Where to buy Pokémon cards in Australia: sealed stores

The stores we compare range from large online card shops to game stores with a web store on the side. We read each one’s own website and count what it has in stock right now.

Right now Gameology has the most sealed Pokémon in stock, with 270 products. “Listed” counts everything a store shows, in stock or not. A big range is handy when you want several products in one parcel, but it says nothing about price: the cheapest box can just as easily be at a smaller store. Each product page ranks every Australian store by price, so check there before you settle on one shop.

The newest English set is where most buyers start. Here is the cheapest booster box, Elite Trainer Box and booster bundle of it in Australia right now, with what a single pack works out to inside each.

Every row links to the product’s own page, where all the stores that stock it are ranked. The 30th Celebration set page lists everything else from the set, from tins to collections. Price per pack is the fairest way to line up different products. A 36-pack booster box usually costs the least per pack; an Elite Trainer Box costs more per pack but adds sleeves, dice and a promo; a booster bundle is the cheap way in. Which one suits you depends on what you want out of the box.

“From” is the lowest in-stock price of that type in Australia today, across every set, so it is often an older or smaller product. Open the type to see every product ranked. Everything here is English-language sealed product; singles, graded cards, accessories and store-made bundles are left out on purpose, so each product page compares like with like.

Every price on DexCompare is the store’s own listed price, read from its website about twice a day. Three things to keep in mind when you read one:

• It already includes GST. Australian stores show prices to consumers with Australia’s standard 10% GST included, so the figure you see is the figure you pay for the item. There’s nothing to add at the till.
• It excludes shipping. Postage depends on the store, the parcel and where you live, so we leave it out and rank on the item price alone. The next section covers how to account for it.
• In stock comes first. A product page ranks the stores that have it in stock, cheapest first, then the ones that list it without stock. A low price on an out-of-stock listing can’t be bought today.

Where several stores have a product in stock, its page also shows the middle price of those stores. That is the going rate in Australia today, and the easiest yardstick for any offer you see somewhere else.

Australia is a big country and parcels are not cheap to send, so postage can change which store is really the cheapest. Two stores a few dollars apart on the item can swap places once delivery is added. A few habits help:

• Check the free-shipping threshold. Many stores waive postage over a certain order value, and the threshold differs from store to store. If you’re close to it, adding a booster bundle or a tin you wanted anyway can cost less than paying for delivery.
• Put the whole order in one cart. One parcel from one store is usually cheaper than three from three, even if one item is slightly dearer there.
• Look for local pick-up. Some stores with a shopfront let you collect an online order. If one is near you, it can save the postage altogether.
• Compare at checkout. Add the item to the cart and enter your postcode before you decide: that’s the only way to see the real total.

Many Australian stores take pre-orders for an upcoming set before it comes out. A pre-order reserves a product at the store’s listed price, and the store charges you either when you order or when it ships, depending on its terms. The table above counts pre-orders separately from stock for that reason.

Before you pre-order, read the store’s terms for when it charges your card, what happens if its allocation is cut, and whether you can cancel. Stores may ship pre-orders a few days either side of the release date. The pre-order guide covers the rest, and lists the sets you can pre-order now.

You don’t have to choose one for good. Plenty of game stores sell online too, and some online stores have a shopfront. Here’s how the two compare.

eBay is the other big place Australians buy sealed Pokémon. It’s useful for older or hard-to-find products that stores no longer stock, and for buying from other collectors. For a current set, though, a store is usually simpler: a business with a returns policy, prices with GST included, and a price you can check against every other Australian store in one place.

If you do look at eBay, compare the listing’s price plus postage against the cheapest Australian store, not against a single shop. Read the seller’s feedback, check where the item ships from, and look for photos of the actual box. The eBay vs Australian stores guide works through the costs on both sides, including what eBay charges if you’re the one selling.

Across 61 Australian stores, prices for the same box tend to sit within a range of each other. When one listing is far below the rest, it’s worth a question before you pay. On DexCompare, a price under 50% of the middle price is never shown as a deal: that is almost always a listing filed under the wrong product, such as a single pack priced as a box.

Elsewhere, a sealed product far under the going price can mean a resealed box, a damaged item, or a seller who won’t ship. Check the middle price on the product page, then read the resealed product guide for what to look at on the listing and on the wrap.

• Someone has quoted you a price? The value checker shows the cheapest in-stock price in Australia for the same product today, and the middle price, so you can see where the quote sits.
• Trading cards or product with a friend or a shop? The trade calculator adds up both sides and works out what a store-credit offer is worth.
• Selling something to fund a box? The selling fee calculator uses eBay Australia’s published fees to show what a sale leaves you after postage.

DexCompare puts Australian stores side by side: each one’s own listed price in AUD, excluding shipping, ranked by price and stock. Stores pay nothing to be listed, and commissions never change the order.

Buying from a store you haven’t used before? Check its contact details, delivery costs and returns policy first, and check the shrink-wrap and seals when your order arrives.