Celeste TCG · Collector library
Start with the card in your hand.
Identify it, understand it, protect it and make a sensible decision about what comes next.
20 practical guidesWritten from a working card inventory
Card guides · Your collection
Are common Pokémon cards worth anything?
Individually almost nothing, and often unsellable alone. In bulk they are real money: our lot cost $0.08 a card and 1,000 of them made $82.94 in month one.
Card guides · Condition
Are damaged Pokémon cards worth anything?
A played card sells for roughly 40% to 70% of near mint, and creases or writing drop it further. On cheap cards condition barely matters, on expensive ones it is most of the price.
Card guides · Buying
Bulk or booster packs: which gives you more for the money?
Bulk costs 1 to 10 cents a card against about 40 cents in a booster pack, so it is ten to forty times cheaper. What each one is actually for, and which to buy for which reason.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Buying bulk locally: card shows and flea markets
Card shows discount bulk in the last hour of the last day, because carrying a heavy box home is worse than selling it. Flea markets are slower but the oldest ones hide unpicked stock.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Can you make money buying bulk and selling singles?
Yes, slowly. We bought at $0.08 a card and month one returned $0.08 per listed card, with $17.88 left after eBay. The real first month, in full.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Does bulk have to be near mint?
No. Played modern bulk sells at the same floor as near mint, because 97.5% of cards are floor cards. What matters is that the condition is described.
Card guides · Your collection
I found my old Pokémon cards. What are they worth?
Most old cards are worth cents and a few are worth hundreds. The three step method to find out which is which, with real sale prices from our own store: average $2.86, 61% at the $1.99 floor.
Card guides · The business
How many cards do you need to make a card business work?
At 2.9% sell through and $2.25 net per sale, 1,000 listed cards produce about 29 sales a month. Clearing $500 needs over ten thousand listed.
Card guides · Buying bulk
How much should you pay for Pokémon bulk?
Unsorted modern bulk runs 1 to 10 cents a card; we paid $0.08. Going rates by type, and why 975 of every 1,000 cards end up at the $1.99 floor.
Learn to play · Aug 2026
How to build a Pokémon TCG deck, and how many cards it takes
The 60 card rule, what a working deck list looks like, and how to build one without buying a competitive staple you do not need yet.
Card guides · Buying bulk
How to count a bulk lot before you pay
Measure the stack, weigh it, or count 100 and multiply. Never accept a photo as a count, because every bulk price is per card.
Card identification · Aug 2026
How to identify a Pokémon card: rarity, numbers, finish and print run
Read any Pokémon card from the set symbol to the collector number: rarity marks, promo stamps, holo versus reverse holo, first edition versus shadowless, and Japanese versus English prints.
Card guides · Selling bulk
How to price a bulk lot you are selling
Price per card, not as a percentage: 1 to 5 cents unsorted, 5 to 15 sorted reverse holo. The four facts a good bulk listing states, and why saying what you pulled raises the price.
Card guides · Buying bulk
How to quote a mixed bulk lot, line by line
Price a mixed lot line by line, never as one average. A worked example: 2,425 cards quoted at $80 line by line against $96 as a blended guess.
Card guides · Your collection
You inherited a Pokémon collection
Do not clean anything and do not use rubber bands. The three signals that separate a bulk lot from something worth appraising, and how to get it valued without getting taken.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Is played vintage bulk worth buying?
Played vintage from 1999 to 2003 is worth buying at 15 to 40 cents a card, because age carries value where condition does not. Where the risk actually is.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Is Pokémon bulk a good investment?
No. Bulk is inventory for a small business, not an appreciating asset. It pays through work: $0.08 a card in, about $2.25 per sale out, over years.
Card guides · Selling
Is this a fair offer for my collection?
Offers usually land between 50% and 75% of market value. Written by a buyer, with the actual arithmetic: 21.5% in fees, 30.8% in shipping, and 34 months to sell a thousand cards.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Is unsorted Pokémon bulk worth buying?
Sorting 1,000 cards takes three to five hours and uncovers about five cards worth more than $3. When paying more for sorted bulk is the right call, and when it is a trap.
Product comparison · Aug 2026
What to buy: packs, boxes, bundles or singles
How many cards are in a pack, what each sealed product actually contains, when singles beat packs, and how to start a collection without wasting the first two hundred dollars.
Condition guide · Aug 2026
Pokémon card condition, grading and storage: the complete guide
How to grade a Pokémon card by eye, what centering measures, what each PSA grade means, what grading costs, whether a card is worth submitting, and how to sleeve and store a collection so it keeps the condition you paid for.
Card guides · Selling
I need to sell my Pokémon collection fast. What are my options?
A local shop pays today, a bulk buyer pays within a week, and two weeks is enough to sell the top cards yourself. What not to do under a deadline.
Card guides · Selling
Sell it yourself, or sell it all at once?
Card by card pays the most and takes about 34 months for a thousand cards, at $2.25 a sale after fees. Selling the lot pays less, today. The arithmetic for both, and the split that beats them.
Card guides · Parents
Selling your kid's Pokémon cards
Look up their five best cards on eBay sold listings first. What a fair shop offer looks like, why 61% of cards sell at the floor, and what to teach while you do it.
Card guides · Selling bulk
Should I sort my bulk before selling it?
Sorting by finish usually pays about $10 to $17 an hour when selling to individuals, and nothing when selling to a volume buyer. Which sorts pay and which waste a weekend.
Card guides · Buying bulk
What does picked over bulk mean, and how do you spot it?
Picked over means the holos and chase cards are gone. Almost all bulk on the market has been picked at least once; the four signals that tell you, and what to pay for it.
Card guides · Buying bulk
What is actually inside 1,000 bulk cards
From 3,299 cards we scanned and priced individually: 975 per 1,000 at the $1.99 floor, 5 above $3, one above $10. The full distribution.
Card guides · Buying bulk
What reverse holo bulk is worth
Sorted reverse holo bulk trades at 5 to 15 cents a card. In our sales it moved in 5.7 days on average, faster than regular holos. What it is worth and the one trap.
Card guides · Buying bulk
Where to find people selling Pokémon bulk
Bulk sellers do not advertise. The four channels that work: a page saying you buy, local shops asked in person, local groups, and card shows. Marketplace bulk is the most picked over.
Card guides · Selling
Where should I sell my Pokémon collection: eBay, a local shop or Facebook?
eBay pays most and takes months, minus 21.5% in fees. A shop pays least and finishes today. Facebook sits between with the most risk. The comparison with real numbers.
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