Booster Pack

Individual pack with 10 random cards. The basic building block of every edition.

💡 One Prismatic Evolutions booster pack costs ~$8

Booster Box (BB)

Display box containing 36 booster packs. The gold standard for investors – maximum pull chances and best value per pack.

💡 BB Evolving Skies: MSRP $140 → now $650+

Elite Trainer Box (ETB)

Premium package with 9 booster packs, promo card, card sleeves, dice, and storage box. Ideal for collectors.

💡 ETB Celebrations: $50 MSRP, collector value rising

Ultra Premium Collection (UPC)

The most premium sealed product with 16+ boosters, metal cards, and exclusive accessories.

💡 Charizard UPC: initial $120 → $600+

Booster Bundle

Package of 6 booster packs without additional accessories. Affordable alternative to ETB.

💡 Bundle = 6× boosters at a lower price than ETB

Sealed

Unopened product in original packaging. Sealed products have higher collector value than opened ones.

💡 A sealed 2020 BB can be worth 3× more

ROI (Return on Investment)

Return on investment in percentage. Key metric for evaluating edition performance.

💡 Base Set ROI: +850% over 25 years

EV (Expected Value)

Expected value of cards in one booster box. Compared with BB price to determine profitability.

💡 EV > BB price = profitable opening

Tier (S/A/B/C)

Investment rating of an edition. S = premium, A = quality, B = solid, C = entry-level.

💡 Prismatic Evolutions = Tier S

Pull Rate

Statistical chance of getting a rare card from a booster pack or box.

💡 $100+ pull = chance of pulling a $100+ card

$100+ Pull

Chance of pulling a card worth at least $100 from one booster box.

💡 Evolving Skies: 22% chance of $100+ pull

MSRP

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. Baseline for evaluating premium.

💡 MSRP ETB = $50, market price can be 2-10× higher

Chase Card

The most sought-after and valuable card in a set. Usually Special Art Rare or Alt Art.

💡 Umbreon VMAX Alt Art = chase card of Evolving Skies

Special Art Rare (SAR)

Premium rarity with full-art artwork. Most valuable card type in the modern Scarlet & Violet era.

Alt Art (Alternate Art)

Alternative artwork by different illustrators. Popular in Sword & Shield era.

Illustration Rare (IR)

Rare card with unique illustration extending beyond card borders. Mid-range price category.

Full Art

Card with full-surface artwork, textured surface.

Holo Rare

Holographic rare card. Base rarity in every set, but vintage holo rare can have high value.

PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)

Most used grading service for Pokémon cards. Grades condition on a 1-10 scale.

💡 PSA 10 Base Set Charizard = $500K+

BGS (Beckett Grading Services)

Alternative grading service with more detailed evaluation (centering, edges, corners, surface).

CGC

Certified Guaranty Company. Third major grading service with growing popularity.

Gem Mint (PSA 10)

Highest grade – perfect condition.

💡 PSA 10 = up to 10× higher value than raw

Raw Card

Ungraded card without a grading slab.

Centering

Print centering on the card. Poor centering reduces grade and value.