I have talked about the different ways of collecting Pokemon cards in the past. There is nothing more fun than opening a booster pack and pulling a card you really like. However, that “luck of the draw” can also be quite frustrating. My latest approach involves buying bulk AR card packs, and it’s going surprisingly well.
Buying Bulk AR Card Packs From Japan
The people who follow me on socials will know I collect Pokemon cards a bit differently. Many people prefer to collect English cards, because it makes names and abilities readable. A valid sentiment, but I collect for art and artists, not for competitive play. Therefore, the card’s language is not as relevant to me as it would be to others.
My collection spans a bit of English, but mainly Chinese and Japanese cards. In recent months, I also started adding Indonesian cards. Keeping that in mind, it won’t come as a surprise my bulk AR card packs are not in English. Instead, they are all Japanese Art Rare cards, which have a much higher print quality and finish.
I have mulled this idea for some time now. After buying a full AR set of Storm Emeralda off eBay, I started looking at more options. My collection primarily focuses on budget spending, which is why both buying singles and bulk bin hunting appeal to me. However, those options often exclude the art rare cards, because they can be a lot more expensive.
Thankfully, buying bulk AR card packs resolves that issue. You get an assortment of 100 Art Rare cards spanning different sets and eras. However, out of the 450+ possible cards, you never know what you will get. Plus, there are no guarantees you will not get any duplicates. Even so, dupes aren’t a bad thing with Art Rares, I think.
The Bulk AR Card Packs Price
One obvious question when making such a purchase is: what does it cost? To be clear, these are Japanese bulk AR card packs. Yes, they could come from anywhere in the world, but these are sold via a Japanese [online] store. As such, the package comes from Japan, which adds fairly expensive shipping fees.
More specifically, the 100 bulk AR card packs purchased came to 136 euro, or about $150. Not a bad price for 100 Art Rare cards, knowing they will span Mega Evolution and Scarlet&Violet eras. Moreover, I know a lot of these cards go for $5 and above locally, so even if I were to undercut them by 50%, I’d be in profit, all things considered. Add shipping, around 20 euro, and we are at roughly 155 euro in total.
One factor no one should overlook, however, are import duties. The EU has become quite silly on that front, as I paid 56 euro – $63 – in import duties. That’s 21 euro in administration costs (for a process I didn’t ask for, but OK), 3 euro in taxes on the items, and the rest is import duty. Very silly, annoying, and expensive. It brings the total price for these bulk AR card packs to around 220 euro, or $245. Still a good price for 100 cards, if you ask me, but it might make less mathematical sense to others.
Is it Worth it 50 Cards in?
It is always hard to determine whether a purchase is worth it without having the full picture. So far, the first 50 cards from these bulk AR card packs are great. There have been 3 duplicates, which isn’t terrible. I didn’t have any of these cards in Japanese either, making it all the more worthwhile to me as a collector.
Value-wise, we are at around $150 after 50 cards. Promising, although a lot of these cards will NOT sell for their market values. Even so, I think it is safe to say we have recovered about 50% of our initial total cost. But again, buying these bulk AR card packs is not about money or making a profit.
From a collector viewpoint, this has been an incredibly fun journey. Granted, my collection is still fairly small, and has very few cards from early Mega Evolution , most of Scarlet & Violet, and anything before that.
Keeping that in mind, I am definitely more impressionable than other collectors. But so far, this is fun!
