9 Best Booster Boxes To Invest In 2023
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By: Oliver Copeland
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- Last Updated: December 3, 2023
The Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set booster boxes were released in 1999 and quickly became a highly sought-after item for collectors. These booster boxes originally sold for around $100 and contained 36 packs of cards, with each pack containing 10 cards. The 1st Edition Base Set is considered one of the most valuable and sought-after Pokémon sets of all time, with many of the cards from this set now worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Over the years, the value of the 1st Edition Base Set booster boxes has skyrocketed, with some boxes selling for six figures. The scarcity of these booster boxes, combined with the enduring popularity of Pokemon, has made them a sought-after investment for collectors.
What everyone wants to know is which booster box will be the next to explode in value. The short answer: no one knows. But we’ve chosen 9 different booster boxes that are still reasonably affordable and likely to increase in value over time. Will one of them appreciate as much as the original Base Set did?
9. Evolving Skies
The Evolving Skies set is a good investment for several reasons. First, it is a relatively new set, having been released in 2021, which means that it is still in high demand and may continue to increase in value over time.
Second, Evolving Skies features a number of powerful and popular Pokemon, including the mythical Pokémon Eternatus, the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza, and of course, the numerous eeveelution alt arts. These powerful cards are highly sought-after by collectors and players, which can drive up the value of the set.
Just to backtrack a bit, the eeveelution cards are really what drives this set. Sure, the Rayquaza alt art is a big hitter too, but the sheer number of alt arts in this set is crazy, and the fact that most of them are eeveelutions, is a solid promise that the set will blow up over time.
Overall, the Evolving Skies set is a good investment for collectors and players due to its popularity, powerful and sought-after Pokémon. If you’re looking to invest in a booster box, the Evolving Skies set is definitely worth considering.
8. VMAX Climax
VMAX Climax was only recently released in 2021 but will go down in history as one of the most fun expansion sets to open. This set was absolutely littered with character rares, alt arts, and so so many beautiful artworks.
Of course, this is a Japanese set. That means that there is the allure of a possible god pack. A god pack is a very rare occurrence where a booster pack contains only hits. That’s right, all 10 cards are full art rares.
These boxes are already beginning to climb in price. Many of the cards are actually very affordable though. I think that the price increase is going to come from the nostalgia of this set and the historical moment in the TCG history.
7. VSTAR Universe
Historically, the final expansion set of a Pokémon era is considered one of the best and is highly anticipated. In this case, the hype was absolutely delivered. VSTAR Universe is an insanely good set.
At the time of writing, this set is hot off the press and still in print, which means you can pick one (or two) up at a very good price.
This set contains a crazy amount of really amazing cards, such as the first alt art gold cards, and over 70 full art cards. In my humble opinion, the guaranteed high pull rate and huge hype around this set solidifies it as a good investment for years to come.
6. Cosmic Eclipse
Cosmic Eclipse is another set that had a lot of hype behind it upon release. It was the final set within the Sun & Moon era of the Pokémon TCG and also the final set with Fairy-type cards. The set contains some great chase cards such as many full arts, rainbows, and gold cards. This set is now out-of-print and already beginning to increase in value but now is still a good time to buy.
5. XY Flashfire
Flashfire has come and gone and already is considered a box that collectors invest in. However, this set has numerous huge Charizard hits, and if we know anything, it’s that Charizard is always a good investment.
4. Call of Legends
Call of Legends is a bit of a legendary expansion as it was the only expansion of the Call of Legends series. Before this set came the HeartGold & SoulSilver era and after CoF was the Black & White era. CoF was this little standalone set that mostly went unnoticed, but not because the cards were bad.
This expansion actually packs a huge punch, as so many awesome cards were stuffed in here. You have a shot at pulling legendary shiny Pokémon such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, Rayquaza, and more.
Since this set snuck under the radar and not many were actually printed, this set has exploded in value and will continue to do so. There isn’t any other moment in the TCG history like this one, so this could prove to be a good investment even now.
3. Team Rocket
That’s right, the Team Rocket expansion from 2000. You might think this is an odd pick for the list, but it’s not. This booster box is a good investment for a simple reason.
The oldest booster box is the most expensive. This is natural and understandable from a collector’s perspective. But what happens when the oldest box exits someone’s budget? They move on to the next one. Jungle and Fossil are both overinflated and honestly, not the most exciting expansions.
That’s where Team Rocket comes in, The introduction of “Dark” Pokémon cards, paired with some of the best artwork of any set ever, makes for a wicked selection of cards, and high desire among collectors. And the best part- collectors haven’t caught on yet.
Yes, this booster box is expensive (especially the 1st edition box) but relatively speaking, it’s a good bang for your buck since it’s still under the radar.
2. Neo Destiny
Neo Destiny has gone down in history as one of the craziest sets to ever be released. This is one of those sets that will always be a smart investment because it will always be desirable.
The biggest draw to this expansions is the “Shining” cards, such as Shining Mewtwo, Shining Raichu, and of course, Shining Charizard.
A PSA 10 1st edition Shining Charizard sells for over $10k, and all of the other shining cards in the set sell for big money too. It’s easy to see why this box is worth the money, and why it will increase in value, netting you a nice profit in even just a few years.
1. Base Set Unlimited
Ok, I know what you’re thinking. Base Set? Really?
Well, Base Set Unlimited, to be specific. We all know what happened to the 1st edition booster boxes (Ahem, Logan Paul), but in case you don’t know: they became one of the most expensive and sought-after collector’s items in trading card history. But you can still buy the unlimited (non-1st edition) boxes for a somewhat reasonable price.
Why is it a good investment? Well at this point, the 1st edition box has reached a point of inflation. Its value increased tenfold due to the 2020-2021 pokémania and online exposure from Logan Paul. I as well as other collectors believe that this specific box won’t budge in the price for years to come.
However, the unlimited booster box will. It’s the next best thing and hasn’t exploded in value the same way. In addition to this, there are way more available due to the amount that was printed. As the 1st edition boxes slowly get bought up or opened, the unlimited boxes are going to increase in value a lot more.
It’s a common belief that this booster box is still a smart investment and thats why there are still active sales on a regular basis.
