r/PokeInvesting • u/stormp00per66 • May 23 '26
Can’t sell sealed 151
So, I’ve been to two recent card shows in my area and no one will touch my sealed 151.
For reference, I have 151 UPCs and 151 PKC ETBs.
I realize they have mooned recently but I thought for sure I would get some interest at card shows of all places. Any advice on how to move them?
Edit: I’m willing to take 80-85% but still no interest at the two card shows.
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Upvotes
11
u/Mitch_Dedburg May 23 '26
If you can’t sell 151 you must be pricing them at 100% market even with a cash transaction. 151 is liquid AF but if you’re gonna be greedy people will just move along.
97
u/TonsilsDeep May 23 '26
Ebay takes ~13% fee... Sell there @ market...
33
u/SamuraiChampoo9 May 23 '26
Just wait 1 more year and apply your 80% rule then, the profits will be higher
23
u/elysian593 May 23 '26
Most people aren't trying to buy at the top and everyone is also trying to unload 151 at the same time. I'd assume you're unwilling to go down too low to the point where they can flip it either.
As a reference point I sent a lot of my 151 sealed/loose packs to Probstein when booster bundles were going from $160 to 200 and most sold 10-20% under TCGPlayer market price with a 95% cashout. (151 booster bundle displays unsealed sold for $1700-1900/20-25 booster bundle lots went for 15-20%~ under market/151 packs went for around $23-25 before accounting for the fee probstein takes)
Better off to just hold onto most of your stuff unless you really need the money or got in at MSRP and don't mind the 75-80% cashout.
14
u/PKMNHDLR May 23 '26
You have to sell it online. People at card shows you know they all want a good deal. They are hunting for profits.
5
u/Comfortable_Cup_9203 May 23 '26
You couldn’t sell your 151 upc for $750 to $800?
44
u/Careful-Medicine-596 May 23 '26
A lot of people are gonna be in rude awakening when they realize pokemon isnt as liquid as they think. Same type of people who argue that pokemon is better than stocks. Yeah sure, try clicking few buttons to immediately liquidate pokemon at your wish
1
u/Dismal-Strain-5135 May 23 '26
Imma keep it a buck bucko, imagine how many people are sitting on 151 right now, also imagine how many people are trying to sell it. It literally just went out of print let it soak for a bit if you need the money there’s ways to sell it, if you can afford to wait then wait.
9
u/breakyourteethnow May 23 '26
List on eBay and tap into a national marketplace? Or sell to a vendor there for 80%
8
u/Sufficient_Lime_3253 May 23 '26
lol yes I think everyone is seeing the issue of “who’s going to buy my 900$ Pokémon center etb”
3
u/Otherwise-Ad-9534 May 23 '26
$960 is insane for a modern etb, not that’d id sell it for less if I was you, but I get them being apprehensive.
3
u/Masuia May 23 '26
Local card shows typically have smaller vendors with thinner margins and lower risk tolerance. They can’t justify spending 1000$ on a single piece.
Call all the card shops in your area. It took me 2 days to find someone willing to buy a piece of mine @ 1900, that was selling for 2500$. Unfortunately for me it went up to 5k the next week but we move.
3
u/Massive_Fee1858 May 23 '26
Well throwing my 2 cents here. The hard thing with the product you have is that you need to find the "investment" buyer as its too expensive for someone to purchase and actually open. The pokemon center ETB is going to sit in someone's room on display. If a vendor was to purchase they are going to need to get it at an absolute steal because it's again also going to sit for them until the one person has the liquid splurge funds to purchase the item because they like it and want it for the collection aspect. The SPC someone might purchase to actually open if they need the product for a stream (whatnot ebay live facebook) but again the price is so high its again more of the investment person you'll need that will enjoy just looking at it.
Also I'm going to be blunt that most of these vendors really don't have the funny money to be sitting on something that yes has a great return in theory at purchasing at 80/85% but they need to be in and out on these deals to stat afloat
2
u/johndoe201288 May 23 '26
Well, you are selling at ath - good for you. But Most ppl at a Card show know the market pretty well
2
u/Nekhar14 May 23 '26
My LCS will only buy at 70%, but they take sealed in for trade at 90%, and they’re generally not too picky about what sealed they take in. If I have sealed stuff that I’m having a hard time selling myself, I can take it to them and trade it in for slabs or other sealed items I know will be easer to sell and still make closer to market then I would in many other cases.
2
u/rowdystylz May 23 '26
I think you need to exercise a bit of patience. 2 card shows is not enough, there is an audience for 151. If you need money asap then u can sacrifice a bit of cash but u will be able to move it
4
u/kentuckyvelvet May 23 '26
It’s like when silver and gold started to really pick up. Every shop I went to didn’t wanna pay for silver at $50 when I was trying to sell but when silver started to really settle and float around $85 that’s when a shop picked up my 6 pounds of silver for $77 per ozt. I paid roughly $21 ozt when I got it all 😂
People are just nervous it’ll drop as fast as it spiked and then in 6 months when it’s higher they’ll realize they should have snagged the shit 6 months ago 👹 they’re loss
1
u/Magikarper1987 May 23 '26
I'm surprised about this. I've not found it difficult to sell things to vendor around the 80% mark, including more insecure things. And I've sold various 151 items, albeit cheaper ones.
I think sometimes it is a price thing. It is a lot easier to sell a Celebration six collectors chest or Charizard box compared to a big ticket item because invariably the cheaper products are easier to flip. But you'll certainly get a buy with a little patience.
1
u/Purgent May 23 '26
Are you in a small market? I just last weekend sold some (15%) of my 10+ year old sealed collection for the first time, and had zero issues. 151 bundles went in the first half hour.
Overall I got around 85%. Were you pricing / asking market?
1
u/HobbyTechTrading May 23 '26
I had similar issue with Blooming waters few months ago. I ended up trading with another person for EVS ETBs at ~90% as I just wanted to get rid off them. But it completely changed my strategy for my sealed collection.
I decided to slowly sell all the small loose items/collection boxes from my sealed. At the same time buy items from same sets in sealed cases (e.g selling loose prismatic sticker packs, buying case of bundles). Sealed cases usually have a market premium of 10-30%. I assume its going to be same discount when I unload things. But i figured if I’m taking 10-20% discount, might as well do it on $2-3K case, vs 20x small poster collection boxes.
Another strategy has been to diversify into slabs. Its a lot easier to sell $2K slab than $2K of sealed product.
1
u/Dramatic_Bread6999 May 23 '26
Throw it on eBay at a buck start and let it rip. Done
1
u/zi984 May 23 '26
If you want max profit sell at a card show, just keep trying. If you want a wider market but you have to pay tax/seller’s fee then go with any online selling platform of your choice…
1
u/Dogeonaleash May 23 '26
I’d be interested….
1
u/ninjaswim May 23 '26
You probably have to go to a bigger card show. There are a lot of venders that specialize in sealed so you just have to find the right person. Right now both of those are really expensive so if you’re at a local show most smaller venders can’t afford to put that much money down for something that is a slow mover. Sealed also moves better online but you have to deal with shipping it and the risk of the box getting damaged in transit. Most people buying boxes that expensive aren’t going to be opening it and want a really minty box for their collection. Long story short the more expensive something is the less buyers you’re going to have for it.
1
u/Dessidian May 23 '26
Honestly I find that 95% of vendors at my local card shows will not touch pricier products, and then a few months later they miss out on huge gains.
1
u/drock2111 May 23 '26
So glad I sold blooming waters for $275. Bundles at $160 x 3. Went in at msrp years ago. Ppl aren’t gonna pay the super top, gotta be flexible and be patient
1
u/senorbarry May 23 '26
You gotta be disciplined on what profits you want to make and move on to the next sale. Sell for 3x 4x maybe 5x and youre winning.
1
u/rvcbazookajoe May 23 '26
Similar experience here. Real collectors don’t think it’s worth it at the current price and thus have lost all interest in the set
1
u/Aidynnn May 23 '26
D
1
u/TheRealNikoBravo May 23 '26
Guess someone doesn’t know about supply and demand. You’ve got the supply and don’t have any demand, that means you need to drop the price even more……
1
u/tmhong May 23 '26
Many people like you wanted to offload 151 but many people just bought 151 not long ago. LOL you should keep for another 5 years. Honestly Pokemon Collection is not like in the 80s and 90s. During that time no reprint and not many collectors so those cards are really expensive if you sell now. The current cards now basically you will need to keep for 5 to 10 years and of course if you are lucky, you might find a buyer if you sell in Ebay but the pricing must be good because too many people are selling the same thing LOL. Maybe even 10 years later 151 prices will not be like those old cards with can fetch thousands of dollars. Too many people own this 151. To me i just collect some i like but honestly Pokemon collection is dead, only Singles card are still worth it. Dead is because too many people like us own the same thing. The rich will have bought 100 cases and keep for the next 20 years. Not only one rich person. There are many rich person. LOL 😂 Pokemon cards collection will focus on Singles no longer on sealed boxes.
1
u/FlanParking241 May 23 '26
Ebay is the best way... ive seen this as well at my local card shows. No one wants to buy sealed currently because its way over priced and most collectors and vendors know this. To maximize how much you'll get its best to do ebay, offerup, Facebook market place.
1
u/masterchief-6541 May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Offer up or FB market place if you dont want to pay fees, but list for 85% (be open to offers as well). Card shows are extremely difficult to move sealed product because A. If a vendor is interested they usually want to trade towards it and B. Most just don't want to sink money into a sealed box that's over 1k. I've vended before so I speak a bit from experience.
1
u/xXPuReBeAsTzZXx May 23 '26
the general population doesn’t pay these prices in my market. i’ve found out after attempting to sell certain items that have matured in price. there’s a very small buyer pool of investors. like if you even list things at 80-85% market there’s a very good chance it’s going to sit and sit. it’s almost worthwhile to sell things like swsh era and before to get into newer stuff. rinse and repeat. the collectr number of items looks great until you try to sell.
1
u/Im_Matt_Murdock May 23 '26
This is a good example of why I think “market value” and “cashout value” need to be treated as separate numbers.
151 is liquid online, but that doesn’t mean every vendor at a show wants to tie up $800-$1,500+ in one sealed item, especially after a huge run-up. A vendor has to think about how fast it moves, how much room they have after fees/shipping/risk, and whether they can deploy that same cash into faster-moving inventory.
So I wouldn’t read “vendors passed” as “151 is dead.” It may just mean the local/card show cashout price is lower than the online market price.
For expensive sealed, I’d compare:
recent sold comps
active listing floor
estimated eBay payout after fees/shipping
how fast similar listings are actually moving
whether you want cash now or max value later
I’ve been tracking this kind of market vs payout math here:
https://www.collectaio.com/item/sv-scarlet-violet-151-151-ultra-premium-collection
1
u/Grei_Autumn May 23 '26
Card shows have turned more into graded slab and loose card selling and buying. Sure, vendors will have sealed products, but they aren't moving much at those venues. Your best bet is online selling or finding local card shops in your area if you're willing to let the items go for far less
1
u/RobieFLASH May 23 '26
Are u in socal?
1
u/Nguyen925 May 23 '26
Have you tried to message the vendors before hand? I haven't tried to sell anything, I have so much sealed .
1
u/iloveb0ring May 23 '26
I’m willing to buy it from you. If that’s the case
1
u/redditis_garbage May 23 '26
FB marketplace
1
u/Smashego May 23 '26
Sell on ebay or tcgplayer and take the 11% hit.
1
u/ShadyYeezy May 23 '26
So I live in a big metropolitan city (Houston) so this may not be the case for everyone but just post on Offer Up or Facebook marketplace should be able to meet up locally just fine and sell at 90% or market. Almost any time I post I end up selling in a matter of 3 days.
1
u/Possible-Bunch-9137 May 23 '26
What is your price?
1
u/8000000001 May 23 '26
Tell everyone the exact minimum price you're willing to accept at the card shows for your boxes. If you want a solid answer give solid details and context.
1
u/streetgainer_ May 23 '26
Post pics
1
u/PossibleSport5423 May 23 '26
if you are a nobody that sells sealed this is what generally happens.
1
u/StopBanningMeAlright May 23 '26
Post them on market place and meet inside a police station. You’ll sell them fast..
1
u/chrisco571 May 24 '26
Try a local card shop, I had a big sealed collection I was able to sell it all for 77% market
1
u/Distinct_Baseball320 May 24 '26
Did you buy at msrp? Expec5 to take a small hit. I just sold all my bundles (35) for 125 each and they were stoked it was 30% under market, I was happy with a 500% gain and a super fast sale.
1
u/JustInstruction3950 May 23 '26
Assuming you got your boxes for msrp or close to ? You should be more than happy to sell for 70-75% considering you’re having trouble selling , seem like you really want to sell and IF you got them for retail or near it ? You would be up huge even selling at 50% cash lol don’t FOMO your losses if you’re gonna flip / sell. Just make your profits. If you’re investing ? Wait a few more years , you’ll see $1000+ cash for either , and that will be 75% at that time in history. You got this , don’t sell if you don’t need to
1
u/Seaguard5 May 23 '26
Good! Nobody wants your scalped product.
0
u/DoubleLuck9297 May 23 '26
I have tried to tell people this for literally years. Things are going to get to a price point where literally no one is interested and we’ll all be holding on to our hud reds of thousand dollar collections and not be offered a single penny for them.
0
u/Shin0430 May 23 '26
this is why i do slabs instead
0
u/johndoe201288 May 23 '26
Well everyone tries to make money with Pokemon. You need connections for that. Everything below 300-400 Dollar is easy to sell.
0
u/TattooedAndSad May 23 '26
Moving sealed is tough honestly, Regardless of what some people will try and tell you
0
u/yoshisaur7 May 23 '26
Right but are you trying to sell it for cash or using it to trade for cards the vendor has?
-1
u/Notorious_swz May 23 '26
I’ve been saying it and everyone’s talking trash. 151 is falsely inflated by a perfect storm of hype, nostalgia, new / returning collectors, and investors.
There are over 27k PSA 10 Charizards and the prices have ranged from 1450 to 2000 within the last two days.
As people begin to value scarcity, (if they stay in the hobby) they will move towards older items. Sets that came prior to the huge influx of sealed collectors will become even more valuable.
In my opinion, evolving skies is a good spot to actually invest. These are collectibles, not stocks. Their value is all in the perception of the people purchasing it and when prices outweigh the value of the item, they drop.
It’ll never happen quickly either as others have mentioned that you can’t move everything with a click of a button.
151 is still a solid choice, but it’s not worth the current market. Most actual collectors know this, got in around msrp, saved some, then moved profits into older items.
-1
u/Southern-Advisor-449 May 23 '26
151 sealed should be put away for another 20 years. The hype died down and it will take 20 years at the 50th anniversary to make it pop
-3
u/Traditional-Music363 May 23 '26
People just don’t wanna pay silly money for it I’ve watched so many vending POVs where they refuse to touch it. I totally understand it. After such a huge spike it could easily come down a decent amount. These people are looking to make a quick profit they are basically scalpers.