Pokémon TCG: Sealed Product - Was it Worth the Hold?
The height of the pandemic led to the largest boost in demand for trading card games, and especially for Pokémon. Collectors, trainers, and flippers alike rushed to grab as much product as possible. Everything from vintage first editions to modern alternate arts became high-profile collectors items.
Some collectors had ideas beyond “catching them all”. Holding onto sealed products for resale had already proven to be lucrative. 2016’s Evolutions had almost no demand when it first came out. Today, a box of that goes for nearly $800.
In these past few years we have seen more bombshell products like Evolving Skies, Celebrations, Shining Fates and much more. Here, we're gonna sort through the biggest flops and victories for holding onto Pokémon TCG sealed product.
Battle styles released on March 19th, 2021. This was in the heat of the pandemic and rise of the TCG boom. On release day prices reached $162.00 but the price wouldn't hold. This set along with many others suffered from the Celebrations Effect. Demand for the Celebrations set was so high that many collectors dumped other products in order to grab up as much as possible. A combination of other more popular sets and a massive overprint from Pokémon cemented this set as a loss. There is no telling where we will be in 3 more years, but for now Battle Styles sits at $117.00 per box.
Chilling Reign did not have any headliners like Charizard and Pikachu. However, it did have a whole lineup of expensive alternate arts. The community agreed $160.00 as a starting price was too high. They learned their lesson and Chilling Reign came into the market at $126.00. The set suffered the same fate that Battle Styles did but the overall better quality of the set sparked a resurgence to bring the value back up. Even though some trainers referred to it as “Chilling Pain” the set returned to $131.00 per booster box. It's safe to say the set was a good investment.
Celebrations was one of the most hyped special sets Pokémon produced. To commemorate 25 years of the Trading card game, Pokémon outdid itself. The cards highlighted the golden age of Pokémon cards. It was a “best of” collection from 2 and a half decades. People wanted this set so bad that they dropped everything else to get their hands on it. Unfortunately, Celebrations also suffered from the Celebrations effect. The demand was so high that Pokémon printed to meet the demand. They went a bit too far and drove the prices down. The Elite Trainer Boxes started and ended at $80.00 It seems like Celebrations will need a little more time to mature.
It should be a surprise to no-one that the big winner is Evolving Skies. The set boasts a record number of alternate arts and other highly sought after cards. The value of the Umbreon VMAX only seems to climb and many other eevee-lution cards follow the trend. On release day the value of a booster box was $140.00 and today the value is at a staggering $331.74. The people holding onto a case of these are laughing to the bank. Even a reprint in July of last year could not stop the climb. The bubble must burst at some point. But for now, the value continues to climb to the moon.
Some products like Brilliant Stars and Silver Tempest will need a bit longer before we can get a read on them. The interest in Pokémon has since dwindled from the mid-pandemic craze but alternate arts like Charizard and Giratina continue to drive interest.
Pokémon hinders its own value by printing so many cards but good products hold their value even in surplus. It seems that sealed product is still a good idea and as Sword and Shield comes to a close reprints of these sets will be a thing of the past. It turns out that Pokémon cards may not be a quick flip (Generally) but dedicated fans and collectors understand their true value.
As always, you can pick up all the sealed product you'd like from Nexgen Games or order it online at pokemonplug.com
