I Tried To Profit From 100 Pokémon Card Packs

Hello everyone! Thanks for watching my video! I am a small business owner that mainly sells Pokémon cards and video games. If you ever have any questions on running a Pokémon business, feel free to reach out to me via email or on discord.
In this video, I tried to profit opening 100 Brilliant Stars Booster Packs. The results were definitely worth watching and understanding. Running a Pokémon business takes effort and it isn't always sunshine and rainbows when you sell Pokémon cards. Opening Pokémon Cards is an essential part of the hobby, but if you run a business, you need to make the trade off between fun and profitability. This video does just that, showing there can be a healthy mix of both.
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[@highlander758]

I realized a while ago that I probably won’t be making money from opening packs and selling on TCG. I like to keep the hits that I personally like and sell everything else to supplement my hobby even at a loss.

[@TheLabTCG]

That's a good thing to realize!

[@EcksDeeee]

What about grading good looking cards though? Like that Arceus V you pulled is $70 - $80 PSA 10, not to say it is common to get a PSA 10 quality but still.

[@TheLabTCG]

You could grade them, just not something I do atm.

[@Mendez10is888]

I wonder what the numbers would look like if you send the 34 hit cards for grading. It would definitely depend on the grade you receive, but if they all come back in 9s or 10s since they were pack fresh do you think you would turn a profit?

[@TheLabTCG]

Interesting video idea. I might have to give this a try. I would imagine the profit would be higher, but for more effort. Could be worth it.

[@PokeSteve69]

i gotta say man, you look great! i was rewatching the TCGplayer tips videos (can never have enough knowledge!) you look like a completely different person! Love the content man you helped me get started and still keep going!

[@TheLabTCG]

Thanks a ton

[@Coolangel214]

This was a great video. Thank you for finding the time to do this for us. I appreciate it.

[@TheLabTCG]

My pleasure!

[@williamblack6233]

That had to be fun pulling that arceus though

[@TheLabTCG]

It was super fun!

[@krakenthrottle2199]

It's not profitable to open sealed product most of the time. If it were profitable people would buy up all the packs and the price would inflate. Any packs with anything close to potential to be profitable will sell out entirely in 2-3 days and scalpers will be the only ones left selling. If they print more to make up for the demand then the value of chase cards decreases because the supply outpaces the demand. Generally speaking the chances of turning a profit even getting great prices direct from suppliers is slim.

[@cduran82]

Great video. I would have liked to see the profit of selling the sealed product considering the same fees and shipping costs etc.

[@TheLabTCG]

Great suggestion!

[@GustavoSanchez-ic3ok]

Great video as always. Question? Is it better to have a eBay person selling account or business account?

[@TheLabTCG]

Ebay business account for sure. Overtime, as you start to sell more and more, it becomes much more relevant.

[@GustavoSanchez-ic3ok]

@@TheLabTCG hm okay thanks for replying keep up the great content.

[@Swillo]

Opening packs for the business has to be seen from a different perspective besides raw profit. Having singles can get people in the door for buying other things (yeah of course you could just buy other singles possibly cheaper, but maybe when a set is new you can get an established collection faster opening), and it also makes for great social media advertising to show off hot singles. Also when a set is new and prices are a bit inflated you can def make your money back more easily. This video is amazing though and it def shows that opening for profit is not a great idea in general. I think opening is only good for strategies bigger and broader than profit (common for companies to take losses on some things intentionally just because it could create marketing and advertising booms that make up for it in the long run. Of course this also probably makes way more sense if you're running a store front for example rather than just an online business. Lot of variables at the end of the day, but bottom line is that you should always have a specific strategy for why you are opening product for a business rather than doing it for making money.

[@TheLabTCG]

Great comment. I think opening packs is best saved for B&Ms. If social media is a big strategy for an ecommerce business, I think that is fine, but it can get really expensive. Thanks for the discussion.

[@CurdBros]

If you consider Pokémon an investment than you will definitely always be disappointed. It's a game for fun for most people. As soon as someone starts to treat it as an investment that will likely take a lot of the fun away. Part of that fun is opening the packs. I personally consider Pokémon a hobby and fun to share with my kids who love it. For any business adding a bunch of risk is obviously a problem so opening packs is a road to closing a business. If you don't run a card shop or business, just enjoy the hobby and open packs if you love it and can afford it. If you run a business then you get to be the one that gets the profit from other opening the packs :).

[@TheLabTCG]

Good viewpoint

[@PokemonFamClub]

I wonder if the results would be better with a larger sample size, like 1000 packs, and also if Booster boxes were used, possibly giving a better spread. Also, I'm surprised that $3.40 is your price point on packs... there's no margin for you on a $25 tin. If the distributor charged you $100 for a booster box, then you'd be getting the packs at a sub $3 price point. Really appreciate the work you did putting together the true cost of selling here.

[@TheLabTCG]

With a larger sample size the results would probably better. I believe this is a main business strategy for B&Ms. Distribution is a nice thing to have, but it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. This is a good example of some of the things you need to purchase to get more booster boxes. My new cost on boxes is approx $95.50, so the $3 per pack is close enough what it would be. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@TachibanaTengoku]

@@TheLabTCG I think the only reason B&Ms can get away with opening product is purely because of inflated pre-release pricing and high 1st day pricing as well, on top of being able to charge near TCGP pricing in store to locals and pay no fees on it. Then obviously on top of that they're getting significantly better pricing than your average consumer can get, so it's basically a bunch of positives that barely make it profitable for them to do it at all.

[@noahlee1480]

Crown zenith would, but the prices for cards are going down.

[@TheLabTCG]

Possibly, still very luck based.

[@thatclassysheep1244]

Great video. Please do a video on how to market yourself in an over saturated market I’m having that issue right now it would be cool to learn about and acknowledge the state of Pokémon. It’s pretty difficult to break into the scene right now

[@TheLabTCG]

Good idea. My answer is social media. But before I make that video, question for you. Would you consider my channel a successful attempt at marketing myself? If yes, it is worth making a video.

[@thatclassysheep1244]

@@TheLabTCG id say so. I would just say that not everyone in this business would use their channel specifically for educating. And if everyone did the same thing you did it would cause more problems for you since there’s more competition/saturation. I know in my area there’s like one or two stores and a few independent operations that have a monopoly over the local space. And there’s a lot of people trying to start a business. People don’t really have a reason to choose me. Online there’s even more so when you price competitively there’s just gonna be a lot of people doing the exact same thing you’re doing. I find it difficult to find product locally because every time I see a listing on Facebook or something it’s another person trying to do it as a side hustle. Basically the exact thing I’m doing. At least in my area the saturation is really bad. Id say your channel is good because it’s niche is handling Pokémon business issues that people like me often face. So I come back to look through your vids when I need to know stuff and make plans in my head. Haven’t actively tried doing real business stuff in a while because school and work was just too much but as summer approaches I’ll have more time so I’m getting back into it and planning it out in my head.

[@austin4829]

What is your eBay name? I don’t buy in TCG but I buy a ton off ebay

[@TheLabTCG]

Thelabtcg. Don't have anything listed at the moment.

[@markmagnolia]

Yeah right 😂

[@TheLabTCG]

I know, I can't believe it!

[@yodakazam]

Isnt this obvious? Why would card shops sell packs if they could just open them to profit? The only way this works out is if you find top 3 card in the set and you can grade it out high. Not worth trying

[@thegolden_fish9600]

Well I believe you should set a limit of 250 packs to open then sell the seal packs of the certain series

[@TheLabTCG]

Maybe, larger sample sizes are better. Personally not for me

[@WizardoftheGhost]

How many code cards or bulk would u hold untill u sell for a beginner seller? I have like 250 code cards. Should I wait for more? Really like ur videos btw.

[@ExcaliburTTP]

i sell at around 200

[@TheLabTCG]

Depends on what you are looking to get out of it. I would say just getting started is the most important even if you end up losing money. Learning mistakes early and trying if it makes sense for you are good things to figure out. No specific quantity

[@christianwilliams5446]

I usually just use my hits for trade in value for more cards or singles that I need to finish a deck. My Mewtwo v star/ Gardevoir ex deck is finally complete

[@TheLabTCG]

Nice! This is a great strategy :)

[@christianwilliams5446]

@@TheLabTCG thanks man

[@riverside4x4]

U Ment to hold onto them for a few years and value goes up

[@user-xn5wb4nb8c]

try to make BGS grading for them and check what profit will be

[@TheLabTCG]

I might do that

[@RealCore1]

Pokémon company is trolling with these packs ☹️

[@TheLabTCG]

Big time lmaooo

[@FindingCharizard]

Great video mate! Your nailing it👍🔥

[@TheLabTCG]

Thank you 🙌

[@ChengAhLang]

what about wholesale cases and opening for profit?

[@TheLabTCG]

For me, wholesale cases would come to around $2.66 per pack. Still would not clear the investment hurdle.

[@yeezhernng4645]

It's all luck mate

[@TheLabTCG]

Yessir

[@pixitales5017]

Also the terrible quality control: dings, scuffing, white spots etc lower the value of the cards

[@TheLabTCG]

Absolutely, so many cards come out of the pack as LP.

[@untouchedpoke]

Buying from Facebook marketplace and listing the cards should be more of a profit than opening new packs in my opinion

[@TheLabTCG]

Definitely is.

[@thegolden_fish9600]

Just to say u looking great bro

[@TheLabTCG]

I appreciate that!

[@TachibanaTengoku]

Yeah this is why I stopped opening up Pokemon entirely. It's not fun burning over 60% of my money, no matter how fun cracking packs is. I will stick to Bandai card games where you actually get more like 80% of your buy in price at a minimum.

[@TheLabTCG]

Facts. Big L from a profitability standpoint.

[@bennyc365]

that umbreon my god!!

[@TheLabTCG]

Super nice card, it was a fun time opening the packs, I just don't completely know what is out there so it was refreshing to see some stuff I was unfamiliar with.

[@untouchedpoke]

Excellent video will !

[@TheLabTCG]

Thank you very much!

[@DriverrevirD]

Give me 100 packs and I’ll do better, I promise xoxo

[@TheLabTCG]

That's what they all say! LMAO

[@NAVI7x]

Another amazing video.

[@TheLabTCG]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@PokeSharkYT]

This is really not what the hobby is about. It's supposed to be about having fun and adding to your collection. Not turning a profit. Making off the hobby isn't bad. you can grade or sell sealed product but I just hate seeing people only talking about the value of the cards.

[@TheLabTCG]

Disagree, the hobby is about whatever the enjoyers of the hobby want it to be about. I just happen to love pokemon and finance at the same time. Closer to the end of the video, I give an explanation that opening packs is good for fun.

[@atifmaqvlogs8357]

Can u tell me which distributors is best to work with in amaozon and resell it on my own website ?

[@TheLabTCG]

Any of the ones on Pokemon's approved distributors list will work.