Sports Card investors flock to sealed Pokémon as prices soar.

[@adrianacev7579]

It's the most miserable fucking time to be an actual collector.

[@testit1902]

I'm not so sure about that. If you have some years under your belt you probably have a fair bit of singles and sealed that you don't need that you can make great money on. If you are a real collector just look where the new money isn't. Selling pokemon go singles into this hype and buying gold stars or tag teams or illustration rare. Is the way. Your right it may be hard to rip packs, so you may have to evolve to take advantage of the opportunity.

[@thomas_o]

There's more to Pokemon TCG than what most other collectors see (whether they collect, sports cards, comics, etc.). Pokemon is an actually TCG that many people/kids play. PCI (Pokemon Company International) are also constantly getting new people into the cards by creating things like Pokemon Pocket. And people can actually win a considerable amount of money at TCG tournaments (I think there are some that play the game full-time for a living). You won't read about Pikachu in the news because he pulled a gun on someone. Charizard's career won't be over because because he had an ACL injury. Bulbasaur isn't going to get in trouble for using performance enhancers and/or illegal substances. Eevee isn't going to judge you for your political, personal, and/or religious opinions. Gengar isn't going to be the #1 draft out of college, only to go to one of the worst teams in the league, then is seen as a disappointment, and is eventually forgotten. No one is betting which Pokemon will be the next Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, or Shohei Ohtani (what happened to Mike Trout? Oh wait, that's the point). And people/kids actually trade the cards for other Pokemon cards. I hardly ever see sports cards being traded for other sports cards, and that may be partly because everyone including males, females, children, adults, buy/trade/collect, Pokemon cards, whereas sports cards are mostly an adult male hobby (I said mostly). When it comes to serialized/numbered cards, autographed cards (there are some special cards out there that have facsimile autos, and I think there are some autographed tournament and staff cards), memorabilia cards, PCI hasn't had to do that yet. Magic the Gathering has and Dragon Ball Super is going to have serialized cards (if not already), but Pokemon hasn't had the need to do it. But if they do, it would probably make them even more in demand and that would be crazy. When it comes to the sealed boxes, there are a lot of Pokemon collectors that actually collect the sealed products. How many sports card enthusiasts actually collect sealed product?

[@scottbalcarcel3224]

I own a card shop in Tennessee. Pokemon is now 30% of my sales and climbing. As of Jan 1, we no longer have hockey, soccer or racing singles in any showcase. We have 3 cases of baseball, 3 cases of football, 1/2 case basketball and 2 1/2 cases for pokemon. Have 70 cases of Prismatic ETBs on order and don't think it will be enough.

[@NEO_Cards_Comics]

What are you selling cases for?

[@scottbalcarcel3224]

@@NEO_Cards_Comics we'll be at market price. I already know we will be allocated, hearing major allocations hitting shops. We order from 3 different suppliers. 50 cases with one, 10 cases each with the other two. One of the smaller suppliers has already told us we are only getting 18 boxes out of the 100 ordered (10 cases)

[@NEO_Cards_Comics]

@@scottbalcarcel3224what’s your shop if I need stuff I will keep you guys in mind?

[@Vse8311]

Bandwagon sellers gonna lose a lot of money. If you don't follow this market close you will be toast

[@MichaelIp]

Agree. People jumping into the Pokemon market who have no idea what they're doing will overpay for trash and be left holding it when it corrects.

[@johnnypopsicle]

Can't be worse than sports where the cards have no value because of breaking. MSRP needs to go back on boxes and scalping needs to be stopped. Legally limiting the resell markup like a concert ticket used to be is what needs to be done. If this country paid livable wages we wouldn't have 90% douchebags doing breaks and scamming on whatnot

[@johnnypopsicle]

​@@MichaelIppokemon doesn't work like sports. The new one out is limited and in demand that's all they need to know and it actually has collectors who play the game. Unlike sports cards which has pushed the collector away so some douchebags can open all the packs and not pay anything

[@MichaelIp]

@@johnnypopsicle I know how pokemon works. I've been collecting it for years. Many of these new people will be buying overpriced older sets or trash gift boxes and tins from Target and they won't be able to make much off those. PC ETBs and Booster boxes are king. If you were new you wouldn't neccesarily know how to get those and which older sets to buy.

[@NyCardConnect]

I would rather buy a Pokemon box than 99 percent of sports card boxes. I think a lot of sport collectors found out how cheap Pokemon boxes are relative to sports card boxes and dove in.

[@gsquared.collectibles8392]

Breakers conduct breaks all the time in Facebook Group. Its based off the typing. Electric/Water/Psychic/Grass, etc. Usually there is a Trainer spot as well.

[@jayguiliano2310]

when everyone does the same thing, it's typically not a terrible idea to do the contrarian thing - 12 billion cards produced last year (ending march 2024) - up from 9 billion (ending march 2023)

[@mattv2099]

and most are rippped. those left holding the rare sealed product are the winners.

[@gohana3434]

TCG stores are low on product. The scalpers are on the street off property selling boxes. Insane

[@portalmasterry6765]

I came from a convention yesterday that was not about cards, the sellers are out of product. At the rate they are selling, there will be no supply of the previous and older sets in 2 months. With all the interest in the latest sets, you have a perfect storm of insane demand and low supply. Prepare for pandemic level mania 2.0 in 2025. Keep in mind 2026 is pokemon's 30th anniversary and with the next 3 sets looking to be banger sets, the hype should last until late 2026 to early 2027. The question is how HIGH are we looking at in terms of gains!

[@gohana3434]

@ this scalper Raul says evolving skies will now be 7k by June and fusion strike 4-5k 😳

[@alexmathewmendoza]

I vividly remember 2021 peak of the card hype watching grown adults snipe all the Pokémon off shelves and no kids were able to get any of it. It would certainly be interesting to see that happen again.

[@johnnypopsicle]

No kids can afford anything cards. When I was a kid it was marketed and priced for kids. Now because of inflation and low wages we have flippers and breakers who buy all the products and triple the price. These aren't people that are pickers and reselling. They are scalpers. Something everyone used to hate. Price for a kid is change not hundreds

[@RossSlots]

Dozens of CT Scanners disappeared off the market when the pokemon story broke After they scan their inventory, they will need more

[@thetoystorecardscollectibl1797]

In the COVID bubble, it was largely vintage Pokémon That was going crazy, especially sealed and big time Rare cards. Now the population counts be damned... Modern alt arts and SIRs to the moon. The graded singles market is equally bananas. Cards are doubling from 250 to 500 in a week (Crown Giratina,etc) Moonbreon from 1300 to 3000 in 4 weeks. Fusion gengar from 550 to 1350 in 3 weeks. These big altarts are driving the wax price even higher. Crazy times... But we've seen crazy times before.Be very careful.We know how this stuff works.

[@Eclipse_Cards]

Pokémon is insane lately but I have slowly transitioned from 90% sports cards to 90% Pokémon over the last 3 years. The prices are lower, it is more consistent, there aren’t a million parallels, don’t have to worry about player performance and it is only growing. PE will be impossible to find in the wild at msrp, the hype is already through the roof

[@Shelton_47]

I feel a big big portion of this spike is also sports price cost and sports people realize the value isn’t there with sports and there moving over to Pokemon.

[@jeffreyhammack3557]

Topps has destroyed modern with the hundreds of parallels per player. This makes collecting modern pointless for me. Pokemon will be king for the next 25 years

[@JohnZBaeZ]

Pokémon Center ETB is very collectible, sealed. All for the kid's collection. Us parents should buy them for the kids

[@dom19945]

Ah, buy in after the spike. Smart. I honestly hate the greed monsters riddling all card markets right now.

[@Staymad91]

Well it was fun while it lasted. RIP to holding pokemon. I wouldn't hold anything this year now that everyone and their grandma are "holding sealed pokemon"

[@extrazoom]

if anything the opposite is true, anyone who is holding pokemon right now is in a great position. RIP to those trying to enter a new position though.

[@Staymad91]

@extrazoom I agree. That's why i said "this year" I wouldn't hold anything. Older products are fine

[@extrazoom]

@@Staymad91 gotcha I misunderstood that part.

[@johnnypopsicle]

They aren't holding on to it. ETB is a display box. It's like everything else, those with money see what is popular among those that have no money than buy up the supply and price gouge. Most people can't afford basic bills, the card game has been taken over by douchebags with carnival games and don west and Ken Goldin scam selling. I wouldn't hold anything sports sealed, I would definitely hold on to my sealed collection of ETBs

[@Wafthrudnir]

"Everyone is holding sealed Pokemon" has been said for many years now. Go check the sentiment in e.g. late 2021 - sealed investing was "dead". "Modern will never climb in value." At the beginning of 2022 you could buy sets like Lost Origin and Fusion Strike significantly below MSRP, which have since trippled or even quadrupled in price. If the claim that "everyone was holding" had been true, this hardly would have happened. The reality is that no one can judge how much is held or how much demand there will be in the future. For better or worse.

[@Gonzo.2]

As a sports card collector, Id have infinite more confidence in pokemon than sports cards. Worrying about player performance, health, off field issues etc is getting exhausting,

[@thereverendripps1733]

151 is a prime example of what you are talking about. Evolving Skies IS the modern grail

[@Hoosierdaddyjones812]

I wouldn't buy any loose packs from anywhere now. Now that anyone can pull all the hits without opening them.

[@Trashton]

People don't realize just how many of these "hits" exist. Once the market inevitably comes down from these insane spikes, modern hits will take a massive drop in value. For example, charizard ex sir from 151 (the chase card) has had over 30,000 copies graded by psa and over 11,000 in a psa 10. Sealed may be a different story but I also don't think that is sustainable.

[@settyg]

Interesting stats, def a lot of hype around the modern stuff.

[@iMixMaSteR1]

Hits yes but the sealed product is diminishing everyday

[@Gonzo.2]

It's all completely relative. if the total collector base explodes then the reality is the pop counts may not be that huge relative to the people searching for those specific cards

[@s0ur_dee]

So let’s say there’s 11000 psa 10s..but we have a million people who wants it..wouldn’t that make it a 1% chance of having that card? Or am I bugging

[@mattv2099]

2025 and 2026 are shaping up to be insane in pokemon. Team rocket set. Black and White special set to replace 151. Along with Black And White video game remake. Legends ZA video game with new megas. Legendz ZA tcg sets. Then 30th anniversary. then generation 10... some monster bombs upcoming.

[@Brewdog-e8p]

Make sure to watch out for the fact that it’s super easy to weigh individual packs knowing which one has full art hits and which doesn’t and now a newer method came out, where you use a metal water pipe finder to swipe over the pack and it will beep letting you know if it has a hit inside so rip and this won’t last long unless people just like being an taken And burning money

[@junkiedunkieslabs]

Should do a follow up on CGA they selling repacks on their site now

[@danielginsburg9558]

Vintage baseball cards are equally bubble-like with dealers charging exorbitant prices for cards that look like they were run over by a car a few times. I think I need a new hobby!

[@MichaelIp]

It'll be fun watching all these people thinking they're just going to jump into the Pokemon market and make a ton of money. Then seeing them buy at the top and see the bottom falling out. I've been collecting sealed Pokemon for years and at the end of the day if what I have drops in value, I don't care because I still like it. I'm not looking for quick flips. Just like in 2021, all we have to do is wait a bit until all these newcomers can't take losses any more and then buy up their fire sales.

[@Teacherguy06]

I stopped buying sports card sealed boxes 3 years ago because of the price. I wanted to collect something, so I turned to buying Pokémon cards. And similarly, just bought a box or two of each set. Im twenty boxes in and tripled my money and don't know why!

[@Brewdog-e8p]

Make sure to watch out for the fact that it’s super easy to wait individual packs knowing which one has foil and which doesn’t and now a newer method of guy came out with where you use a metal pipe finder to swipe over the pack and it will beep letting you know if it has a hit inside so rip and ship should not last long unless people just like being an taken And burning money.

[@johnphipps3287]

I like collecting Pokemon ETB's but don't expect to make money on my collection.

[@Brewdog-e8p]

Seriously, Phyllis, do not buy individual loose packs. Please only let yourself buy sealed confirmed, legitimate product. Rule of thumb for sword and shoulder packs if they’re not 32 g or more you don’t wanna buy that pack that’s based off an individual pack not with the packaging paper and stuff.

[@808trades]

Wait till pe comes out ship and rip gonna be charging 25 a pack

[@zandbandw]

$30+ would not surprise me.

[@HarriTheBear]

How do we feel about Fanatics Fest being a catalyst for developing increased end users in sports cards?

[@juhosevic]

Also adding to the prismatic evolution hype .. there are hundreds of videos of people pulling god packs from terestal festival adding to the hype. Art is actually amazing and you get the set of eevolutions- arguably the most popular evolutionary line of pokemon alt arts.

[@whynot7019]

Like others have said on here ..Breakers have been doing box/ case breaks of Pokemon on Fanatics Live for over a year now .. They do it by the Energy ..for the most part.

[@Hoochly]

Thanks Rudy. 😅

[@ThePersonalPokedex]

Evolving skies at release was close to $125 .. but this is blowing covid out of the water

[@Staymad91]

@@ThePersonalPokedex and it was 100 after the reprints

[@thereverendripps1733]

I made the switch to more Pokemon than sports. Each set is 1 set. Sports multiple sets. Collectors make this market different than sports. Attend a Collecta-Con and you will see the difference and breakers in Pokemon has arrived. Rip and ship.

[@ryanra44]

I’ll stick to my smaller but healthier (compared to football & basketball) baseball market. I looked into the Pokémon market early 2023. I just don’t have any interest in it. I would rather collect baseball and invest in the stock market. Cool that you are seeing gains though

[@Gonzo.2]

i collect baseball, i'm not convinced at all that the market is healthy.

[@ryanra44]

@ I think the market is much healthier than basketball and football. Vintage has always had a strong following that has never changed. The most elite players in today’s game (Soto, Ohtani, Judge, Gunnar, Witt, etc) have maintained Value and have gone up at reasonable rates according to their performances. The market has corrected since the COVID boom/bust from 2020-2022. Football and basketball are still seeing really crazy spikes and most cards still going down at massive rates. Also in football the entire release is always about a handful of QBs and that’s it. In baseball there are lots of players that hold value in most releases

[@Gonzo.2]

@@ryanra44 eh. i agree with some of what you say but I worry about the overally market reaction to the basebasll sets and parallels. In pokemon the collectors love the art work that people are chasing, in baseball almost every hobbyists hates these random parallels.But the market is for sure more healthy than basketball and football. There's also players who perform that see no increase in value which drives me crazy lol

[@ryanra44]

@ yeah I’m not comparing baseball to Pokémon at all. I just have an interest in it. But it’s definitely healthier than football and basketball.

[@ryanra44]

@ it is crazy some players perform really well and didn’t see spikes. I think that has a lot to do of the over inflated prices during Covid. If players have back to back big seasons, the market tends to shift rapidly

[@Hectekk]

So NEO, what places do you recommend for pre-buying sealed Pokemon? Release the info my man.

[@NEO_Cards_Comics]

I get everything local

[@Staymad91]

@@Hectekk stick to what you know my guy. Dont follow trends you know nothing about

[@JeffreyBeckerPhotographs]

Great video. I personally love the Pokémon content even through I’m not a collector. We’re all part of the same ecosystem!

[@pk3739]

Should you not sell a lot of your position while it’s at the top? Isn’t this the time you’ve been holding for?

[@vernoncarey5971]

I don't really understand Pokemon but one advantage is that it is world wide interest not just US sports. However, I don't believe the cards are serial numbered? and no autos, so seems to be more of a 'buy the stocks that don't pay dividends' type of thing, the value of what you buy is only what the next guy is willing or not willing to buy, not in what you are actually buying in the box. I don't think any Charizards (sp?) win MVPs or score TDs or hit HRs...

[@Staymad91]

@@vernoncarey5971 they also dont tear ACLs, beat wives and dittle children

[@JPW-336]

What do you think sports card manufacturers can learn from this success? Maybe release fewer sets/brands and put more effort into those sets? Has the alarm sounded at Fanatics that money is leaving Sports Cards for these “cheap” mega mass produced TCG cards?

[@JDubKillinKicks]

I remember when you first bought them booster cases well played. I was like Lost Origins I don’t know but Giratina to the moon.

[@AtomicZombieAndroid]

you are really good at collecting dollars

[@averagejoe7638]

Just wait until you guys find out about the new stuff! Can't wait to cash out. I'm already doubling my money every other month. I will 100x my money when yall figure out the new stuff😂😂. Can't wait!!!!

[@billyworks3702]

This is by far the single best video you have ever made.

[@NEO_Cards_Comics]

Why lol

[@billyworks3702]

@ your roast of Dustin’s new channel for starters. I thought the exact same thing when I saw it and did t even realize it was a different channel at first 😂😂😂. Second for seeing and getting ahead of the big boom when it wasn’t a popular move to make on the sports side.

[@fliplife67]

People’s greed is now going to ruin a kids card game.

[@iMixMaSteR1]

It’s not a kids game. The people that made this brand what it is to today are all 30+

[@fliplife67]

@ really U know 30 plus years old playing this game.

[@iMixMaSteR1]

@@fliplife67 the game of investing? Yes.

[@fliplife67]

@ Hopefully whatever they do buy that Pokemon won’t reprint once reprinted the boxes will go down!!!!!

[@iMixMaSteR1]

@@fliplife67 Spoiler: It won't

[@brandonmetro7115]

Pokemon cards are pictures of Beanie babies.

[@FromTheBenchYT]

If Beanie Babies had been around for 25 years with video games, TV series, movies, merch etc and was a long time multi billion dollar company. Ya same thing lol

[@zandbandw]

Anon TCG discord, among others, have a really good feel for where the market is going. Imo, there is no reason the rocket will come back to earth any time soon.

[@216youknow]

Great video. Sealed collector here. I have no interest in selling or ripping. I can only imagine what this is gunna look like in a year. !!!! The whole thing is nuts. NN is a great channel and I love the rip and ship videos. I trust in Alex.

[@TheSportsCardDad]

ahahaha it's a signal man, we're at the top! lol

[@mots9176]

Covid sports cards just had much much bigger multipliers. Doubling your spend in Pokémon is crazy for Pokémon, but that wasn’t even the increase in base cards when it comes to sports cards. And Pokémon cards have such a capped ceiling with no new exciting chases like debut patches, etc that get whipped up out of nowhere so I don’t see excitement lasting. People are dipping their toes but I think they’ll find the water is just lukewarm at best. Definitely still seeing more eyeballs peering at the sports cards than the Pokémon cards at the Midwest shows I go to as well. Fun to be in a market that has some fun new buzz though regardless, so enjoy! And also maybe sell soon!

[@portalmasterry6765]

Pokemon does not need to introduce fancy chases because what they are offering is enough. Also the general love for the cards, the sets and the hobby is universal. People do not understand that pokemon and the TCG has a lot to offer to anyone in the hobby. New young, old, vintage, specific pokemon type collector. The other thing that people will never understand is Pokemon collectors collect without a care in the world. Majority of folks do not care about the et, the hype, the popularity, the prices, etc. They collect because it makes them universally happy and as long as they have the money for it they will spend it on Pokemon.

[@card_vibe6800]

Seeing Dustin post daily content about it was the only signal I needed to see. Seriously though we are entering the last year of the S&V era and Pokemon usually puts out the best sets towards the end of the era, so yeah buckle up and enjoy the ride!

[@lowrollerscratcher3563]

Watch out crypto bitcoin, dogecoin and new memecoin going up crazy in 2025. The same people making money in Pokémon mostly likely using their profits to buy dogecoin, bitcoin and crypto later this year.

[@paulnicholson5937]

Just a pump and dump, let it all crash, there is tons of cheap quality stuff for the collector, avoid and boycott flippers or "investors", try to buy as little unopen out of year product, meaning only buy new if you buy wax or just buy the singles, you as a collector will be miles ahead on quality spending of your money and we shaft the hoarders looking only to make a buck off denying or upsetting the hobbyists.