Millions of Pokémon cards get printed every year and 5-6 completely different sets have been released over the past few years. Despite that, Pokémon cards cost at least a few bucks for one pack and hundreds to thousands of dollars for particular cards.
With there being so many cards and sets released, it can be daunting to figure out what you should actually be paying for Pokémon cards and sets. Have no fear faithful reader. This article is here to help.
We will cover the typical cost of Pokémon packs, tins, booster boxes, individual cards, graded cards, and more! If you’re looking for where to buy Pokémon cards, I actually have a full other article going into that.
Let’s jump right in!
Pokémon Card Packs Cost
If you go to your neighborhood grocery store or GameStop, you will usually be paying between $3-7 per pack of Pokémon cards. While that may seem like a relatively wide range, most stores will have packs from multiple sets on the shelves. These sets have different cards, rarities, and print amounts that makes for the variation in the prices.
So if you’re getting your new Pokémon packs for $3-5, you are paying a fair price for the packs! If they cost more than that, there is likely rarer and more expensive cards in that set.
If you’re looking for older vintage packs, know that you can pay several hundred to several thousand dollars for the most sought after ones! Pricecharting can also help you identify what each sets pack sells for. Just search (Set Name) Blister Pack Pricecharting in Google and the first Pricecharting article will give you the average paid price!
If you’d like to read more into Pokémon packs, I have another article diving even deeper into the topic.
Pokémon Card Packs Within Tins and Assorted Boxes
When buying Pokémon cards, there is seemingly an unlimited number of other arrangements you can buy these in. Because of that, it can be hard to tell what you are actually getting and where the best value lies.
There is one additional step you can take, but for most casual collectors and hobbyists, these first steps will help you ensure you are paying a good price for the cards.
- Figure out the number of packs that the box/tin contains
- Divide the price of the item by the number of packs
That’s it! If the price per pack falls within or below our $3-5 per pack, then you are still paying a fair amount! Know that there are additional items from these tins and boxes and sometimes an additional card as well! If you are under $3 per pack, then you are getting a pretty darn good deal.
Now for the optional step… Figure out the set(s) of the packs that are in the box. Some of these tins and boxes will have packs from the same set while others will have assorted packs.
Because some card sets are worth more, some packs will be more valuable than the others. This step can be skipped but can be useful depending on who you are buying the cards for and what they are trying to collect. It’s also worth noting that you won’t always know which packs are in every tin and box. Happy hunting!
Pokémon Cards ETB’s (Elite Trainer Boxes) Cost
Elite Trainer Boxes (aka ETB’s) are highly collectible Pokémon card boxes that usually contain 8-10 packs, card sleeves, dice, coins, and other Pokémon TCG goodies.
When looking in your favorite Pokémon store, you will typically find that new Pokémon ETB’s cost around $40-60 per box. If you find an ETB for cheaper than that, then you have usually found yourself a pretty good deal! Once again though, the rarer and harder to find sets can certainly increase the price of these by quite a bit.
While there is disagreement on whether ETBs or individual Pokémon packs are better, many would agree that ETBs are great for gifts and collecting!
Pokémon Booster Boxes Cost
Booster boxes are the most expensive sealed Pokémon item. Currently released Pokémon booster boxes will typically cost $100-150. Unlike the ETBs before, Booster Boxes have nothing but packs. They contain around 36 packs and are unanimously the best way to invest in Pokémon cards.
So while that may seem like a lot of money, booster boxes are the most cost effective method of buying packs, and are also highly sought after. Because of this, you will typically have trouble finding them through your usual GameStop and grocery store chains.
If you are looking for booster boxes from older sets, they will most certainly cost more than that. The 151 set that was released September 2023 is already north of $200 and the Evolving Skies set released in August of 2021 is worth north of $700!
In looking to buy Booster Boxes, the best way to usually go is through a reputable store on eBay. Be careful of scams through Facebook Marketplace or places that don’t have buyer protection! Pricecharting can also help you to identify the price of a sealed booster box from any set that has been released!
Graded Pokémon Cards Cost
In case you weren’t aware, graded cards refer to cards like the ones above. Ultimately, you can send any Pokémon card into a company who will inspect the card and assign a “grade” to it and return it in something like the casing above.
If you’d like to read into more grading basics, check out this article. If you are curious if you should grade your Pokémon cards, I’ve got you covered there too.
To get into the matter at hand then, the cost of graded Pokémon cards is usually pretty easy to find. Simply search the Pokémon card you are looking for and pull it up in the website Pricecharting.com. This website then lays out what the average sold price for each grade is based on sold eBay data!
As an example, I could search the above middle Charizard as Charizard 4/102, pull up the Pricecharting link, and find the below! I’d simply look at the grade (8 in this case) to identify that this card sells on average for $550.
One caveat to this is that not all grading companies are treated equally. PSA is the most sought after and what Pricecharting will typically capture the best. Beckett is very close and CGC is a little further behind both in value and resell ability.
If you’d like to check in another way, search the grading company as well through eBay and look through the sold items. Searching in one of these two ways should help you identify the cost of any graded Pokémon card!
Individual Pokémon Cards Cost
The cost of individual Pokémon cards is a little bit more nuanced than the sealed items above. There are cheap cards you can pick up for free as well as the highest sold Pokémon card of all time, getting all the way to $5.275 Million!!
While the card you have is definitely not that one, there are steps you can take to figure out the value of it!
First, you’ll have to actually identify the Pokémon card that you have. From there, you’ll need to identify the cards condition.
Once you have done those two things, you can find the general cost or value of any Pokémon card! That said, the cards value not always completely black and white.
Fortunately I have a number of other articles that explain how to figure out the value of your Pokémon cards. The short and easiest way though is to check TCGPlayer and Pricecharting to get a general guide. Pricecharting will give you a good starting point and TCGPlayer can help narrow it down depending on the condition of the card.
eBay sold items is another great way to check Pokémon card values and is the gold standard for most collectors. So while there are a ton of other pricing apps out there, those three tend to be the best!
Also, TCGPlayer is a great site to find just about any card in any condition you may be looking for!
If you’re looking to sell your Pokémon cards, I’ve got you covered on the best ways to do that as well!
Conclusion
There are a ton of places to buy Pokémon cards and packs. There are also a seemingly infinite number of boxes, tins, and packages that these cards come in. Hopefully though this article gave you a general idea for what these items should cost.
If there is anything I missed, feel free to send me an email at [email protected]!
Thanks for reading!