Trading Cards

★ INTRO ★

This is going to be a series of pages dedicated to all of the trading card games and collectable cards that I have come across. I own examples from most of these, but I may also talk about some that I haven’t found yet, either because they are rare or hard to come by, but I still think they are neat!

Note: Sports collectable cards are the one niche of this hobby that I have not touched and am not really interested in touching. I had some baseball and football cards growing up, but they never tickled my fancy the same way that other card games do. If any ever happen to make their way into my collection, maybe I will talk about them, but don’t count on it.

★ INDEX OF CARD GAMES ★

(These will eventually link to individual pages, this list will expand soon)
-Pokemon
-Magic the Gathering
-Yu-gi-oh
-Bella Sara
-Neopets TCG
-Lorcana
-Miscellaneous Sets

★ MORE INFO ★

Commonly Seen Acronyms
TCG = Trading Card Game
CCG = Collectable Card Game
ISO = In Search Of - Notes what items a collector is looking for
DISO = Desparately In Search Of - A variant of ISO in which a person is noting that they especially want a particular item
OBO = Or Best Offer - commonly used on ebay and similar sites where it is possible to "bid", notes that the seller will entertain lower offers (But does not guarantee they will be accepted)
LGS/LCS = Local Game Store/Local Card Shop
MSRP = Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price - Sometimes just referred to as "retail price", this is the price that retail stores can sell at, because they buy directly from the manufacturer for cheap bulk prices. The opposite is "market price", the price dictated by the value people are buying things at, which can often be much higher than retail price.

Where can I find cards for sale?
This highly depends on which particular game you are looking for. Here is a list of options to get you started:
TCG Player - I absolutely love this site, it is top notch for comparing market prices to get the best deal, there are lots of sellers there so you can generally find exactly what you are looking for, and it is safe in regards to getting real cards (Pokemon especially is prone to fakes).

Troll and Toad - I have bought multiple bundles from this website, and it has always gone smoothly. Might have less to pick from than TCG Player, but gives a viable alternative to getting guaranteed real cards, and I found it useful for getting bundles of bulk in the past.

Cardmarket - I have never used it personally, but I have had it vouched for as the best option for european buyers, and it has some nice tools for comparing prices and bargain hunting.

ebay - an oldie but a goodie, this is definitely the biggest reselling platform out there. It can be somewhat hit or miss, but it is a staple for buying card sets that are harder to find (for example, being out of print, or rare cards). Shop with caution, because it can be a bit of a wild west, but if you stick to reputable sellers there is treasure to be found. Also offers the option to "Haggle" the price.

Mercari - This one is newer to me, but I have found deals there that I didn't find on other sites, so it's worth having in the rotation. The site also offers some benefits, such as easy discounts for bundles from a single seller, an easy way to save items and favorite searches, tools for bargain hunting, and so on. Some items may allow haggling.

Vinted - This site advertises itself more as a clothing market, but make no mistake, there are trading cards to be found on here too, as well as other thrifty shopping options. This is an alternate option that is especially for europeans, and I have seen quite a few people get good deals from here, so while I have not used it personally, I have heard its usefulness vouched plenty of times.

Facebook Marketplace - I can't say I wholeheartedly recommend this option, because it can be hard to find good deals and there comes a much greater risk of being scammed than with most of the alternatives, but it is certainly an option.

Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, and Flea Markets - I absolutely recommend checking these places, because with a little bit of luck, there are absolute treasures to be found out there. HOWEVER, please be careful, especially when buying pokemon cards, because there are incredibly convincing counterfit cards out there these days, and this is by far the most likely place to accidentally buy them. If you do buy from these spaces, be sure to know what to look out for, never spend a lot of money on anything, and try to have a general idea of fair market prices to avoid overpaying.

Your local game store - An absolute no brainer, trading card games are one of the staple items that many game shops will be selling. It will require some research on your part to find them, but try search terms like "card store" or "game store" in your area. Anywhere that also sells things like comics and tabletop games is a pretty good lead.

Large Retail Stores - hit or miss depending on what you're looking for, but if you can find packs on the shelf, this is your best bet for buying new, unopened products for the cheapest prices. Cards will usually be found in the front area near the registers, or sometimes in the toy section.

Collectors, Resellers, Scalpers
The distinction between how people engage with card games is important, because some of these games go through phases of being WILDLY popular, and thus entices people who want to take advantage of this for their own gains. From my experience, there are three categories regarding how people engage with the card collecting scene:

Collectors: These are people who actually care about the cards they are collecting, and have a desire to actually own a collection of cards that they enjoy. There may be some overlap with the reseller category, because some collectors may sell cards they don't enjoy or stopped enjoying for whatever reason. Or sometimes they just needed the extra money! Collectors are the lifeblood of these communities.

Resellers: These are people who are selling cards for any number of reasons. They might be collectors, but not necessarily, as there are many reasons someone might have access to cards that they don't want. Some resellers might even buy them at yard sales, estate sales, and the like with the express purpose of selling them. Resellers who don't overly hoard and who sell for generally reasonable prices are pretty universally welcomed among the communities, sometimes providing stock that might otherwise be hard to get. Resellers who overcharge may be more frowned upon, but for the most part are not likely to be shunned.

Scalpers: These are people who are taking advantage of limited stock to hoard cards and artificially drive up demand so that they can get more profit for their cards. They are widely reviled in the card collecting scenes, and are likely to be purposefully excluded from the communities. It is not often hard to figure out who is engaging in these behaviors with a bit of research, and anyone who is purposefully doing this should be avoided so as to not reward bad behavior.