The Pokémon Trading Card Game has had a resurgence, and many people, both children and adults, have started collecting cards again. It can be hard to determine the value of cards, and if you want to sort your kids’ cards to protect the more valuable ones, you need to know which ones are actually valuable.

They say that fashion is cyclical, and it turns out that this applies to trends other than what we wear. The Pokémon Trading Card Game has experienced a boom over the last few years, and young people are once again excitedly building collections of their favorite Pokémon, in card form.

As the collections of children grow, it’s entirely possible that they have a few valuable cards mixed in among the rest of their collection, and some Pokémon cards can really be very valuable, worth hundreds of dollars in some cases.

It would seem natural to want to sort these cards, ensuring that the more valuable ones go into a folder or binder to protect them, but it isn’t always obvious which ones are the most valuable. Luckily for us, it’s pretty easy to check how valuable cards are. Digital card markets like cardtrack.com have extensive listings of all of the printed cards and their variations, with easy-to-access data around previously sold cards.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can best sort which of your kids’ Pokémon cards are most valuable.

Rarity is Not Always Immediately Obvious

The first thing that you should accept if you decide to sort and protect your kids’ rare Pokémon cards is that the rarity of a card isn’t always immediately evident. Cards with alternative art or holographic prints might obviously stand out, but some cards that look simple or basic to the outsider can be pretty valuable as well.

When it comes to how valuable a card a number of things come into play, such as:

• How rare it is.
• What set it comes from.
• If the card is in good condition.
• If it was part of a limited release.
• The current market sentiment.

This means that two cards with the same printed values can have wildly different prices, especially if one is pristine and the other damaged. What we are trying to say is: unless you are an expert, there is really no way to tell just by looking how valuable a card might be.

Organization Makes Understanding Easier

Before you rush off to a digital card market site, it’s probably a good idea to do some organizing. Separating the cards out according to the set they are from, the type of Pokémon shown, the printed rarity, holographic printing and year of release will help you to sort through them.

If you are organized, it is easier to move the cards from a ‘not checked’ to a ‘checked’ group as you look up their values. It is also the sort of activity that your children might enjoy helping with, especially if they get to drop some hot lore about the different Pokémon, or share which ones are their favorites.

An important part of the organization process is learning how to decipher the cards themselves. There is a range of different information printed on the cards, and the more specific and accurately you can search for cards, the quicker you will find the info you need.

There have been numerous different versions of most Pokémon, especially popular ones, printed, so specificity about other details on the card can really be helpful.

Online Card Markets Are Your Best Bet

If you used to collect cards yourself back in the day, you should know that checking the values is much easier now. You don’t need to simply trust whoever is running the counter at your local comic book or game store; digital card markets can give you all the info you need.

These platforms have all sorts of functionalities and can allow you to:

• Look at how much cards have sold for recently.
• Look up specific cards.
• See what other sellers think cards are worth.
• See how the price of cards is changing over time.
• Sell or buy cards in a safe and reputable environment.

Most of these markets require sellers to show pictures of the cards they are selling, allowing you to see how pristine a card is, as well as being certain it is exactly the one you are after. Likewise, it can let you compare them to the cards your children have, to get an even closer approximation of the value.

Sale History is the Best Value Indicator

One important tip that you should keep in mind when using digital card markets is that the highest listed price of a card doesn’t necessarily reflect its value. Just like in other markets, people reselling cards can list cards for any price they like; that doesn’t mean anyone will actually pay that much.

If you instead check for the most recent completed sale of that card, you are getting a much more accurate indicator of the value of the card. There are, of course, a wide range of factors that influence that value, and which you should take into account when thinking about how much your kids’ cards are worth.

Final Thoughts

If you do plan to sort through your kids’ Pokémon cards, maybe putting the more valuable ones in a binder to keep them better protected, an important part of that process is understanding which ones are actually valuable. 

Of course, monetary value might not match up with the sentimental or emotional value that your children might attribute to the cards they like, so sorting them in that way is also totally valid.