pokemon cards

Peri Grier · Apr 26, 2014

I have a ton of Pokémon cards I've been collecting for around 5 years (I'm 12 right now) I have around 800 - 1000 and I think I have some good ones, but I don't really know. I was looking online at lots of prices and values for them, but they are all over the place.
I have quite a few promo, foil, rare, ultra rare and holo ones. And I have around 50 legendaries, 10 prime, 15 level x, and 2 or 3 ex.
I think my best one is a charizard level x, 120 hp, promo, rare and owned by a team galactic person.
I have giratina, dialga and palkia all in level x, but giratina is in japanese
I also have a ton of rare Japanese ones
I'm planning on selling them to a card place, or online, or at a garage sale if I can get enough money.
So please help me on prices of my cards and what they are worth

JunkLover · Apr 27, 2014

Some probably aren't worth a whole lot. I've gone to comic stores and gotten them for between 10 and 50 cents each, both common and rare cards. Foil cards are always good, especially if they aren't scratched or are first edition. Promo cards are also good.

Honestly, I would say to check out eBay to get an idea of pricing. Sure, there's what a card is worth, but there's also what someone is willing to pay for them. Looking on eBay, a mint promo Egyptian Mew card from the first movie might get you $5. That card used to be like the crown jewel of Pokemon cards, even better than the coveted foil Charizard. The extremely rare promo Birthday Pikachu is fetching $10. I can't tell you about every single card, but I would definitely suggest looking for the rare cards on eBay and getting an idea of the demand and general price range.

I don't think they're as much of a craze as they were in Gen 1. Common and uncommon cards likely won't fetch a whole lot, either in English or Japanese. Cards from the most recent generation might get you more than older cards because they might be in higher demand. But that's a big might. You could probably do okay selling the rarest ones individually and maybe the others in lots. Like a hundred cards with a few rarer ones and a few foils stuck in there, or you could do blind box auctions if you're feeling daring. You won't get much for even the rarest cards in your collection at a card shop because the store owners will give you a piddly low-ball amount in order to make a profit themselves. You also won't get much at a garage sale. Online would be your best bet because you wouldn't be limiting yourself to just local buyers.

If you haven't already, look for error cards in your collection. People love collecting the mistakes and these are the best ones.
Pokemon Card Errors and Misprints | eBay

General error card list:

Error cards - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Also, the folks on the Pokebeach forums might be able to help you out more.
Most Expensive Pokemon Error Card!!!!

Peri Grier · Apr 27, 2014

thanks a ton. now I get to look through all my cards and see if there"s any error cards (yay XD)

JunkLover · Apr 28, 2014

I also just realized your age. That's what happens when I read things at 3 am - I miss details.

I think you might need your parents to actually sell them for you on eBay since you need to have PayPal and a bank account and I think you have to be at least 18. Or if you happen to be on DeviantArt, people there might buy them and you don't have to deal with all the online banking nonsense. I've had people there message me out of nowhere asking if I have Pokemon cards just because I was selling Pokemon toys.

Or failing that, I can guarantee there are some Pokemon forums out there where people buy, sell and trade the cards. I still say check eBay for general pricing so you don't get ripped off. If you're not sure about a card's condition, your local card shop can probably help you with that, but unless someone local is a serious Poke-nerd, people online can tell you more about individual cards. But I think a site specifically dedicated to Pokemon would be best for finding out more about the value of your cards.