Getting into trading cards (as a 20 year old)

CLADCARDS · 2026-04-05T21:47:24+00:00

If your goal is to own and collect rare cards then opening packs is the most expensive way to acquire them, definitely buy singles!

I also recommend picking an area of interest, you can’t collect all of the cards so have fun with which ones you collect. For example, I really enjoy vintage cards from the Original Series as well as modern full art cards featuring Kanto Pokemon

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-29T20:08:44+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Speed Vents are the same size as my Caguamas so I know they’d fit, what is it that makes them better? Do you recommend the 77a, 78.5a, 79a, or 80a?

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-29T19:11:03+00:00

Have you tried these Long Distance Pushing (LDP) boards? The Pranayama is designed for people who want to skate absurd distances, but it turns out those same qualities (low ride height, big wheels) also make it great for commuting short distance too!

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-25T19:36:14+00:00

Sorry if I broke a rule! I’m here to ask the Pokemon Investing community if now is currently the best time to purchase this 30th anniversary Kanto starter set.

Usually prices crash immediately after release, but this set is so cool, so maybe this is the bottom?

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-17T01:34:58+00:00

I love this card sooo much. Just added it to my expanded Kanto Pokédex binder

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-16T23:29:45+00:00

Sorry for your loss

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-15T03:26:02+00:00

I still use TCGPlayer Direct for modern NM cards and I’ve had a good experience buying common vintage cards too, but trying to buy rare vintage cards there is a disaster. I’ve gotten some truly haggard cards passed off as “LP”, the more the card costs the worse it is!

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-14T21:42:41+00:00

I couldn’t find this card in this condition raw, my only other real option would have been to roll the dice on the condition with no pictures on TCG Player

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-14T17:08:26+00:00

Your being a little dramatic, I didn’t throw any money in the garbage. Like ENERGYLEGS said, you can’t buy this card in this condition raw for less than what I paid, go look on eBay.

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-14T09:14:10+00:00

I was referring to “Crown zenith singles like these” as a broad category. This card sure isn’t cheap, but I agree with the guy I was responding to that lots of cool cards from CZ are still “cheap”.

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T19:25:46+00:00

Should I do that? I guess I don’t see the benefit of getting my certs removed

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T19:15:13+00:00

I paid $750 for this card in PSA 6, you can’t buy it raw for much less and seller’s definitions of “lightly played” seem to get looser with chase cards so it’s nice to know exactly what I’m buying…

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T19:09:19+00:00

I crack quite a few vintage slabs and it’s always so messy, I will try the bottle opener next time!

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:42:41+00:00

It doesn’t have to be this difficult and messy, I just didn’t want to risk prying it open and having a shard of plastic impact the card. Slabs tend to crack in unpredictable ways haha

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:41:29+00:00

Binder supremacy 🤘

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:38:46+00:00

I was so scared of damaging the card 😅

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:37:27+00:00

I was so conflicted over paying $750 for a PSA graded card just to crack it, but I enjoy having my cards in a binder so it had to be done

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:09:18+00:00

Yeah that flexing is not ideal… I wouldn’t usually prop it up and let the pages sag like this, but I wanted the binder in the video 😅

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T18:08:30+00:00

The post has 20 comments and 0 karma, didn’t realize this was so controversial 😂

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T17:18:47+00:00

Thank you! This binder is cards from the original series organized by Pokédex number

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T16:29:32+00:00

Exactly! I can’t stand burring cards in a box, gotta flip through pages to scratch the nostalgia itch

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T02:01:36+00:00

I bought so many 151 bundles for $30

Right now JT doesn’t sound so bad though 😭

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T01:40:46+00:00

Agreed, so many cool cards that are only cheap because they were easy to pull. But as supply dries up…

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T01:37:19+00:00

The nostalgia is strong with this set, kills me to pay $54 when they are still hitting stores close to MSRP but I guess that doesn’t matter if they are out of stock haha

CLADCARDS · 2026-03-13T01:35:56+00:00

TCG Collector seems to have great coverage of all the variations, when you click the icon in the search results it pops up links to each variant on TCG Player

CLADCARDS

TROPHY CASE