Pokemon Celebrations is back! After the massive success 5 years ago when Pokemon released their TCG set Pokemon Celebrations 25th Anniversary, they’re back and better than ever to celebrate their 30th birthday. Along with a variety of collaborations, the TCG set will feature some of the most iconic cards from the 30 year history, as well as some new rarities to celebrate their historic milestone. The product will be released in a variety of formats with boxes ranging from booster packs to an Ultra Premium Collection. With a variety of SKUs and products available, which product will be best for collectors?
Directly through Pokemon’s store, PokemonCenter.com, collectors can buy a Knock Out Collection which comes with a 30th anniversary coin, special foil Eevee card, and two booster packs which retails at $9.99, a six-pack booster bundle that is sold for $26.94, an 11 pack Pokemon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Box that comes with a variety of card game accessories for $59.99, and a mini tin set that comes with 10 mini tins of two packs each for $99.99. The Ultra Premium Collection retails for $179.99 and features special Pikachu and Espeon foils as well as 30 booster packs and is by far the most sought-after (and expensive) collection released. Those prices are all retail, though, and the resale value has started off strong.
It should be noted that there’s also a variety of tins, special figure collections, pin collections, binders, etc. These products will also be released in waves: the first on September 16th, the next being October 2nd, then October 30th, November 6th, and finally December 4th.
Resale Values Are Spiking
Resellers have capitalized on early access to a set that will be printed in numbers higher than prior releases. The Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Box alone was reselling early in September for $490, down to $290 at the time of writing. Here’s a quick rundown of different products with a side-by-side comparison of retail and resale prices.
Wave One
Knockout Collection: $9.99 to $27.96
Tech Sticker Collection: $14.99 to $38.38
Poster Collection: $14.99 to $43.00
Sylveon and Greninja Boxes: $21.99 to $69 for Sylveon and $62 for Greninja
Elite Trainer Box: $49.99 to $170
Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Box: $59.99 to $290
Please note all prices are subject to fluctuation and are current to time of writing, taken from TCGPlayer.
With The Pokemon Company announcing they’ll print more of the 30th Anniversary set than prior sets, and pull rates that are seeing more rare cards more frequently, resellers will want to make quick work of flipping their product. Collectors will want to wait out the initial rush and either wait to find product at retail prices or wait until the final wave of product releases in December.
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JONATHAN KLINGER
Jonathan Klinger is a collector and baseball historian based in Texas. Jonathan has been a lifelong Yankee fan and his love of collecting goes back over two decades. His collection is focused primarily on Yankees team sets, vintage memorabilia, and other unique pieces. He is a member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). When he’s not writing or collecting, Jonathan spends his time with his family, coaching his son’s Tee-ball team.
