Gen Z and Millennials are in settlement: their obsession with Pokémon could by no means let up.
Regardless of the Japanese franchise nearing its 30-year anniversary, younger males particularly proceed to be on a lifelong mission to “catch ‘em all”—and are spending tons of, typically even thousands and thousands of {dollars}, gathering buying and selling playing cards.
A part of the “boy math” is that investing in playing cards might yield vital returns, and there is perhaps some reality to the matter.
Pokémon playing cards have seen the biggest long-term enhance in worth amongst all card classes: up 3,261% over 20 years, in response to information supplied to Fortune from Card Ladder. Even a one-year funding, the common Pokémon card is growing at almost 46%—a tempo far exceeding scorching shares like Nvidia up to now in 2025 or the S&P 500’s common 12% annual return price.
Whereas playing cards should be uncommon and in pristine situation to make vital revenue, the trade frenzy has left the cabinets of shops like Walmart and Goal naked—and even triggered some shops to enact limits or pauses on promoting altogether. And on-line, it’s pushing the resale market to new heights.
Customers on eBay looked for “Pokemon” almost 14,000 instances per hour in 2024, in response to Adam Eire, VP and GM of worldwide collectibles at eBay. And pairing the Pokémania with continued demand within the sports activities card world (due to athletes like Caitlin Clark and Michael Jordan), it’s created an ideal storm of alternative for the buying and selling card trade. The full gross worth of playing cards on eBay has elevated for 9 consecutive quarters.
“The buying and selling card passion has entered a brand new period, pushed by know-how, innovation, group, and an incredible stability of contemporary creativity–with new units, storylines and characters–alongside good previous nostalgia,” Eire tells Fortune.
Social media is driving a buying and selling card craze—and a few poor monetary selections
No different influencer could have pushed continued curiosity in Pokémon playing cards particularly than Logan Paul. The YouTuber, who can be recognized for his ventures into skilled wrestling, boxing, and entrepreneurship, has spent thousands and thousands of {dollars} buying playing cards—after which profiting off the thousands and thousands of views generated from his content material.
“Nostalgia + enterprise = the brand new artwork,” he wrote on social media after spending $200,000 on playing cards.
“These items are appreciating like loopy as collectibles have gotten very low provide, excessive demand artwork items.”
Cliff Hawkins/Getty Pictures
Logan Paul sporting a Charizard Pokemon card chain as he entered the ring for a 2021 boxing match in opposition to Floyd Mayweather.
In 2022, he broke a Guinness World Report for the costliest Pokémon buying and selling card offered at a personal sale with the acquisition of a PSA Grade 10 (primarily excellent situation) Pikachu Illustrator card for $5.275 million.
“This card value me greater than my ranch. My 84-acre ranch,” Paul mentioned on the time.
Different social platforms, together with TikTok, are stuffed with content material creators who’ve devoted their lives to the buying, opening, and reselling of playing cards.
However for some, the enjoyment of gathering or making a revenue doesn’t work out as a lot as deliberate, with a latest name into Dave Ramsey’s private finance vodcast exhibiting simply how dangerous the obsession is gotten for some younger males.
“I tousled massive. I went behind my pregnant spouse’s again and racked up $26K in bank card debt in 4 months,” the caller mentioned.
“What did you jack up $26K on?” Ramey requested.
“Pokemon playing cards—attempting to purchase a bunch and promote them on-line, nevertheless it didn’t work out.”
Like different collectables, buying and selling playing cards could be thought of a “commodity” and even artwork, in response to Jason Howarth, SVP of promoting and athlete relations at Panini America, a sports activities card firm. However whether or not to think about it a real funding alternative relies upon largely in your intentions.
“For some folks, they (gather) as a result of they view it as an funding. Others do it for the pure enjoyable of it,” he says.
By and enormous, most collectors usually are not going so off the deep finish and being overly financially irresponsible, and as an alternative see the passion as a responsible pleasure. That features Ryan Hoge, the president of PSA, one of many largest firms that evaluates the situation and authenticity of buying and selling playing cards. He mentioned he personally has tens of hundreds of playing cards, however like many, he enjoys gathering them, even when they’re saved up in a closet.
“I feel typically folks need to break from the digital, and it is a good outlet for it,” Hoge tells Fortune. And never solely do you get to carry one thing in your hand, however you additionally get to work together with a group of like minded folks that have comparable pursuits.”
Final month, almost 125,000 followers attended Fanatics’ (which owns buying and selling card firm Topps) second annual conference centered round all issues sports activities and collectibles. And the occasion notably noticed influencer and former gymnast Livvy Dunne buy a card of her skilled baseball participant boyfriend for $2,850. The Nationwide Sports activities Collectors Conference, which additionally brings over 100,000 followers, is ready for later this summer season outdoors of Chicago.
A billion-dollar market constructed on nostalgia
Whereas the buying and selling card trade was getting ready to extinction following overproduction within the Nineteen Nineties, it’s since recovered and is booming. Sports activities playing cards usher in $1 billion in annual income for producers and retailers, in response to The Athletic. Pokémon alone introduced in an identical quantity, and was the one toy to surpass $1 billion in gross sales final 12 months, says Circana information.
And regardless that over 75 billion Pokémon playing cards have been produced (sufficient to wrap round Earth end-to-end 165 instances), demand remains to be skyhigh, in response to Barry Sams, vice chairman of sport improvement and group engagement at The Pokémon Firm Worldwide.
“With explosion in demand, we’re printing at most capability to ship the best quantity of playing cards attainable to followers for present expansions whereas making certain we keep high quality requirements,” he tells Fortune.
“Those that grew up with Pokémon now have kids of their very own to share that keenness with, and oftentimes, meaning revisiting previous Pokémon card collections and recreating fond childhood reminiscences as a guardian.”
The chance throughout the card trade is inflicting retailers like GameStop to pay better consideration. The electronics retailer mentioned within the first quarter of 2025, collectibles, similar to Pokémon and sports activities playing cards, made up 29% of the corporate’s gross sales—outselling online game software program.
“We’re specializing in buying and selling playing cards as a pure extension of our current enterprise,” GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen mentioned on the firm’s annual shareholder assembly final month. “The buying and selling card market, whether or not it’s sports activities, Pokémon or collectibles, is aligned with our heritage. It matches our commerce and mannequin. It appeals to our core buyer base. And it’s deeply embedded in bodily retail.”
The trade continues to fascinate even world leaders. Throughout this 12 months’s Easter Egg Roll on the South Garden of the White Home, President Donald Trump was seen with a graded buying and selling card that depicted the assassination try on him final 12 months.
And in a latest assembly with a younger scholar, Pope Leo XIV didn’t shrink back from the buying and selling card frenzy and was more than pleased to signal a “Popplio” Pokemon card.
“It doesn’t matter how previous you might be, once you get a pack of playing cards in your hand, the very first thing you need to do is rip it open and also you hope that you just’re going to get that scorching rookie, otherwise you’re going to get a participant out of your favourite workforce,” says Panini’s Howarth. “If any a type of issues occurs, you’re ecstatic.”
