By TokoyamiTheDark
It has been in my knowledge that many people are asking the question about : what is the difference in value between Japanese cards and International Cards? Well, let’s start with the rare cards. In Japan, each pack guarantees 1 Foil and 1 Rare. The random Mirrored card can also be rare, bringing up to 3 Rares in one pack! I got a Foil Slowking, a Rare Beedrill and a Rare Mirrored Lapras in a single HeartGold booster pack. One of my friends even got a Lv.X AND a hidden reprint card in the same pack! Outside Japan, you only have 20% of finding a regular holo in any packs, and you aren’t even guaranteed of getting a Rare card (marked by a star). LEGEND cards were a lot controversed outside Japan, since Japanese packs includes both halves while International pack have only one half, which makes it extremely difficult to get the other half without purchasing it on Internet.
The second aspect is about Booster Boxes. While the Japanese Booster Boxes has less packs than an International one, they are a lot cheaper and guarantee rare cards that are very difficult to get outside Japan. Let’s compare what we would find in a JPN Booster Box and an US box, shall we? Well, for 2 Japanese Booster Boxes, you are guaranteed to get at least 97% of the entire set, or even the FULL set, if you’re lucky. But in US Booster Boxes, you’ll only get at least 88% of the full set… So, why is the way cards are made and sold in other countries aren’t in the same way as Japan does?
Also, in America, there are grab bags of cards sold in shops. I remember purchasing one whose box saying : “1 Foil in every pack!” But when I opened it, I really was dissapointed. There was lots of duplicates, tons of Energies and a Gliscor 005/146… but IT WAS NOT HOLO AT ALL. That’s right, NO HOLO in the pack, not even a Reverse Foil! As for my friend, he got lots of holos…but ALL the cards he bought were FAKE. Are you kidding me!? Since then, I’ve alerted the store where we bought those cards and brought them the proofs, so now the Toys R Us I go no longer accept grab bags in their stores.
Last, but not least, are cards released in Japan Only. This includes the famous VS Movie Half Decks as well as other promo cards. The VS Movie Decks are very sought by collectors, and are extremely expensive. The last one I saw from the 5th Movie went up to 450.00$US in an auction. Ever since I got my Jirachi Movie Deck in 2008, I never saw the deck again on eBay. Also, promos from the movies and PokePark Promos are another example of cards that will remain exclusive to Japan, making them expensive to purchase.
So, in the ending, it isn’t very much difficult to order a single Japanese card to add to your collection, as there’s a simple way to do it ; the Hardrock-Pokemon website is for that.
Text ©2011 by TokoyamiTheDark
Tags: Card Collecting