TCG_Atlas

@Tortugo Exactly what I do is I just buy sealed promos. I think they're actually fun to collect and also the sealed element makes me feel more comfortable buying them for some reason.

One day will be worth accumulating so many promo cards In the mean while we keep accumulating useless card board

@NickyScanz The answer is almost certainly not but on the other hand....

Should I rip it?

@pointmash I wish that more people would use, or at least try, CGC. I think they have some of the nicest actual slabs and also the Pristine 10 is such a nice extra chase. They have pretty cheap grading with quick turnaround times.

Off to CGC

PSA has the worst slabs, longest turnaround, and highest prices in the grading market. CGC, BGS, ACE — all objectively better in multiple ways. Yet PSA will always dominate Pokémon grading. Why? Because card show vendors won't touch anything else. And when resale value is the only thing that matters, nobody's going to grade with a company that gets you 30% less on a sale. It's not about quality. It's never been about quality. PSA is a monopoly held together by vendor bias and resale culture.

Unpopular opinion: card shows are a terrible place to actually buy Pokémon cards. Vendors price everything at or above eBay sold listings or at PSA graded prices for raw cards. Trade-ins are worse. You're getting 70-80% of what your card is actually worth. The only real reason to go is to look at cool cards. And honestly? That's enough.

The main reason for this is you can buy fractional shares of stocks so it's easier to enter and you can just click a few buttons on an app and you're done. The level of wealth that has been made from Pokémon cards is something we will never see again. Even if I just looked at what I spent £500 on back in 2019 it would be 20k worth of stuff now consider the people who were spending thousands a month just collecting

MANY Polemon cards are worthless. Only a few are valuable and to get Jem, you need to rip a ton of booster packs which costs a lot, or you need to spend a lot of money to buy the card… unlike for stocks, gold, and silver. I love Pokémon, but it's not an asset class!

Modern Pokémon grading is mostly a formality now. Pull it, sleeve it, send it — odds are it comes back a 10. Pokémon Center ETB promos are the exception. N's Zekrom promo: 507 graded, only 24 PSA 10s. A 4.7% gem rate. One just sold for $7,100. The last real grading challenge left in modern.

I just really like that they're so hard to grade that it's actually a challenge whereas with most cards you can buy like five different copies, and you're gonna get probably three tens if you pre-grade properly. Even with these Pokémon Centre cards you can send in tonnes and not get a single ten

@TCG_Atlas Yh true, I feel like the only redeeming factor about using the Japanese cards as English promos is that if you can’t get the English promo version and or it doesn’t grade well there’s always good access to the Japanese version

What do you guys think of this upcoming promo for the pitch black etb??

@JubaJeeves There's definitely something about the simplicity of the WOTC holos that just makes them so nice.

They just don’t make em’ like they used to.

@justmeg I didn't know that either I think because the colours are just so different its actually quite hard to tell they are from the same artist where as some cards it is super obvious

@TCG_Atlas yesss theyre also really cool, didnt realise it was the same artist as the derpy pika

Shrouded Fable may be coined as the worst S&V set but I cant hate a set with these IR's in it

@MaxLonged I think they both hit different types of collectors and also one is a little bit more affordable than the other but also just both great cards

Best Mimikyu card ever, left or right?

Most people sleep on PSA 7s and 8s in the current Pokémon market. Giratina V Lost Origin right now: Raw: $700 PSA 7: $581 PSA 8: $746 If you want a binder copy, buying a graded 7, cracking the slab, and saving $120 is just smart shopping. PSA 7 is still a beautiful card. The slab just has a number on it.