Selling a Pokémon collection in Ireland: what we pay and how it works

Most Pokémon collections that come across our counter arrive the same way: a binder and a shoebox, a parent or a grown-up kid, and the question "is any of this worth anything?" This is the plain version of what happens next. What we pay, how the quote works, what to bring, and what to do with the 800 commons. If you want to compare selling to a shop against eBay, Cardmarket and the rest, that is a separate post. This one is for the person who has decided to sell the lot and wants to know how it goes.

What we pay

We buy English Pokémon cards at the shop in Dún Laoghaire. The price is based on Cardmarket, the European marketplace that sets the prices most Irish shops and buyers work from, in euro, on the day you sell.

We pay up to 70% of market value, in cash or in store credit, and you choose which at the counter. Credit spends on anything in the shop: sealed product, singles, board games, the café. Most people take it, because 70% of a binder is a lot of booster boxes. The rate does not depend on how many cards you bring, and you do not have to haggle for it.

Graded cards and 1st Editions are priced in the shop rather than by the tool, because they need a proper look and often fetch more than the raw price. Japanese cards, Magic, One Piece and Lorcana are priced at the counter too.

Step one: get a quote before you leave the house

The card value checker is free and it does not need an account. Type or paste your cards one per line, with the number from the bottom corner of the card, like Charizard ex 199/165, up to 1,000 cards in one go. Add "rev" for a reverse holo and "lp" or "pl" if a card is played. It prices every line against that day's Cardmarket prices and shows the total we would pay.

The quote assumes every card is Near Mint, which is why the number you see at home and the number you get at the counter can differ a little. It is still the fastest way to find out whether the shoebox is a €40 trip or a €400 one, and you can use it as a free valuation even if you never come in.

If you would rather not type, bring the binder. We will go through it with you at the counter and the quote takes about as long as a coffee.

Step two: sort, but only a bit

You do not need to catalogue 2,000 cards. Pull out anything that shines: holos, full arts, gold and rainbow cards, anything with ex, V, VMAX, VSTAR, GX or EX after the name, anything with a number higher than the set size, promos with a black star, and anything from 1999 to 2003. Those are the cards that carry the value, and those are the ones to type into the checker.

Everything else, the commons and uncommons with a circle or a diamond beside the number, and the basic energy, is bulk. Keep it together in the box and bring it too. Bulk is priced by the lot at the counter, not card by card, and it is worth cents a card rather than nothing. Do not spend an evening looking up Rattatas, and do not throw them out either.

Our card value guide goes through condition and the set codes in more detail if you want to be thorough.

Step three: the counter

Bring the cards in, any day we are open. We check condition together, under the light, and give you a firm price there and then. Near Mint means no whitening on the back edges, no scratches on the holo, no bends. Most cards that have been played with or kept loose are a grade or two below that, and the price drops a little with each grade, more on expensive cards than on cheap ones. We will show you what we are looking at, and if you disagree with a grade, say so. The chat is part of it.

Then you choose cash or credit, and you leave with it the same day. There is no "we will be in touch", no waiting for each card to sell, and no fees. If you take credit, it goes on your account at the counter and you can spend it that day or next year.

If there is one card in the pile that is worth serious money and it is in great shape, we will say so before you sell it, because it might be worth grading first. We are Ireland's only official PSA dealer, and a card in a PSA 10 case can be worth a multiple of the raw price. We will tell you straight whether it is worth the fee. There is more on grading here.

If you are not near Dublin

Run the checker first, so you know what you have. Then email the quote and a photo of the better cards to tcg@boardandbrewed.ie and we will tell you the best way to get them to us. We are a few minutes from the Dún Laoghaire DART station if you are coming by train.

The short version

Type the shiny ones into the card value checker, bring everything in, we check condition together, you leave with cash or credit the same day. Bulk comes too and gets priced by the lot. Graded cards, 1st Editions and anything you are not sure about, we price at the counter, and we will tell you if something is worth grading instead of selling.

We are at 75 York Road, Dún Laoghaire. We all love the cards, so bring the shoebox.