Right now, most of the TCG money are going to Pokemon and most of the big spend per unit in sports cards are going to basketball cards while baseball and football cards get more volume purchases. Typically anything that is 25 years or older can qualify for the “classic” label though the cards communities use the word “vintage” to describe card eras based on significant events that separate vintage era with lower production versus modern era that saw much higher production with sub eras within modern era such as the junk wax era. Vintage cards typically are worth more on average, however, modern production typically include 1/1 RPAs and other numbered special insertions that are more valuable than any specific vintage cards as those sets typically did not include these special insertion and had less variety than modern high-end card sets.
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Fortnite – 2019 series 1 Fortnite card boxes are probably extremely underproduced. At the lower hundreds, if you are in the market for these, I believe these are probably some of the best values. Fortnite the game although no longer at its playing peak, is still extremely popular worldwide.
Magic: The Gathering – This franchise is probably the OG of all TCGs created over 30 years ago. While its Alpha and Beta decks are probably out of reach for most people at this point, I think the best value is the 1995 release Ice Age. Despite what people say about its print run size and expected value of cards in pack/deck/box versus market value, I think around $100 USD for a starter deck and about $1,000 USD for a box are still excellent deals for 30 year plus vintage sealed MTG products.
Garbage Pail Kids – I think the 1985 non-American Series 1 and all other versions of the 1985 box sets from that franchise are good value at a few hundred to a few thousand USD are good value. GPK is crossing genres now and I believe is doing quite well as a franchise.
Harry Potter – 2001 base set booster box, basically its first edition box, are undervalued at the $1,000 to $2,000 USD range considering its cultural impact and continued franchise successes. Considering how impactful the franchise is, I believe this is one of the best values in the history of TCGs at its current price levels.
The Simpsons – Its first official TCG box released in 2003 by WOTC is probably a really good deal at around $100. The Simpsons, being one of the longest running animated series in the world has the kind of popular culture and historical relevance that will likely ensure some of its collectibles will have appreciable value over time.
Digimon – At around a few hundred dollars for the 1999 series 1 first English release, I think it’s an excellent deal. Digimon’s origin as a unique digital pet game and as an animation series that came out around the same time frame as Pokemon and One Piece has the kind of history and cultural relevance storyline to likely appreciate over time for some of its premium cards products.
Ne Zha 2 – However you perceived the franchise and its country of origin, the movie is in the top five in terms of non-inflation adjusted box office revenue, regardless of how it got there…..Many of these boxes are so inexpensive at less than $10 for a full box (and they are mostly official cards from a country where knock-offs are frequently originate from, in this case, selective enforcement of copyrights from a certain entity works in the favor of collectors), they are just too good to pass up on if you are in the market for these items. The artwork, print quality and variety are quite good. One of the main versions is also printed by one of the biggest card companies in the world with collaboration with other top cards companies in the world. The original Ne Zha or the Ne Zha 1 movie from the same franchise set was not a global phenomenon at the level of Ne Zha 2 even though it did have cards from that movie as well. Due to Ne Zha 3 coming out purportedly some time in 2030, Ne Zha 2 cards may do well in the future.
Pokemon – I think right now the Pokemon card sets with the best value, ranging from less than a hundred USD to the lower thousands USD, are the non-official Pokemon TCG sets. 1999 Merlin Pokemon sticker set, 1999 Burger King Pokemon set, 1996 Carddas Pokemon set and 1995 Topsun Pokemon set. Yes, these are not Pokemon TCG official releases, however, they are officially licensed products associated with the Pokemon franchise. They are also some of the earliest Pokemon card/sticker releases. I think the modern, non-vintage Pokemon cards in terms of value are the 25th anniversary cards especially the ones from McDonald. They could be had for a few dollars per pack and has the Pikachu symbol on it which is quite unique. Overprinted or not, at that price range, it makes sense to acquire these in my opinion if you are in the market for these.
Yu-Gi-Oh!– Yes, I am not a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG due to reason(s) I previously stated in my earlier posts which is/are mostly due to printing strategy of the franchise/TCG. However, I am still a believer in the franchise and its TCG’s popularity. Its arguably most famous set is the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon 1st Edition, created around 2002, are considered the first Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG English version releases. I believe the better value are in the non-English 1st Edition releases that were released later that can go between $1,000 to $3,000 per booster box.
MetaZoo – I believe the MetaZoo story is not over. Meta Zoo, with new ownership and likely more stable financially, could possibly see its cards worth a lot more in the future. Meta Zoo is unique in that it has innovation like “fourth-wall effects” and the utilization of cryptids in their TCG. The art on these cards are also quite good to be honest. However bloated the hype was, I think at the bottom price levels and with its unique innovations, its mythical themes and akin to Dungeons & Dragons except it is more Western and American individualistic centric versus collaboration centric will have a strong market in the future. I think if you can get MetaZoo Cryptid Nation 1st Edition booster box for around $100 or the Kickstarter version (I believe these are the so called true 1st Editions because MetaZoo were first released via Kickstarter campaign) for about $1000. Technically the non-Kickstarter Edition came out in 2001 versus 2000 for the Kickstarter Edition, however, due to the huge price differences and the fact that they have almost the same name, I think the price difference is too big to not consider the non-Kickstarter version if you are in the market for these cards.
Obviously many other long-running franchises such as Dragon Ball Z, My Little Pony, One Piece, Power Rangers, Star Wars, Disney Lorcana and Ultraman are great too. TPC focuses on value for the common person to beat the odds in terms of ROI. That means many factors such as cash flow constraints, lack of leverage over high-end buyers regardless of market conditions, limitations on basic access to infrastructure such as to grading services and numerous are considers to increase the probability of the success of the underdog. Sometimes an underdog is not a dog because it takes finesse to win against the big dogs. For sustainability and social responsibility purposes, perhaps the winning “underdog” doesn’t always have to be become the “big dog” to remain the “top dog.”