My nephew is into Pokemon and asked me for Pokemon playing cards. Is it safe to buy on Amazon or are there many fakes there?
Also, could anyone guide me as to which card packs are the old Pokemons? He wants the basic original Pokemons. I saw there are hundreds of types of card packs and I’m completely lost as what to get.
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Do not buy anything on amazon, most boxes are opened weighed to take out the good cards and then resealed. Buying cards in general is a real shit show right now. If you want to get a sealed box of the latest stuff, line up at pokemon center when they open in the morning and go to the register to buy a box.
If he wants old cards you probably will not have the knowledge to figure it out. They had a re-release of the original cards for 25th anniversary but the packs are very hard to get (I have not seen any in the wild). You can also ask him what pokemon he likes and you can just go buy some singles at places like surugaya or bookoff.
DISCLAIMER: I’m not a Pokemon card fan, just a Pokemon fan, so my information may be incorrect.
If your nephew has a favorite Pokemon, try going to a used items shop like BOOK OFF. You can buy single cards there, and that’ll guarantee that your nephew gets at least one card that he really wants (as opposed to packs, which are random).
Currently, there is one pack that I know of which includes the original 151 Pokemon: ポケモンカード151. You’ll know it’s the correct pack because it has “151” on the front.
You can find pokemon card packs at the Pokemon Center as well as at convenience stores, but whether they have this specific pack or not is going to be a matter of luck/timing. There may be a limit on how many packs you’re allowed to buy as well. You can also buy sealed packs from Mercari, Rakuten, or Amazon, assuming that the seller seems trustworthy.
Your best bet with the yen so cheap is to just find out what he wants and buy it in Akihabara.
Since he is young, I recommend going to cardshops or looking online and asking for commons or bulk for the Pokemon 151 set, as another poster mentioned. You can probably get hundreds of cards for really cheap, and none of them are really “valuable” so you don’t have to worry about wear and tear.
It is very hard to get Pokémon card boxes lately. The Pokémon 151 set which has the 1st gen Pokémon will already be hard to obtain since they were released months ago. Mercari is currently selling these for maybe 15k+(originally 6k+). Your best bet is getting the current set(released last weekend) or the next set Shiny Treasure which is set to release on December.
Edit: Or if you are lucky, some card shops have a crane machine in them that gives packs/ boxes as prizes.
The local card hobby shops near me (including chain shops like Animate) have shelves full of Pokemon cards you can buy per single card. For example, I just picked up a couple of cards I wanted last week for 33 yen per card.
They’re ones that are already opened though (and obviously not worth anything), so you wouldn’t be buying them in the fancy packaging that some kids might enjoy. It’s just buying a single card, and you have to dig through all the boxes to find ones that are of the original 151 (because they’re all random, maybe divided by type but not by generation of Pokemon).
A bit of a hassle for you if you don’t know which Pokemon are the old ones, and maybe slightly less exciting than getting to see the cards pacakged/enjoy the tearing open of the packaging, but better than nothing if you have trouble finding new/unopened cards
I found this article:
[https://adayofzen.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-buying-pokemon-cards-in-tokyo](https://adayofzen.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-buying-pokemon-cards-in-tokyo)
you need to pre order and even so it involve loterry, they sometime available in pokemom center or seven eleven a day or two after release… but otherwise try searching for reseller for higher price…
I live in Kyoto and I’m a Pokemon TCG collector, so hopefully I can help!
Try to avoid buying online if you can. Check conbinis as they get the booster packs in, but often limit them to 1/2 per person per day. I found some in a 7 Eleven near me yesterday, but it’s just luck/timing based. These won’t be original cards though, they will be the latest packs (Raging Surf, Black Flame etc.) which will include some early Pokemon, but also a lot of new ones too.
Pokemon Center is a good way to get individual packs too, but again they are often restricted to either 5 or 10 packs per person. (Kyoto Pokemon Center had Black Flame cards in this week, limited to 10 packs per person). (Same issue as 7 Eleven though, these aren’t OG cards or Pokemon, they are brand new sets)
If you happen to be in Kyoto, Amenity Dream had 151 card packs in, selling at 1000 yen per pack iirc. (over RRP but the easiest way to get hold of the 151 packs which only contain the original 151 Pokemon)
For old cards, your best bet is going to a BookOff or Furuhon Ichiba to check their showcases and storage cards. Not every store stocks old cards, but if they do, the good ones will likely be in the locked cabinet showcases, and the more common ones could be in the loose storage containers priced at around 30 yen each.
If you’re OK with specific Pokemon from *any* set, rather than finding original cards, looking through the storage bins is probably the best way to do it. You’ll need to know which Pokemon you’re looking for though.
The only other way to really find old cards is to use Mercari/Yahoo Auctions, but you have to be really careful.
Hope you can find what you need!