How to Check What Your Pokémon Cards Are Worth

Step 1: Identify the exact card

Card values depend on the exact printing, not just the Pokémon. Charizard alone has been printed hundreds of times, from cards worth cents to cards worth thousands. Collect four details from the card itself:

• Name — at the top of the card.
• Set symbol — a small icon that identifies the expansion. Since the Expedition set (2002) it is usually at the bottom right of Pokémon cards (bottom left on many Trainer, Energy and promo cards); the original Base Set has no symbol. Recent cards also carry a regulation mark — a letter such as G or H next to the set symbol — that tells you roughly which era the card is from.
• Card number — printed at the bottom, in the form number/total, where the total is the set’s advertised size. A card numbered above it — like 199/165, the Charizard ex special illustration rare from Pokémon Card 151 — is a secret rare and is usually worth far more than the regular version.
• Rarity symbol — next to the card number. See our rarity symbols guide for what each one means.

Also note the finish. A holofoil card (shiny artwork) and a reverse holo (shiny background, flat artwork) of the same card are separate products with separate prices. Japanese and other non-English cards are priced separately from English ones too.

Step 2: Judge the condition honestly

Most prices you see are for Near Mint (NM) — a card that looks practically unplayed, with at most tiny imperfections. TCGplayer uses five conditions (it doesn’t sell cards as “Mint” or “Gem Mint” — those words belong to graded cards):

Check the back of the card too — whitening on the back edges is the most common reason a “pack-fresh” card isn’t Near Mint. Played copies typically sell for noticeably less than Near Mint, and the gap is biggest on expensive cards, where collectors are pickiest.

Step 3: Look up the market price

With the exact card and condition in hand, look up a price based on actual sales:

• TCGplayer market price. TCGplayer compiles its market price from recent completed sales on TCGplayer.com, averaged across several transactions and ignoring outliers, so it reflects what buyers actually paid. It is the price RareTracker shows on every card page, refreshed daily.
• Listing prices. Low, mid, high and “listed median” describe what sellers are asking. TCGplayer’s own example shows how far apart they can be: a card with a $354.66 market price had a listed median of $654.72, because cheap copies sell and expensive ones sit. The lowest listing is often a worse-condition copy — useful for buying, misleading for valuing.
• Prices by printing. Each RareTracker card page lists separate prices for Holofoil, Reverse Holofoil and other printings in a “Prices by printing” table. Make sure you read the row that matches your card.

For a quick reference, our pages for the most expensive Pokémon cards and the biggest weekly price movers show where the money is right now.

Step 4: Cross-check with sold listings

For valuable cards, confirm the price with a second source of completed sales. On eBay, search for the card’s name and number and turn on Sold items — on desktop it’s a checkbox in Advanced search (next to the search bar) and in the results filters; in the app, use the filters after searching. Sold results show only listings that actually sold; “Completed items” also includes ones that didn’t.

When reading eBay sold results:

• Exclude graded copies (PSA, CGC, BGS) unless you are pricing a graded card.
• Exclude lots, proxies and listings with the wrong number or language.
• Look at the last few weeks, not the all-time high.
• Remember that sold prices include the buyer’s view of shipping and seller reputation; take the middle of the range, not the top.

Step 5: Know when grading changes the price

A graded card — sealed in a slab by PSA, CGC or Beckett with a grade from 1 to 10 — trades in its own market. A PSA 10 can sell for many times the raw price, but a PSA 8 may sell for little more than a raw copy. Only use graded prices for graded cards, and before sending a card in, compare the graded value against the raw value plus fees. Our guide to whether grading is worth it walks through the math.

Step 6: Keep track of it

Once you know what your cards are worth, add them to a tracker so the value stays current. RareTracker’s free portfolio tracker prices your cards and sealed product daily from TCGplayer, shows your gain or loss against what you paid, and works without an account.

What makes a Pokémon card valuable?

If you are sorting a binder and wondering where to look first, these are the usual signs of value:

• Secret rares — card numbers above the set total (for example 199/165).
• Special illustration rares and hyper rares in recent sets — full-art cards with gold or illustrated borders.
• Popular Pokémon — Charizard, Pikachu, Umbreon, Mew, Gengar, Rayquaza and the Eeveelutions tend to carry a premium.
• Early prints — 1st Edition and shadowless cards from the original sets, especially holo rares.
• Condition — the same card in Near Mint can be worth several times a played copy.
• Sealed product — unopened booster boxes and Elite Trainer Boxes, especially from older sets.

Commons, uncommons and non-holo rares from recent sets are usually worth a few cents each.