![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/XEM7YPQGSRHOTPQF7ZUO3PBB3E.jpg\")
Daniel Ecock of Glitch Cards and his friend Christian Butner at the pop-up Pok\u00e9mon trading show in Atlantic Collectibles. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd\/The Irish Times <\/p>\nSam Shields lifts up a hefty glass display case with a trading card sealed inside. \u201cThis is a \u20ac3,000 euro card because it\u2019s a special Chinese exclusive promo,\u201c he says. \u201dI have a few cards that are in the \u20ac3,000-\u20ac7,000 range.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shields is one of five vendors at a Pok\u00e9mon-trading-card event in card store Atlantic Collectables in Dublin. During the pandemic, he returned to his childhood passion of collecting Pok\u00e9mon cards and started as a vendor last year. <\/p>\n
\u201cFive, six years ago I put about \u20ac20,000 into sealed Pok\u00e9mon boxes,” he says. \u201cI bought them all for about \u20ac100-\u20ac120 a box. Today those boxes range from around \u20ac700-\u20ac2,500.\u201d The hobby has proved profitable and covered the down payment of his apartment. <\/p>\n
Some of the rise in popularity in Pok\u00e9mon cards can be attributed to the company\u2019s marketing. This year marked 30 years since it released its first trading cards. <\/p>\n
In an effort to build excitement in the run-up to the anniversary, Shields says, \u201cPok\u00e9mon deliberately pulled back the amount of cards they were making\u201d and went from producing \u201c12 billion a year down to less than 10 billion a year \u2013 and that corresponded with a surge in popularity again\u201d.<\/p>\n
The popularity has also been aided by organic online content. \u201cThis hobby specifically, it\u2019s heavily influenced by influencers,\u201d says Shields, who also says a 30-anniversary brings with it an age profile that has some economic advantages as \u201cpeople around my age, in your mid-30s, we all played the Pok\u00e9mon cards as kids, but now we all have adult money\u201d.<\/p>\n
After operating online for four years, Enzo Patriarca opened Atlantic Collectibles in Dublin 12 last year. The business started selling and trading sports cards, but \u201cwe brought Pok\u00e9mon in when we opened the physical store, and I\u2019d say it represents 40 per cent of our revenue already\u201d. <\/p>\n
The business sells new packs of Pok\u00e9mon cards as well as individual cards that range in price from \u20ac3-\u20ac700. Patriarca sends the more expensive cards to be authenticated \u201cby a company called PSA [Professional Sports Authenticator]. They\u2019re the biggest graders in the world. So, basically, a card gets graded from one to 10 based on its condition.\u201d <\/p>\n
Interest in Pok\u00e9mon trading cards has surged in recent years, with graded and rated cards valued at a total of almost \u20ac9 billion. Last year PSA graded nearly 20 million cards \u2013 Pok\u00e9mon cards made up about 11 million of those. <\/p>\n
In December, PSA graded 193,600 Pikachu cards, featuring the most popular of the Pok\u00e9mon characters. The cards themselves may not be rare, but the condition, as judged by the PSA, can have a dramatic influence on the estimated value. <\/p>\n
Collectors estimate PSA could grade 15 million Pok\u00e9mon cards this year, although US tariffs have meant the business has paused receiving cards from Europe. <\/p>\n
For 20-year-old Dubliner Christian Butner, collecting is a lifelong passion. \u201cI grew up [with] Pok\u00e9mon, so I just love it. It\u2019s for the love of the game for me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He bought his favourite card four years ago for \u20ac250, a rare Mega Gengar EX from about 2015-2016. He estimates the card today is worth \u20ac800. He has seen how collecting has become \u201clike a stock option for some, people are investing in [Pok\u00e9mon cards] over crypto.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years ago Leaving Cert student Daniel Ecock went into his attic to assess his old Pok\u00e9mon collection. He estimated it was worth \u20ac2,500, but today he believes the same collection would be worth \u20ac10,000. <\/p>\n
Last August he started trading as Glitch Cards. He says: \u201cMy goal is, when I get into college, to scale the business up a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ecock should have opportunities with card-trading events continuously popping up across Dublin. \u201cThere\u2019s two this weekend,\u201d he says. \u201cLast weekend, I think there was four or five just in Dublin alone. So, it\u2019s blown up massively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emma Robinson trades Pok\u00e9mon cards at pop-up events although it started as a passion for her. \u201cI\u2019m a Kanto girl through and through, so that would be like the original Pok\u00e9mon cards that came out back in the 90s,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
Robinson says some headline numbers may appear huge but the margins can be relatively fine. \u201cThere is that little room for profit,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople think most vendors make a lot of money, but it is quite low.\u201d <\/p>\n
Daniel Ecock of Glitch Cards and his friend Christian Butner at the pop-up Pok\u00e9mon trading show in Atlantic Collectibles. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n
The interest from collectors has seen huge demand in shops in Dublin, with some limiting the number of packets sold to each customer. Robinson has seen this herself. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to buy Pok\u00e9mon cards in Ireland at the moment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n