Personally speaking, I’m into collecting Pokemon cards for the love of the scene. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t have few Pokemon cards that I’ve purchased as an investment, I’d be a fool not too! Here’s the best Pokemon Cards to invest in this year.
Most of my investment purchases took place back in 2022. I’ve started to expand my Pokemon Investment portfolio buys into 2023, my first purchase was a fossil Pikachu in January 2023.
I’ve been on the look out for sets and individual cards that’ll provide a decent ROI. I’m not looking for super quick flips, I hope to keep my cards for at least 10 years. So, if you’re on the hunt for quick flips this article may not be for you. It’s for people that are looking to invest in some awesome, modern, recently released Pokemon Cards.
Investing In Pokemon Cards In 2023
So, what’s on the list of the best Pokemon cards to buy in 2023?
- Pokemon Celebrations Elite Trainer Box
- Pokemon Trick or Trade Collection
- Pokemon Go Eevee Box
- Pokemon Go Pin Collection
- Ditto Peeled
- Ditto Un-peeled
- Radiant Eevee
- Special Delivery Charizard
- Charizard Vstar
- Lost Origin Pikachu V
- Radiant Charizard
Pokemon 25th Anniversary Celebrations Elite Trainer Box
It’s been a wild ride for Pokemon, I can’t imagine the board meetings back in the 90’s ever discussing the possibility of it being one of the largest franchises ever. Pokemon started in Japan but it’s now world wide. The 25th Anniversary in 2021 was marked with a number of releases, most notably the Celebrations collection.
This collection was, as the name suggests a celebration of the best Pokemon cards over the last 25 years. The entire collection is sought after but some notable additions include an original artwork Charizard, a Shining Magikarp and a Birthday Pikachu.
There were 25 ‘classic’ cards among the collection, which tend to be more sought after. But, it’s the entire sealed, unopened Elite Trainer Box (or ‘ETB’ for short) that’ll achieve the greatest return on your investment.
The Celebrations Elite Trainer Box was originally available from The Pokemon Centre. It contained; 13 celebrations booster packs, 6 additional boosters, energy cards, coins, dice and more.
Just make sure you resist the urge to see what ‘pulls’ you’ll get and keep it un-opened at the back of your wardrobe (closet if you’re reading this in the states). Whip it out for the 50th Pokemon Anniversary, I’m sure this’ll be worth a small fortune.
They’re already becoming increasingly harder to get a hold of and un-opened, sealed condition is what’ll make this already sought after box, one of the best ROI’s you’re likely to get in modern Pokemon History.
They are occasionally available on Amazon, hit the button below to check the latest deals available for the Celebrations ETB.
Pokemon Trick Or Trade
Unfortunately this isn’t available via official sources in the UK. But, it can be acquired from the grey market. Ebay is probably the best place to buy it, it has added buyer protection and secure payment options.
It was released to coincide with, as the name suggests Halloween. The idea was that kids would knock on your door for trick or treat and instead of giving them sweets or candy, you’d give them a Pokemon Booster pack.
This package contains 40 mini BOOster packs containing 3 Pokemon Cards each and each Halloween BOOster bundle should complete the entire expansion. This means you’ll only need one pack to get all the cards in the this Halloween expansion.
It’s only $14.99, but if you aren’t in the states it’ll cost you quite a bit more. For my UK audience, this means if you want to import the trick or trade expansion booster it’ll cost you around £45.00 plus air mail and import charges. We’re talking nearly £100 for the box. But, I personally don’t think that’s too bad.
The niche here is UK availability. Keep it for a few years either sealed or in a folder as a master set and I predict that you’ll atleast double your original Pokemon investment.
Stick it on Ebay and let the bids come in. Alternatively, you could take it to a local Pokemon convention and see if you get any dealers or punters offering you an arm and a leg to take it off of your hands.
Pokemon Go Eevee Box
The Pokemon Go Eevee Box is one of the first I invested in, in 2022. This year I’ve bought a good number of Pokemon bits but I recon this collection is one of my favourites. It didn’t start as a speculative purchase though.
I first purchased this box to open it and see what I got in the booster packs. It was when I received the delivery that I decided to buy another box to keep as an investment. Why you ask? Well, it was simple really.
It comes with a good number of accessories, including an enamel Eevee pin and a rubber backed play matt. This makes it stand out from other Pokemon Go packs as I believe it’s the only one in this expansion to feature a rubber plat matt.
The set has 8 booster packs in it, so it’s a good option if you’re looking to buy a few of them and split atleast one of them down to it’s component parts. It’s a good way to get a hold of a good number of booster packs.
The enamel pin is super high quality and looks fantastic. Keep this one sealed, protected from dust and contaminants and in a few years you should atleast triple your outlay, if not more!
This collection is quite a unique one in comparison to some of the other sets. It’s the only official way to get the Radiant Eevee card in English, it’s supposedly underprinted too, so hold it long term, unopened and check back in 10 years.
Pokemon Go Pin Collection Box
One of the cheapest sets available to UK collectors. It’s also pretty much the cheapest ways to buy booster packs in the UK. With no large booster box available for the Pokemon Go expansion, this one makes financial sense.
My idea for this one was to buy a bunch of these and split them into there component parts. I’ve bought 4 of the Charmander, 4 of the Squirtle and 4 of the Bulbasaur pin collection boxes. I’ll keep one of each sealed, protected and hidden away.
The rest I’ll open up and keep the included booster packs sealed and stored safely for atleast 5 years. Pokemon Go booster packs are already climbing in price so I think they’ll be commanding a premium of atleast £15 to £18 in just five short years.
Not only are these collection boxes the perfect Pokemon card to invest in this year, they’re also a great addition to your personal collection purely for the bundled promo cards, they look ace.
Which Single Pokemon Cards To Invest In 2023
Aswell as some amazing Pokemon sets to buy for investments, there are a bunch of individual Pokemon cards that should be on your radar. If you don’t have the below cards in your portfolio, you may be missing out on future gains.
First up on the list is a pretty unique card among all of the past released sets, it’s the Pokemon Go Ditto card. What’s so special about this card then?
Pikachu EX
This is a new card to my collection that I bought at the start of 2023. It’s a full art black star promo but it’s simply epic and well worth adding to your collection.
From the XY set, this card has maintained a fairly steady price for the last year or so. An ungraded example will set you back around $21. If you find a great example, get it graded. If you use PSA and they grade it a 10 it’ll be worth near enough $800 according to pricecharting.com.
You can find them for sale on Ebay or Amazon. Hit the buttons below to check it out.
Ditto Peeled
Another one straight from the Pokemon Go App. If you’re familiar with the mobile game you’ll know that if you catch a specific Pokemon it could potentially turn into a Ditto.
You’ll be able to find a Ditto card if the following cards have a small Ditto icon in the bottom left hand corner; Spinarak, Natu, Bidoof or Numel.
Some collectors think that these Ditto cards should be left unpeeled to keep them in their original condition. It should also help to increase their rarity if other people do peel them, hence reducing the overall pool of cards.
There is also some conjecture as to whether or not the glue would damage the surface of the card. Only time will tell. This card is still really cheap to add to your collection of investment pieces, so, it wouldn’t be a great loss if you did return to it in 10 years time, to find it damaged. Let’s hope not though!
Despite this, I still think it’s worth having a peeled Ditto. Find one with perfect centering, corners, colour and smooth edges and you’ll be onto a winner, the artwork is great too!
Ditto Un-Peeled
I’ve also kept two pack fresh condition, un-peeled Ditto cards in my Pokemon investment portfolio. I recon they’ll be worth a lot more than the peeled ones. Original condition is what a lot of collectors tend to look for.
It’s the first card of it’s type in the Pokemon Go TCG expansion and as we all know, the first of anything tends to be a lot more sought after.
The Pokemon scene was looking forward to the new set, but when the Pokemon Go TCG expansion reveal trailer showed the Ditto card was apart of it, things really took off! The new set was incredibly popular right out of the gate.
One of the talked about cards is the Ditto. I have to say, the artwork is fantastic when you remove the sticker, but if you’re buying this Pokemon card for investment purposes, you really can’t go wrong by getting a hold of an un-peeled Ditto.
They’ll only be a finite number of these cards and a lot of people won’t have the willpower to not peel them. This makes it a good speculative buy and it’s a reason why I’ve got 3 in my portfolio. You will find them occasionally listed by sellers on Amazon or Ebay. Hit the button below to see if any are available.
Radiant Eevee
I’ve included the set this card came out of further up the article. If you can’t get a hold of the set, try and get the individual card. The set it’s self was quite expensive, so this promo card might not be available in vast quantities like other promos, hence the rarity.
Another reason I think this Pokemon card will make a great investment is that it’s simply beautiful. I’d have really like to have seen this card included in the main Pokemon Go expansion but a black star promo will have to do. It’s one of my favourite cards from the entire expansion.
Because it was bundled as a promo card in a collection, it’s quite rare to get a really good condition one. A few of the ones I’ve pulled have had a few scratches due to being packaged ‘naked’ in the rigid plastic.
If you can get a flawless looking example, put it in a sleeve and hide it away for 10 years, it’ll be sought after in the future. The image above really doesn’t do it justice, the holo looks superb.
And don’t forget, if you want to increase the value of your cards further, get them graded by a reputable grading company. A 10 grade will significantly increase the premium you can command.
Special Delivery Charizard
I think alot of people knew this card was going to be as popular so they got in early, getting this card early was pretty much the only way to guarantee you got the card from the official store. To get this card you were given a code to enter during checkout and you’d be sent this card for free!
Obtaining the code for the Special Delivery Charizard promo required fans to register their interest on the Pokemon Centre registration page. Those lucky enough to receive a code could then redeem it by purchasing items from the store with a minimum basket value of £20.
It’s already selling on ebay from between £30 – £800 depending on the condition. If you can manage to get a good condition card and grade it PSA 10 you’ll be onto a winner in the future.
It’s available from scalpers on eBay, which is unfortunately the only reliable way to get one. So expect to pay a premium for something that was essentially, free. But, it should come good as I can only see the value of this card increasing.
This should reach atleast 3x your initial investment in the future, considering they’re under printed and were only ever available for a limited amount of time.
Charizard Vstar
When you think about investing in Pokemon cards, you think about Charizard. It’s on everybody’s bucket list to own atleast one Charizard.
Let’s face it, we’re not going to be able to afford to purchase a 1st edition base set shadowless Charizard. For this reason, we have to look at alternatives.
If you don’t buy the Special Delivery Charizard, then consider this, the Charizard Vstar. This awesome looking card is a perfect choice for potential Pokemon investors.
For a quick win buy a perfect example of an ungraded card and send it off to PSA for official grading, you’ll turn a £90 card into a £300 card almost over night.
Now I’m not a huge advocate for making a quick buck from Pokemon, I tend to lean more towards playing it safe with investments and buying affordable cards that I believe will be sought after in the future. And, I firmly believe this one will be worth a lot more than £300 in the future, give it 10 to 15 years and it’ll be up there.
You won’t find this on Amazon but you can find in on eBay and at local Pokemon conventions or market places.
Lost Origin Pikachu V
If you’re going to invest in Pokemon cards, you have to have a Pikachu in your collection. It’s the law, well not really but you get my point. Having a Pokemon card portfolio without Pikachu is like going to Scotland and not trying some haggis!
One of the best for investment purposes this year is going to be the Pikachu V. It’s popularity has faltered as recently as last year but it’s starting to climb again and I think 2022 is the year the price of this one starts to climb quite rapidly.
It’s available on eBay for a fairly modest price so hit the button below to go and check it out, if you manage to get one, get it graded and stash it away in the back of your wardrobe. Somewhere safe atleast.
Radiant Charizard
The second ‘zard on our list of best Pokemon cards to invest in, in 2022. It’s with good reason I’ve included it though. Just look at that artwork! It looks simply fantastic. The holo overlay pattern on the radiant cards is a real show stopper.
Radiant Charizard cards are reasonably difficult to pull. It’s part of the Pokemon Go expansion, I managed to pull one in my second ETB, you might have better luck than me and pull it from your first pack.
If you get a good example card with perfect corners, colours and no white spots on the back, you’ll stand to make a fair bit of cash if you sell this in 10 years time. If you don’t have one in your collection, you can grab one from eBay or occasionally from the Amazon marketplace.
It’ll set you back between £20 – 70 depending on condition. If you’re after a quick flip buy the card and get it graded, you’ll probably double your investment almost over night.
Hit the button below to check availability on Amazon.
The Best Pokemon Cards To Invest In
Remember, all of this isn’t investment advice. It’s purely opinion based on a number of factors including popularity among the scene, scarcity and rarity aswell as signals coming from online message boards such as reddit.
So, please don’t get angry if you don’t agree. Simply drop a comment below and let me know which cards you think are worth forking out your hard earned cash on and keeping it in the hopes of it being worth a bit in the next 5 or 10 years.
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Pingback: Nigel
Thanks for your comment Nigel.
Yes, I agree with all of your points.
Mike.