Don't Miss Out: Why Trading Card Prices in Australia Are at an All-Time High
Ouch!
Wow, what a time to be a collector or player.
We have now, once again, entered a period of volatility in the Trading Card market. This time, it is not due to the last BOOM that we experienced during COVID - where people were at home and bored, causing TCG collecting to surge in sales.
No, this time it is a global issue. Tariffs, shortages, generations of collectors, currency changes and many more issues are coming into play with the rising price of Trading Cards.
Today we are going to examine the following:
- Currency Strengths and Weaknesses
- The Singles/Reseller Market in Australia
- Shortage of Supply
Currency - Strengths and Weaknesses
I'm going to inform from my personal collecting journey and point of view. Let's examine Japanese Pokemon cards for my example.
Back in 2021 when I first started seriously collecting Japanese sets, as an Australian, I was able to score boxes for the $35-59 AUD price range for a regular set, and no more than $90 for a special set (think Pokemon Go, VSTAR Universe). This meant that on average a case of Pokemon cards from Japan would cost me no more than about $600 AUD.
Now we are looking at a case, depending on the set, landing in the $1.2k - $2.5k range. But why is this happening?
Due to global changes the Australian Dollar is absolutely TANKING compared to the Yen! Even with box prices not rising all that much (market price) - once converted to Australian Dollars, then taking into consideration GST + DUTIES + GST ON DUTIES + ADMIN FEES, boxes are getting a whole lot more expensive! This is such a difference to when I started collecting, when we were able to almost exchange a $1 AUD for ￥1000.
Plus, now that the majority of collectors have started to get onto the 'other language' bandwagon, it also means that there is less supply and that can slightly impact the market price. Thankfully, Japan are print on demand and will continue to print sets as long as it is required (or within a certain timeframe, they're not all of a sudden going to start printing Base Set again).
So - in short, don't be too surprised if your LGS has to start rising the pack and box prices of 'other language' cards, not just Pokemon, but your One Piece, Lorcana, Weiss Schwarz and more.
Singles & Reseller Market in Australia
When buying, selling and trading cards in Australia - you really need to think of it as a different market to the rest of the world. People often look up USD pricing then convert, but the reality is that Trading Cards are less readily available here and therefore single prices may actually be a little bit higher. This is definitely reflected on places like 'Last Solds' on eBay and the pricing of Singles of LGS.
I often have people come into the store to get their cards evaluated, and they often ask why the cards in the cabinet appear slightly higher than what they see as 'market price'. This is a great time to remind people that LGS have higher overheads than a mate that you sell or buy off down the road. We need to factor in: GST, electricity, website, payment processing fees and much more into the cost of selling. Whilst they might be slightly more expensive, LGS tend to take more care in what they sell. For example, LGS cards often:
- are pack fresh
- if purchased from someone else's collection are thoroughly examined and given a damage scale (LP, MP, HP etc)
- stored correctly
- support the LGS's ability to run local events for players/traders
Personally, when I am trying to complete a collection, I like to buy off other LGS because I know I'm supporting a small business, but also I'll receive what I am paying for.
Then we have the Reseller Market. My locals love to joke that many resellers are the 'SneakerBros' crowd that have run out of space to buy up and flip the latest Nikes, Jordans or whatever they are buying. Yes, they have now entered the Trading Card market to buy up and flip to make a quick dollar.
The thing is, stores are trying to prevent this type of scalping by putting limits on purchases and pre-orders, and my store is doing the same, giving priority to people who turn up to our events. It will eventually get better, I think supply issues will be fixed for Bandai and Pokemon and eventually you'll just find stuff on shelves. I do talk about this a lot on my YouTube, but don't just buy from those types of people because you have FOMO - buying from them allows the cycle to continue. The ultimate takeaway is though - your money, your choice.
Shortage of Supply
We are seeing this globally. Not just in Australia, so this is a hard one to have immediately remedied. But if you examine who is buying cards, you can kind of see why this is an issue.
We now have 4+ generations of card collectors and players. I see weekly collectors from the age of 5-70 come in through the store, so there are a lot of people buying cards. This was not the case for past decades, so this is why we are experiencing what appears to be a shortage, when in fact companies are printing more than they ever have.