How Pokémon Cards Became One of the Best Performing Assets

Move aside Bitcoin, we have a new contender for high risk high return investment.

photo by author

“Should I sell my Charizard?”

My colleague asked me yesterday, the same day a Pokémon card was auctioned off at $260,000 US dollars. It was a Charizard of certified grade 10.

He knew that I talked much about finance and investing — I once raved about the Tesla rally that I concluded was too risky for my taste — and he wished to hear my take on this new niche market. If he were to liquidate the innocuous piece of cardboard right there and then, he would have earned himself a handsome one-year salary.

“Keep it,” I told him eventually, after two days of careful consideration with his goals and financial condition in mind.

Trading card game

Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is a household name for children of the 90s. It’s card game is making an incredible comeback since its hay days in 1999.

What used to be a plaything of the 90s has within months turned into a live streaming sensation that is turning not just the heads of the collectors, but also those of serious investors who otherwise have nothing to do with a children’s card game.

This phenomenon is not only restricted to the Japanese media franchise founded by Nintendo.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Sport cards trading is not only a fun hobby but also a form of alternative investment that is increasingly speculated to beat the stock market. Sub-culture collectables the likes of classic cars, vintage comics, and rare trainers joins the ranks of such alternative speculative investment and trading.

While they may seem all fun and games, selling and trading cards are nonetheless attracting a spike of serious retail interest in recent years.

Consumer demographic

Boomers who used to be derisive about these sub-cultures are now doing a double take.