Despite Pokémon cards being around for 25+ years, they have remained in mainstream pop culture to this day. It’s highly likely then that you have purchased or run across Pokémon cards as frankly, they can be hard to miss. That being said, you may not know how much Pokémon card packs are supposed to be or why they have different prices in the first place.
Rather than make you read the full article, I’ll tell you right off the bat. Most Pokémon card packs fall between $3-$6 per pack. If you happen to find some at a grocery store or otherwise, that is what most will cost.
That being said, it’s still common for single packs to get north of $10 each. Believe it or not, there are also Pokémon packs worth north of $500+!
So why is there a variation? Is there a difference in the packs? How much should Pokémon cards cost? In this article, I’ll answer all of these questions and more!
Why Do Pokémon Packs Cost Different Amounts?
I have a full article on this topic which you can read here if you’d like to dive in more. The short version though is that different Pokémon card sets contain completely different cards and get released in different quantities.
If a set gets released a number of times, then the packs will inevitably be cheaper. More packs and more cards from that set means that they will be easier to come by and therefore, cheaper.
Pair that with cards that have lower pull rates, and those packs once again become more expensive.
If you look into the Top 15 Most Expensive Pokémon Card Sets, you’ll find that all of them meet those criteria. Older sets also have the benefit of being out of print longer, and therefore rarer than other more modern sets.
Does the Art on the Front of Pokémon Packs Matter?
As long as you are buying the same set
How Much Should Pokémon Card Packs Cost?
So we know that most packs will cost between $3-$6. What they should cost depends on what you are looking for.
If you are just looking to pick up some packs for your kids who are happy with anything at all, you should be paying between $3-$5 per pack. If you can find packs for less than $3, then you have likely found yourself a pretty good deal!
As you start looking for more particular and sought after sets, you will likely be paying between $5-$8 per pack.
If you are looking for packs that are out of print, then all bets are off. Those can range between $20-$500+ for just one pack!
How Can I Buy Cheaper Pokémon Card Packs?
Because Pokémon cards are still so popular, it’s not easy to find them for cheap. That said, there are a few ways to get packs at slightly lower than normal prices.
Let’s jump into them now.
Buy Pokémon Card Packs at Less Known Stores
Everyone knows that Wal-Mart and Gamestop sell Pokémon card packs. Because of that, they don’t exactly need to lower prices on them very often, if at all.
But did you know that Hobby Lobby, Five Below, Walgreens, Cracker Barrel, and many others typically carry packs as well? Because most people don’t know about all of these shops, you can sometimes find great deals at them!
Drewuptown on Reddit provided a list of less known stores in the link. Check them out and see what you can find!
Buy Discounted Boxes and Tins
While individual packs don’t get discounted much if at all, you will find that Pokémon card Tins and Boxes do. And if you know how many packs are contained within those tins and boxes, you can typically get the price per pack cheaper than if you tried just buying them individually.
That article linked above walks through what is in them exactly and where the best bang for your buck is. With so many different sets and boxes being released, I’ve seen a number of normal grocery stores discount these items, sometimes heavily.
So just figure out how many packs are in each of these items, then do the math on the price to figure out if it’s a good deal!
Can I Open Free Pokémon Packs?
Unfortunately, it will be incredibly hard to find free physical Pokémon packs. That said, there is a way to open free digital Pokémon packs for fun.
These are not part of your official online Pokémon collection, but they are free to open nonetheless. Check out this website to open packs from any era online for free!
Thanks for reading!