How Much Are My Pokémon Cards Worth?: A Guide to Pricing and Selling Pokémon Cards
You Might Be Sitting on a Trading Card Goldmine
So you found an old box of Pokémon cards in your attic or basement…score!
But what should you do next?
Many people would just go and sell their box at a yard sale, garage sale or on Facebook Marketplace to get rid of them, but you might also be sitting on a goldmine.
In fact, a recent article from Fortune showed that the average price increase in Pokémon and sports cards has outpaced the stock market, with recent annual growth of 46%!
In this helpful guide by our collectibles experts at Kendall Square Collectibles, we’ll break down the basics of how to understand (1) how much your Pokémon cards are worth, (2) the ways that condition impacts price, and (3) how to sell your Pokémon cards to get the best value.
While you might not be sitting on a literal mine of gold like the gold in this picture, your old box of Pokémon cards could be its own goldmine!
How Much Are My Pokémon Cards Worth?
As longtime collectors and players ourselves here at Kendall Square Collectibles, we’ve always been interested in trading cards, starting with Magic: The Gathering in the early 1990s, and later Pokémon in the late 1990s.
When the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was originally released in Japan in October 1996—and then three years later in the United States in January 1999—it was clear that Pokémon was special.
Fans fell in love with the incredible art, eclectic set of characters, and the goal to “catch ‘em all“, or collect all 151 original Pokémon with a variety of different Poké balls
In fact, while people love to talk about the lines and product shortages that started recently (around Fall of 2023 with the Scarlet & Violet 151 set), back in the late 1990s, there were similar lines and difficulties getting booster packs.
Sets like the 1st Edition Base Set were especially hard to come by, and incredibly, sealed boxes of this same 1st Edition Base Set are selling for over $300,000 on eBay as of Summer 2025!
We were lucky to buy some Base Set and 1st Edition Base Set Booster Packs back when they were originally released and have sold some PSA-graded versions of these cards in our eBay Store.
So whether it’s vintage cards like these or modern cards from recent series like Sun & Moon, Sword & Shield, and Scarlet & Violet, how do you know how much a Pokémon card is worth?
Our advice for pricing Pokémon cards has three steps:
Look up the card name and card number (look on the bottom right of the card) online on a website like Price Charting to identify which series and set it came from.
Compare and cross-check these prices with listings on a website like TCG Player and also check eBay Sold Listings to see how much the card has actually sold for in recent months.
Identify the condition and any imperfections on the card, which can drastically impact value and potential sales prices. This third point is the most difficult, but we’ll break it down with some easy tips to follow in the next section.
In What Ways Does Condition Affect Price for Pokémon Cards?
So, point #3 above focuses on the condition of the card itself, and how condition affects price.
As you might imagine, a card with a large scratch across the front or scuffed corners will not be worth as much as a pristine pack-fresh card in mint condition.
While we won’t jump into the details and intricacies of grading Pokémon cards with a company like PSA, BGS, or CGC in this article (we plan to dive into this topic in a future Knowledgebase article), we will briefly cover the grading system used for cards to help our readers understand condition identification.
These grading companies use a scale of 1 to 10 for condition, with a 1 being “Poor“ (think water damage or a card with a hole in it) and a 10 being “Gem Mint“, or entirely perfect condition (aka you bought a pack and put the card straight into an Ultra PRO plastic sleeve and then a toploader container for safe keeping).
Condition has a tremendous impact on sale price. For example, we sold this beautiful metal Charizard card in Mint condition (as a PSA 9) for a little over $100 in our eBay Store, but other sales of this same card in Gem Mint condition (as a PSA 10) went for over $1,000!
We sold this PSA 9 Mint Charizard on eBay for a little over $100, but it’s worth $1,000+ in PSA 10 Gem Mint condition.
Speaking of metal Pokémon cards, make sure to check out our recent Knowledgebase article on The Only Real Metal Pokémon Cards: How to Avoid Fake Cards and Where to Buy.
Once you’ve followed step 1 to look up the card on a site like Price Charting, step 2 to compare prices on sites like TCG Player, eBay or even Amazon (usually better for sealed packs and boxes, but some individual cards have started to be sold via Amazon), and step 3 to identify condition, you’re ready to sell!
The last section will bring all three of these steps together to actually sell Pokémon cards and get the most value from selling these incredible trading cards in the ever-growing collectibles market.
The Bottom Line: Pokémon TCG Pricing, Condition, and Sales
After successfully following all three steps above, you’re ready to consider selling your Pokémon cards.
Our advice here is twofold:
Be careful with offers on places like Facebook Marketplace, Reddit or other online forums; not only will you likely not get the best price, but there are many scammers and people who are looking to profit off Pokémon, yet who don’t know much (if anything) about the game itself or the cards.
Use a reputable online marketplace like eBay or Whatnot with seller and buyer reviews and feedback, or sell to an established collectibles company (maybe to us at Kendall Square Collectibles?) or to a local/game card store.
Thanks so much for reading our in-depth guide to pricing, determining condition, and selling Pokémon cards. We hope that this guide is helpful and useful for understanding how to get the most value from your treasured collectibles.
And you never know, you might even have a 1st Edition Charizard lying around in a box in your attic or basement that could be it’s own goldmine!
As we discussed in our other recent article on the Top Collectibles Trends in 2025, 2026, and Beyond, Pokémon and other TCGs continue to experience upward growth, so now is an awesome time to get into the hobby and buy or sell cards.
We really appreciate you checking out this Knowledgebase article and we’re interested to hear your thoughts!
Do you have a box of old Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering or sports cards lying around? What are some of your own tips for pricing and getting the most value from selling trading cards?
Let us know in the comments on this article, on our Instagram, Facebook page, or via email or DM!