How to check a Pokémon card’s value
By DexCompareUpdated prices checked
On this page9 sections
A Pokémon card is worth what the same card, in the same condition, recently sold for, not what sellers are asking. For sealed product, the reference is what stores charge today. Here’s how to check both, step by step, with today’s store prices in New Zealand to show how a price is read.
Value is a sold price, not an asking price
Search any card and the first prices you see are listings: what sellers would like to get. Some of those listings sit unsold for months because the price is too high. A few are priced by people who haven’t checked. Neither tells you what a buyer will pay.
A sold listing does. It’s a price someone agreed to, for a card you can see, on a known day. Several recent sales of the same card, in the same condition, give you a range, and the middle of that range is the most honest single figure you can use. The highest sale is the one everyone remembers, and the one you should be most wary of.
The same idea works for sealed product, with one difference: booster boxes, Elite Trainer Boxes and bundles are sold new by stores, so there’s a live market of store prices to compare against. That’s what DexCompare shows, and what the live block below uses.
1. Identify exactly which card you have
Two cards with the same Pokémon on them can sell for very different prices. Before you look up anything, pin down every detail that makes a card distinct:
- The set and number. Printed at the bottom of the card, with the set symbol. The same artwork can appear in more than one set.
- The variant. Holo, reverse holo or non-holo; a full art or alternate art version; a different border or finish.
- Edition and stamps. First edition marks, promo stamps and event stamps each make a separate card.
- The language. English, Japanese and other printings are priced separately. Search in the right one.
- Raw or graded. For a graded card, the grading company and the grade are part of what it is. Compare it only with sales of the same grade from the same company.
2. Judge the condition honestly
For a raw card, condition moves the price more than almost anything else. Sellers describe it in grades of wear, from near mint through lightly played and moderately played down to heavily played or damaged. The words vary from one marketplace to the next, so read how each one defines them.
Take the card out of its sleeve and look at it under a bright light. Check the corners for rounding or white tips, the back edges for whitening, and tilt the surface for scratches, dents and print lines. Then search for sales in the condition you actually see, not the one you hope for. If the card is clean enough that you’re wondering about grading, the grading guide shows how to check whether it pays.
3. Find recent sold listings
- Filter to sold items. On eBay, the Sold items filter shows listings that sold; card marketplaces often show a card’s recent sales on its own page.
- Match the card and the condition. Set, number, variant, language and condition, or company and grade for a slab. Skip lots and bundles of several cards.
- Look at several sales. One sale can be a mistake or a bidding war. Five or more recent sales give you a range.
- Use the middle, not the top. Set aside anything far from the rest, and take the middle sale: the median.
- Check the dates and the postage. Recent sales count for more than old ones, and a low price with high postage is not a low price.
4. For sealed product: today’s store price against the median
Sealed product has a better reference than past sales: what stores are asking right now. The cheapest store in stock tells you what you could pay today; the median, the middle price of the stores that have it in stock, tells you what most of them ask. Here are the products in New Zealand whose cheapest store sits well under the median today.
| Product | Cheapest | Median | Under the median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Trainer Box 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box3 stores | CheapestNZ$280 | MedianNZ$349.99 | Under the median20% under |
| Deck League Battle Deck - Mega Lucario ex8 stores | CheapestNZ$55.88 | MedianNZ$67.50 | Under the median17% under |
| Ultra-Premium Collection Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection3 stores | CheapestNZ$399.99 | MedianNZ$453.88 | Under the median12% under |
| Booster Pack Pitch Black Booster Pack6 stores | CheapestNZ$9.50 | MedianNZ$10.74 | Under the median12% under |
| Tin English TCG: Lumiose City Mini Tin3 stores | CheapestNZ$22.99 | MedianNZ$25.98 | Under the median12% under |
30th Celebration
Released| Product | Cheapest | Median | In stock at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Box | CheapestSold without a booster box | Median— | In stock at— |
| Elite Trainer Box 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box | CheapestNZ$280 | MedianNZ$349.99 | In stock at3 stores |
| Booster Bundle 30th Celebration Booster Bundle | CheapestNZ$199.99 | Median— | In stock at1 store |
Here’s how the value checker reads a price you’ve been offered, using 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box today. Below NZ$280, you’d pay less than at any store we compare that has it in stock (3 stores right now). Between that and NZ$349.99, it’s cheaper than most stores ask. Above the median, more than half the stores ask less, and you could buy it new for less elsewhere.
A price far under every store’s deserves care rather than excitement: check the seller and the shrink-wrap first. The guide to resealed product says what to look for. You can browse by product type too: booster boxes, Elite Trainer Boxes and booster bundles, or the newest sets:
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission. Goes to ebay.com.au.
5. Know which side of the sale you’re on
The value of a card depends on what you’re doing with it. If you’re buying, the cheapest sensible price you can find is the number that matters. If you’re selling, it’s what a buyer will pay, less what the sale costs you: the marketplace’s fees, the postage and the packaging. Those can take a real share of a small sale.
The selling fee calculator shows what a sale leaves you after fees and postage. Your fee depends on your account, so confirm your rate in your seller account (on eBay, your Seller Hub) before you price anything big. For sealed product you’re selling, the value checker shows what stores ask today, which is the price most buyers will compare yours with.
6. Put the number to work
- Trading cards with someone
- Agree a value for each card from sold listings, then add up both sides in the trade calculator. It shows the gap in money and as a percentage, so a small one is easy to settle.
- A shop offers store credit
- Shops usually offer a percentage of what they think a card sells for. Set that rate in the trade calculator to see what your cards become in credit, and compare it with selling them yourself.
- Thinking about grading
- You need two values: the raw price and the price in each grade. The grading value calculator turns them into a break-even graded price.
- Buying a sealed product
- Search it in the value checker and compare the cheapest store and the median with the price you’re offered.
Common mistakes when valuing a card
- Quoting the highest listing. An asking price isn’t a sale, and the highest one is the least likely to sell.
- Mixing up versions. A reverse holo priced as a holo, a later printing priced as a first edition, or a Japanese card priced as an English one.
- Ignoring condition. A near mint sale isn’t the reference for a card with worn corners.
- Comparing graded with raw. A slab’s price says nothing about the same card ungraded, and one company’s grade isn’t another’s.
- Forgetting the costs. Fees and postage come out of every sale, and grading adds its own on top.
- Treating today’s price as permanent. Prices move. A value is a check made on a day, so check again before a big trade or sale.
Where to buy
DexCompare puts New Zealand stores side by side: each one’s own listed price in NZD, 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.