Hello, my name is Cheryl, and I’m a card-collecting addict.
In the last year, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of collecting binders full of K-pop photo cards. I’ve also dabbled in collecting trading cards, mainly from Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering.
Cards can be a million-dollar investment: Logan Paul sold a graded Pikachu card for more than $16 million in February.
I wondered — have the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on these cards been a complete waste? How much is my collection worth? Would I be able to flip $1,000 worth of cards for $10,000?
I took my cards to Johnathan Lim at Singapore’s Oxley Grading, a business that helps collectors assess cards before they decide whether or not to send them in for grading at businesses like PSA and CGC.
Grading tells potential buyers how much it’s worth, and pegs it against the market price of similar cards. The card also gets put in a protective slab to preserve it.
Speed-grading
Lim, a banker by trade, does eight-hour weekend shifts at Oxley Grading, where he evaluates cards. Oxley handles the shipping and insurance.
Every week, Lim looks at 200 to 300 cards. He says he can tell within seconds if a card has any chance of getting a PSA 9 or “Mint 10” grade. Post-grading, a PSA 10 could be 100 times the price of a PSA 1 — a card marked as being in poor condition.
Cut and color matter
“We look at the centering, surface, edges, and condition of the card. When I assess the card, I will tell the people their percentage of getting a ’10,’ to manage their risk and their expectations,” Lim said.
A common flaw is centering. A card needs to be printed with an even border around all sides, or it has no chance of getting a high grade.
Lim speed-graded my cards, pointing out small flaws I hadn’t noticed when I was getting them, from small dents to centering that leaned left. He took around five seconds for each card.
Storage is key
My storage system is horrific.
Lim pointed out that my Pokémon cards were stored in plastic sleeves, then slotted into a cute Pikachu case. The case’s gaps on the side means part of the card is exposed to light, he said, and that can lead to discoloration.
And my K-pop cards are at risk stored in my ring binder, he said, because the metal rings dent cards.
Lim recommends collectors get a binder without rings.
Know the market
Lim likened collecting of valuable Pokémon cards to the stock market. Charizards and Pikachus, he said, are a safe bet, like Magnificent Seven stocks.
“Those cards are what people generally buy and sell all the time. It’s like a safe haven for collectors. You will not have problems selling a Charizard, but you might have trouble selling a Rattata,” he told me, referring to the tiny rat Pokémon.
“What if I’m a Rattata enthusiast?” I asked.
“That’s like buying a meme stock,” Lim said, explaining I’d have to watch the market for anomalous surges and sell the cards at the right time.
Bad luck for me: Two of my favorite cards, the Deerling and Sawsbuck Japanese Pokémon full art cards, are niche at best.
Big money cards
Lim showed me some of his high-value pieces, including two autographed 1999 Charizard cards. PSA 10 versions of the card without the autograph are changing hands for $20,000 to $35,000. Autographed versions are more valuable — someone with a similar card is trying to sell it for upward of $100,000 on eBay, but they have no takers yet.
My binder isn’t worth much
Of my close to 50 Pokémon cards, Lim said only one or two might get a PSA 9 or 10 when graded. Unfortunately for me, these were neither popular cards nor limited edition ones, and they hover around the $6 to $10 price point. Investing in the grading process, which costs around $40 per card if I submit in bulk, doesn’t feel wise.
My “Magic: The Gathering” collection fared a lot better. One card of the “Final Fantasy” character Sephiroth — which I was gifted — is in great condition, Lim said, and I can consider grading it to lock in its value. eBay listings show the card can go for $5,000 if it’s graded a PSA “Mint 10.”
The K-pop photocards aren’t a great investment
As for the K-pop cards, Lim said I’d likely be at the mercy of market volatility. These cards don’t often get traded or pegged to a last-sale value the way a prized Charizard Pokémon card might.
Some of my pieces of boy paper are limited edition cards — they go for hundreds of dollars in the K-pop boy band’s Seventeen fandom. But I’d have to do the legwork to seek buyers out, at concerts or online, then negotiate.
On the resale market, a K-pop photocard that comes with an album can sell for between $12 and $60. Some rare cards I’ve been gifted or bought — between $30 to $50 — can be flipped for $200.
No regrets
I’m OK with my collection being — at least monetarily speaking — largely worthless. Based on Lim’s pre-grading, it doesn’t look likely that I’ll secure a $100,000 valuation on my badly-cut Flareon Pokémon card.
Some of these cards were gifted to me by close friends. And I had fun, too, trading cards and befriending other Seventeen fans at concerts in Seoul and Japan. Boy paper brought us together — and that’s what matters.
I wasn’t planning to sell my collection, even if Lim had told me it was worth $10,000.
After all, I’m in it for the love of the game.
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