How to invest in Pokémon cards

At the latest when even Red Bull writes an article on their website about the 10 most valuable Pokémon cards(really), you know the world is crazy about trading cards! In recent months, there have been more and more reports in the mainstream media, such as television, radio, etc., that very rare Pokémon cards have been sold for exorbitant sums on Ebay and who knows what other platforms. YouTubers like Logan Paul are organizing Pokémon treasure hunts and trying to find older and very expensive Booster Packs.

The Uncommon Shop was even asked for a very interesting interview on 20Minuten Radio

In this article, we briefly explain why some cards are so expensive in the first place and what you can do to get your hands on a good card or two.

The laws of economics

Anyone who has ever come into contact with economics in any way knows this image:

In very simple terms, this graph shows us the relationship between supply and demand in a market (in this case, the market for Pokémon trading cards). One of the central rules of economics is that the price and the corresponding quantity demanded will find themselves. In our case, the supply would be the dealers who offer Pokémon products and the collectors and players who generate the demand.

The quantity offered and the demand can of course also vary. If the quantity offered decreases, e.g. due to a supply bottleneck (spoiler: every TCG has one at the moment), then the supply curve shifts to the left. The resulting consequence is that the price rises, as retailers and suppliers have to achieve the same turnover with fewer products. And here lies the reason for the extremely high prices for certain Pokémon products: Old Boosters/Displays are simply no longer being produced, ergo the supply drops sharply. If demand also increases, as is currently the case, this results in an even higher price. Of course, this is extremely simplified and the actual economic mechanisms behind it are even more complex. In addition, valuable assets such as trading cards have even more different functions than everyday products such as bread and vegetables. For the purposes of this article, however, we will leave it at these explanations.

How can I invest in Pokémon cards?

A lot of people are asking themselves this question at the moment. Do you have to buy extremely rare Pokémon cards/boosters/displays for thousands of francs and speculate that the price will continue to rise?

Yes and no. Basically, this has always been a tried and tested strategy: gold is rare, I buy gold, there is less gold on the market, and the price of gold rises accordingly (note: use any product for gold).

Another option, which is more interesting for many, is to buy current Pokémon products and hold them for a few months/years. If it is a very popular product, the likelihood that collectors will pay more money for it in the future is high. This is because at a certain point, the Pokémon Company will stop producing these products and focus on newer ones. This will slowly but surely reduce the supply on the market.

Come on – finally tell me which Pokémon Booster/Display are currently worthwhile!

Basically, the choice is huge. From experience, we can tell you that there are two very important factors that determine whether a set/Booster is popular when it comes to Pokémon products:

• Glurak: There is a Glurak card of some sort in the set
• Shiny Pokémon cards: the alternative color versions of Pokémon can be found in the set

Of course, this is also a generalization, but the past shows that this is true in most cases.

The most popular sets at the moment are for the Glurak Champion’s Path / Weg des Champs

Glurak AND Shiny Pokémon Shining Fates/ Glänzendes Schicksal

For various Shinys and Glurak Shiny the older set Hidden Fates / Verborgenes Schicksal

Hopefully this article has helped you with a brief excursion into basic economics. One last point that should be mentioned is the following: Collectible cards are first and foremost about having fun. Accordingly, the enjoyment of this hobby should always be the first priority 😉 In addition, we cannot guarantee that there will actually be a huge price increase. We have only presented you with some information here and are not providing financial advice.

Your Uncommon Shop Team