A New World
What’s poppin’ TCG Park readers? It’s your boy Zach Lesage here, and I’m excited to help you start your Pokemon TCG journey! In a world where it is easy to jump into any new hobby, you might’ve stumbled on this card asking the question in the title, “How do I start collecting Pokemon cards?” Well, you can start in a variety of ways, but I’m gonna share a few tips here to make sure you get the most out of your new hobby! You might wanna collect a particular set like the latest Silver Tempest set, and you might wanna start out by buying a Pokemon TCG Silver Tempest Booster Box. Maybe you grew up playing Pokemon Platinum or got back into the hype with Pokemon Legends: Arceus – picking up a Lost Origin ETB might be your best bet. Maybe you want to pick up a few playable cards and get a bunch of Pokemon V quickly, then you might wanna get a League Battle Deck, like the Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX League Battle Deck . In this article, I will share a few ways to start collecting cards to get you started, and I hope these tips will help you make some more informed purchases when picking up some awesome Pokemon TCG products. If you ever need cards, TCGPark.com ships to all of Europe, so be sure to check out their amazing selection!
Where to Start Collecting
If you wanna get your hands on any cards, sealed products, plushies, or anything – this is the one for you. You don’t need to have a rhyme or reason, but you know it has to be Pokemon. You might have fun by opening a sealed Lost Origin Booster Box or by collecting a few of the stylish Pokemon GO Tins, like the Pokemon GO Pikachu Tin. If you’ve already collected a few cards, you might have some fun putting your cards away in a Pokeball Premium 9-Pocket PRO Binder for Pokémon to keep your prized cards safe! If you are this person, feel free to pick up the cards/products that you want – go with the flow. If you are purchasing for someone who loves Pokemon, maybe ask them if there is something they want in particular or surprise them with an Elite Trainer Box, like the Astral Radiance ETB.
Specific Themes / Pokemon
If you are like me, you love Pokemon, but you might like some products more than others. Like I said earlier, I used to collect certain Pokemon, and they might be found in some sets and not others. If you are new to Pokemon, sets only contain a select few Pokemon, Trainer Cards, and everything. So if you want to get the new “Lost Zone” cards, Giratina VSTAR [Lost Origin], or anything like that, you’ll want to pick up a sealed Lost Origin Booster Box. Maybe there is a product featuring your favourite Pokemon, like Mewtwo. I would pick up a Pokemon Go Elite Trainer Box to try and open a Mewtwo VSTAR [Pokemon Go] and use that awesome Mewtwo ETB to store some of your extra cards.
Sealed Product
Pokemon products are some of the prettiest and most presentable out of all of the TCGs. Most ETBs feature beautiful artwork that are thematic towards the set they are featuring and usually showcase one or more of the main Pokemon available in the set. If you wanna pick up the newest set at the time of this writing, a Silver Tempest ETB would look awesome on a shelf. Picking up ETBS / sealed products is usually a great long-term investment, and you usually don’t want to open them to retain their value. If you think about the price of Base Set Booster Boxes that you hear about in the news, ETBs are seemingly always going up. It’s kinda like fine art and other highly sought-after collectables – a great investment.
Graded
Similar to sealed products, grading products can be a great investment and can be a serious investment. You can get any of your cards or product graded, but you need to acquire those things in order to get graded. One of the highly sought-after sets is Evolving Skies, which you can pick up some Silver tempest, to try and your best to pull a chase card, like Alolan Vulpix V [Silver tempest]. Research the different grading companies and find which one has the best offering for you. Grading cards is a great way to preserve your cards and growth value of them.
Storing Cards
When it comes to storing the cards in your collection, you’ll wanna make sure that your cards are protected. Whether you are storing your cards in an ETB, like the Shining Fates Elite Trainer Box , or a Binder, like the Arceus 12-Pocket Zippered PRO-Binder, you’ll wanna keep them safe. Another thing most collectors do is put their cards in sleeves, like the Grookey Sleeves, to keep them stylish while protected. Keep on the lookout for ETBs, Sleeves, and Binders featuring your favourite Pokemon.
Happy Collecting!
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the different ways to collect Pokemon TCG cards in this article and maybe you’ve picked up a tip or two in the process. Collecting isn’t always about having the best cards or even collecting all of the Charizard cards in the world – everyone can bring a unique quality to how they collect. At one point I had a sizable Kingdra and Stunfisk collection, but I’ve since only collected playable cards for my competitive PTCG decks to play with. Things can change, but as long as you enjoy your collection and stay within your individual limits, I’m sure you’ll have a great time! With new products releasing all of the time, be sure to check out the offerings at TCGPark.com and see if there is anything that interests you and your own collection. I’ll catch up with all of you later and of course, happy collecting!