Your Childhood Cards Are Worth a House Now

Somewhere around 2024, the Pokémon card market completed its transformation from children's hobby to full-blown alternative asset class. Cards that sold for $5 in 1999 were now grading at PSA 10 and fetching five figures. YouTube channels dedicated entirely to opening sealed product generated millions of views per video, turning the booster pack experience into spectator entertainment. Adults who hadn't thought about Pokémon in twenty years were suddenly haunting Target card aisles at opening time, competing with scalpers and actual children for the same product. The economics were absurd: a sealed First Edition Base Set booster box — something that retailed for $100 in 1999 — sold at auction for over $400,000. Grading companies had yearlong backlogs. The line between "collector" and "speculator" blurred beyond recognition. Whether this was a genuine cultural renaissance or a nostalgia-fueled bubble depended entirely on whether you'd already bought in.