Poke401k.com

NOTICE: This is not financial advice! Express caution when you are in the space of cardboard investing. 

Below is a basic investing guide to help new users navigate the world of cardboard investing

• Do The Math - very important to do this first and foremost. While it's easy to acquire product to invest, getting rid of it regardless of the situation is not that easy. Even if you get the item in MSRP and it has doubled the market value, selling your item will come at a cost. Run the numbers and see if you can afford spending the extra dollars and understand not only the cost to store it and keep it safe but ultimately learn what needs to exit our of your investment. Run the math on what it costs to sell the item. Take into account the cost of shipping materials, time and effort to package and ship, fee (ebay, PayPal, etc) and taxes. Try to figure out your net profit once everything is said and done and that might be good metric to see if you can tolerate this space. 
• Understand the time requirement - there is a saying in this space "time in the market is more important that any factor" which is very critical to be successful in this space. Due to the low liquidity of the items we keep, it's very important to understand that these items will take a lot of time to appreciate. Waiting and sitting on an item for years is typical. We consider the market movement of first 2 years of the release of a product, item or card as your typical market noise and the item may or may not appreciate in this short period of time. Some will take a minimum of 2-3 years before they appreciate so take careful consideration on how long you will be in this space. If you plan to only be around 2-3 years then it might not be worth your time. Some of us have been around for 5-10 years and have been sitting on product for years. 
• Take the emotion out of the equation - letting FOMO or emotions come into play can lead to bad purchases. Just because everyone, including Grandma is falling in line for the hottest product does not mean it will do good later on. There are good, OK and bad picks. The difference between these picks could be a few hundred to a few thousands dollars down the road. Focusing on the fundamentals around a set, card or product will be better way of determining if it's a good pick or not versus just grabbing or buying the "hottest" new thing because ever youtube is talking about it!

 
 
 
 
 
 

Older, Mintier, Rarer and Better

This basic fundamental of Pokemon Investing was coined by Poketuber smpratte. It's a good set of fundamentals you can follow if one wants to dip their toes in the Pokemon investing space. 

Older
The older the box or card, the more valuable it can be! Although the BETTER or RARER factor could be a huge contributing factor to the price of a box, product or card. The product age will some put some weight on it's value and liquidity. Vintage cards and vintage product tend to have a lot more general interest  from collectors and investors but again be cautious because the other factors can play a more significant role in the value of the item and it's potential value in the future. 

Mintier
Typically, item condition is not an issue for sealed products like booster boxes and elite trainer boxes. The card condition can determine if your card is worth a few bucks to a few hundred or thousands of dollars. This is where card grading becomes a huge factor in price and liquidity. A PSA 10 copy of a certain card will beat valuation for a raw ungraded copy as the condition of the card can be subjective! 

One factor for sealed products is ensuring the shrink wrap on your product or seal is intact! A torn shrink wrap will affect value especially an item worth thousands of dollars. The difference could be -10% off the market price. 

Rarer
When it comes to Pokemon, rarity and scarcity is king! Nothing drives up the price of a card or a booster box by having almost no supply or having an insane pull rate. 

Better
This is the factor that drives the price of an item regardless of its age or supply. Popularity, Card Art, Unique card treatment, and many other factors can contribute to a product, card, or item being the better pick!