Glossary

Extra card to balance a trade.

If your card is $5 more, ask them to throw in a $5 card. That's how fair trades work.

Alternate artwork of a card.

Same Pokémon, wildly different picture. Alt arts are some of the most valuable modern cards.

A single pack of cards.

Usually 10 cards. You're paying for the chance at a rare — not the rare itself.

36 packs sealed together.

The 'wholesale' of Pokémon. Best pack-opening value, but a big upfront cost.

EU card marketplace.

Europe's version of TCGPlayer. Uses euros and trend price.

The card everyone wants.

The most hyped pull of a set. Chase cards drive prices for the whole product.

Comparable recent sales.

Prices from actual sold listings on eBay or TCGPlayer — not what people ASK, what people PAID.

Elite Trainer Box.

A box with ~8–10 boosters plus sleeves and dice. Better value than loose packs, most of the time.

Both sides are within 10% value.

Use a price app. If your side is worth $22 and theirs is $20, that's fair. $22 for $12 isn't.

Marked '1st Edition' stamp.

The first print run of an old set. Usually way more valuable than unlimited copies.

Art fills the whole card.

No standard border. Usually pulled from higher rarity slots — collectors love them.

Sending a card to be scored.

Companies like PSA give cards a 1–10 grade. A PSA 10 can be worth 5–20x a raw copy.

Shiny foil artwork.

The picture itself shimmers. Holos are usually rarer and worth more than the same card in non-holo.

Short-term price spike.

A YouTuber pulls a card, everyone wants it, price jumps. Hype almost always cools off. Don't chase.

One side gives up way more.

A trade where one collector loses 20%+ of value. Walk away or ask to add on.

Lightly / Moderately / Heavily Played.

Condition grades below NM. Each step down usually cuts value by 20–50%.

Near Mint.

Looks basically brand new. Sharp corners, clean surface. NM is the standard for collectors.

Your odds of pulling a card.

How often a rare shows up per pack. Chase cards can be 1 in 100+ packs.

How hard a card is to pull.

Circle = Common, Diamond = Uncommon, Star = Rare, and stars with color/holo = Ultra Rare or higher.

A card printed again in a new set.

Reprints crash prices because supply doubles. Watch for reprint announcements.

Shiny everywhere except the picture.

The border sparkles instead of the art. Almost every card in a set has a reverse holo version.

Getting scammed.

When you trade a valuable card for something worth much less. Usually because you didn't check the price.

Unopened product.

Boxes and packs that were never opened. Sealed product often grows in value years later.

A card numbered past the set total.

If a set has 198 cards and a card is #205, it's a Secret Rare. Usually gold or rainbow.

A named release of cards.

Every few months a new Set drops (like 'Base Set' or 'Paldea Evolved'). Each has its own symbol printed on the card.

Base Set with no border shadow.

The earliest 1999 Base Set cards. No shadow behind the Pokémon art. Very valuable.

Plastic protector.

Penny sleeves cost pennies and save dollars. Sleeve everything worth more than a snack.

Tiny logo showing the set.

Look at the bottom of any modern card — that little icon tells you which set it came from.

Trading Card Game.

The whole hobby — cards you can collect, trade, and play with. Pokémon TCG launched in 1996 in Japan.

US card marketplace.

The main price guide in the US. Look at 'Market Price', not the highest listing.

Rigid plastic case.

Slide a sleeved card inside so corners don't get bumped. Standard for trading and shipping.

White marks on card edges.

Happens when cards get bent or rubbed. Big value killer on holos.

Wizards of the Coast era.

The original 1999–2003 English cards. Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, etc. Often the most valuable.