How much can you make selling Pokémon cards: margin per box and per pack

This is the most common mistake when talking about profitability. There are two ways to measure it:

• Markup on cost: what you add to the purchase price. You buy a box for €100 and sell it for €125: a 25 % markup.
• Margin on sale price: the share of the selling price that is profit. In the same example, €25 out of €125: a 20 % margin.

The higher the percentage, the further apart they are: a 150 % markup equals a 60 % margin. The figures in this guide are markup on cost, which is how shops usually talk. The calculator shows both.

A worked example with one box

With round numbers to keep it clear: a box of 30 packs that costs you €100.

The last row shows what happens if you have a few packs left at the end of a set and discount them: the margin drops, but it is still better than selling the sealed box. These are example prices; use the calculator above with your own.

Selling the booster box sealed, the usual markup is between 20 and 30 % on what it costs you. It is a lower margin, but it has advantages:

• Little effort: the customer takes the whole box in one go.
• No premises needed: it sells just as well online.
• Collectors who want the sealed box tend to come back for every release.

The downside is that customers can easily compare box prices online, so the margin is tighter.

Selling loose packs: from 50-60 % up to 150 %

When you open the box and sell the packs individually, the markup rises sharply: it usually starts at 50-60 % and, for the most wanted sets and the first days after release, it can reach 150 %.

That is why many shops do both: they sell sealed the boxes collectors ask for and open some for loose packs and live openings. Korean Pokémon works very well for this, as it has the same cards as Japanese at a lower cost.

Many new shops are surprised that the wholesale price of a highly wanted box is quite close to the retail price. That is normal for the most in-demand product, and margin is built in other ways:

• With loose packs and openings, where the markup goes up.
• With accessories and singles, which go with every purchase.
• With pre-orders, to sell on day one, when demand is highest.
• With Asian product (Japanese and Korean), which leaves more margin per pack.

Many shops make as much from singles as from sealed product. The good cards pulled from boxes opened in the shop, or collections your customers sell you, can be sold one by one in store or on marketplaces.

• Purchase price: buying well is half the margin. Read how to choose a Pokémon booster box supplier.
• The set: if it has highly wanted cards, packs sell for more. Our news covers the hits of each set.
• Timing: the first weeks after release have the highest demand.
• Language: Korean costs less and leaves more margin per pack; Japanese sells better sealed.
• Selling costs: card terminal and marketplace fees, shipping and packaging.
• Dead stock: a box you do not sell for months is money tied up.

Mistakes that eat into your margin

• Mixing up margin and markup: you think you make more than you do.
• Forgetting fees: card terminal, marketplaces and shipping can take several points.
• Opening boxes of a set nobody asks for: loose packs only work when there is demand.
• Buying late: if you arrive when the set has cooled down, you sell less and cheaper.

1. 1

   Pre-order

   Having stock on launch day lets you sell when price and demand are highest.
2. 2

   Mix boxes and packs

   Sell sealed the boxes collectors want and open some for loose packs.
3. 3

   Run live openings

   Showing what comes out hooks customers. To explain what can be pulled, use data such as the 30th Celebration pull rates.
4. 4

   Sell accessories

   Sleeves, binders and toploaders go with every purchase and leave a good margin.