Advice on pokemon cards

[BagelAndBeagle]

Hi all sorry if this is in the wrong place, this was the closest place I could think of.

Ds’ 13th birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I’ve been wondering what is best to buy him when it comes to pokemon cards, a lot of his friends don’t think it’s ‘cool’ anymore but he’s still into it and has been interested in collecting cards to play in a club. Does anyone have any advice on what would be best to buy for a starter?

You can buy tins that have cards. Does he want to play the game or just collect cards?
I have bought from Chaos cards in the past. They do a selection of pokemon tins and collector packs

An elite trainer box is a wow gift, but about £40-£50. My son was lucky and got a £20 card in one.

Pokemon cards are definitely still cool the new ones out at the moment are unavailable as they are so popular and sell out fast. The pokemon centre has its own website that sell the cards also Magic madhouse.

https://www.retroble.co.uk/

Try this website? You can ring them and ask which ones the latest packs are they are nice people

https://www.chaoscards.co.uk/search/Pokemon

GAME also sell them. Be careful buying the tins from Amazon though. I bought some from there a few years back and they had been opened and the good cards removed. You could tell because the cellophane had been removed from around them.

You can buy cards online to make a deck, it makes a better deck rather than the shop bought ones and costs about the same. Our cards arrive from all over the world. Some aren't even that expensive.

Why don't you get him researching his dream deck? I will ask DH where he buys cards for you...

I use Chaos Cards quite a lot for Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. (I’m a massive nerd, and like to collect the odd set, if they appeal to me.) They’re a very reputable company, and the products are always brand new, and sealed. I’ve had some great pulls from ETB’s and collector tins. Some of the boxed sets have good hit rates too.

This is who we use to assemble decks

Cardmarket.com

I think a mixture of both, but the novelty of collecting is a big reason

Thanks, Yeah I’ll have to ask him, although I want to keep a bi of surprise too haha

Thanks all, from suggestions it looks like my best bet is ordering online, I’ll check out chaos cards

You could book him onto a pre-release event - you get a number of cards (not sure if it a whole deck) and get to play a mini-tournament

you need to look at expanding to magic the gathering card game , as with magic as with pokemon all the cards add to the decks.

at a guess getting premade decks if pokemon do them would be best

@BagelAndBeagle
Look around your local area for an independant gaming/geek shop

They (usually) have the knowledge to advise on the right types of packages, may provide games nights / afternoons to play (and maybe a starter group / teach new players) plus will have some form of trading community.

e.g. My friends shop has a customer base that use a chat group to discuss their spares / swaps & to advise on valuation, and her shop sells on behalf of individual traders - she has binders from individuals selling their cards, some do so for the money many do so to fund their purchases
She also does ‘wanted’ lists, looking out for certain cards etc at comicons or when they come in to sell

A slight problem you could have with trying a surprise gift for a Pokemon collector is the wide range of choice. Some go for just the pretty cards, others collect a specific set.
But if he is not ‘established’ then a local shop could recommend a good set to start with that isn’t about to close the set rendering completing a collection difficult.
If they are interested in playing the local shop would know the playing community and types of games & when they play

Most recent set is Journey Together, other relatively recent ones are Surging Sparks and Stellar Crown (basically anything tagged Scarlet and Violet is the current era). Avoid Prismatic Evolutions as the pull rates are terrible and it was incredibly scalped online. I'd suggest looking at local stores (eg Tesco or wherever you're near) and seeing what sets are in stock there - mine it's usually Journey Together at the moment and buying into that set to start with just as he can then easily top up with pocket money if he so desires.

And get him a nice binder to start collecting in - if you can get hold of it - an ETB (elite trainers box) is the "starter kit" for a particular set with some card sleeves (to protect nice cards), the booklet with the list of all the cards in that set, a load of booster packs (the bits you open) and some of the bits you need if you actually play the game - they've been quite hard to get hold of recently though cos of the Ebay resellers - hence why my personal expenditure on shiny cardboard has gone right down.

Pokemon Center is a good place to pre-order new sets etc (and merch heaven) plus some cards are worth much more with the Pokemon centre stamp on it.