth with sealed cases of the newest set, trying to trade at a percentage for my Sword & Shield era sealed product. They didn’t follow any of these rules. They bought up a ton of over-hyped product, and now they’re trying to flip it into something people actually want. They lacked the patience to let their own product grow. In Pokémon, everything trends upward, especially sealed.

Another example of patience paying off is waiting for the dip. A common trend in the Pokémon market is for a card to be hyped, drop after about 6 months, then climb again. Patiently waiting for that dip helps to ensure you get the card you’re looking for at a realistic price. A caveat here is that some cards, like Pikachu ex, have Hype-armor and only climb.

1) Remember: Success is Subjective

While these tips don’t mean you’ll be driving around in a Pikachu-shaped Volkswagen, they do make it easier to avoid feeling bad moments where you are left holding the bag. This is a hobby, it’s meant to be enjoyed. If the only value they have to you is monetary, you might want to consider the stock exchange.

Did you find these tips helpful? Do you agree or disagree? Are there any other facets of investing that I should focus on? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum! And check our collectibles in the ComicBook Vending Machine!