Pokémon box set causes craze on Long Island as market value hits all-time high
From left, RJ Golabek, 9, of South Huntington proudly holds his Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box, which his mom waited on line for at Best Buy in Huntington Station. Mark Rodenburg, 36, of North Babylon shows off his Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box, which he obtained from pokemoncenter.com. Credit: Mark Rodenburg
Lines formed outside stores like Target in Bay Shore and Best Buy in Huntington Station on Wednesday as Pokémon fans strived to get their hands on the new 30th Celebration box set being released. Supply was limited and the demand was high.
"Some people were waiting on line all night for this,” founder of the Long Island Trading Card Game Show Rebecca Seepersad, of Farmingdale, says. "This happens during every Pokémon release but because it’s the 30th anniversary and it’s a really cool set, this one is definitely extra for sure.”
A Pokémon card collector with the new 30th Celebration set he bought after waiting in line outside a Best Buy store Wednesday. Credit: Getty Images/Mario Tama
The value of Pokémon cards is on the rise. In fact, sealed Pokémon products have become quite a safe investment.
"The current state of the Pokémon market is at an all-time high,” Jessica Sholl, 31, owner of Shollpoke, a trading card vendor, from Lindenhurst, says. "Cards from two years ago that sold for $35,000 [on Dec. 7, 2024] are now worth $2.7 million, like the Torchic Gold Star PSA 10, because only 19 exist.” Trading cards have become a multi-billion dollar industry.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
Fans are waiting on lines for hours outside Long Island stores for the Pokémon 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box release. Sept. 16 marked the first wave of product drops, with others expected through November.
- Retail box price is $49.99, but they are already selling on eBay for $399.
- The Pokémon value is at an all-time high, collectors say, with cards from two years ago that sold for $35,000 now worth $2.7 million.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Known as the 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box, this release kicked off a campaign to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which began in the fall of 1996. The box set contains nine booster packs, a full-art promo card, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, 65 card sleeves, a player’s guide to the 30th Celebration expansion, six damage-counter dice, a competition-legal coin-flip die, a plastic coin, collector’s box with six dividers and a code card for Pokémon Trading Card Game Live. Retail box price is $49.99, but they are already selling on eBay for $399.
"People feel the urge to need this right now because it’s the brand-new item of the moment,” Sholl says. "There’s a lot of playing into the fear of missing out.”
BUYING THE BOX
Michelle Golabek, 32, of South Huntington, got on line at the Best Buy in Huntington Station to obtain a box set for her Pokémon collecting 9-year-old son, RJ, whose birthday is coming up.
"When I arrived, there were over 50 people in front of me. By 10 a.m. there were more than 100 people behind me when they started letting us in,” Golabek says. "As I got up to the counter, there were only 20 box sets left. But I got one and my son is so excited.”
The Rodenburg brothers had different experiences trying to obtain the set. Mark Rodenburg, 36, of North Babylon, made his purchase online via pokemoncenter.com on July 15.
"I got an alert on my phone that they dropped a new item on the website,” Mark says. "When logging onto the site, you get put into a queue. But I kept on getting kicked out. I had to go back in 15 times over the course of an hour. It was insane.”
Mark bought two box sets, one to open and one to keep one sealed. Plus, he got two tech sticker collections. Meanwhile his 33-year-old brother, Steve, from Babylon, didn’t have as much luck when he arrived at Target in Bay Shore at 7:30 a.m.
"There were about 100 people ahead of me and approximately 25 behind me but the line kept growing,” Steve says. "When there were about 10 people in front of me, they had sold out. What can I say? I tried but it’s the chance you take. I ended up getting two tech sticker collections because that was all that was left.”
MORE COMING
This is just the beginning of the 30th Celebration for Pokémon as Sept. 16 marked the first wave of product drops, which also included a poster collection, tech sticker collections, Sylveon ex and Greninja ex Boxes, a Knock Out collection and a two-pack Blister. The next one comes Oct. 2 containing Day and Night mini tins, a binder collection and a booster bundle.
Wave 3 arrives Oct. 30 with Espeon ex Battle Deck and Umbreon ex Battle Deck. Wave 4, Nov. 6, will offer Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections, a Ditto Premium Collection and Mew & Mewtwo figure collections. The final wave, number 5, hits Dec. 4 with Sylveon ex and Greninja ex tins.
"Since the Elite Trainer Box is so popular, I believe the Ultra-Premium Collections Day & Night is going to be even harder to get,” says vendor Dave D’Amelio, of Lake Grove, who goes by the Instagram handle, Poke_Dave. LI.. "It will contain special illustrations you can only find in that box like Espeon ex and Umbreon ex.”
SHOW ON SUNDAY
Those looking to obtain a 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box can check out Seepersad’s monthly Long Island TCG Show at the Hilton in Melville on Route 110, happening this Sunday The event opens at 10 a.m. for early birds ($15) or 11 a.m. for general admission ($10). It runs until 5 p.m.
"The box set will be the hot commodity at Sunday’s show for sure,” Seepersad, 35, says. "You will see vendors selling sealed copies for about $200.”
For more information about the Long Island TCG Show, visit litcgshow.com.
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
