Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes and Why You Should Buy Them
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By: Oliver Copeland
- Published:
- Last Updated: December 2, 2023
The Pokémon Company makes a lot of products for the TCG, but one of the best-selling and best-value products is the Elite Trainer Box (ETB). These are most beneficial to those who actually play the TCG, as they come with materials to play the game. However, they offer great value to even those who just want to collect. ETBs come with a handful of booster packs and always contain an exclusive promotional card.
In this article, we cover everything there is to know about ETBs, including contents, value, and the best place to purchase them.
What are ETBs?
An elite trainer box is a Pokémon TCG product that usually retails for anywhere between $40 and $50, depending on the set the product belongs to and the retailer it’s found at. Some of the premium ETBs can retail for up to $100. You can always check pokemoncenter.com to find the current MSRP prices or order products.
ETBs sell well due to their overall good value, unique promo card, and collectible status.
What comes in an ETB?
Each ETB contains a combination of booster packs, TCG materials, and a promo card.
Inside an ETB you will find:
- 8 Pokémon TCG booster packs
- 65 card sleeves featuring the featured Pokémon on the product
- 45 Pokémon TCG Energy cards
- A player’s guide
- A Pokémon TCG rulebook
- 6 damage-counter dice
- 1 competition-legal coin-flip die
- 2 acrylic condition markers
- A collector’s box to hold everything, with 4 dividers to keep it organized
- A code card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online
Some ETBs will contain 10 booster packs instead of 8, and these ETBs usually cost approximately $10 more.
ETB Sleeves
Each ETB comes with 65 card sleeves with unique artwork for that expansion. Recently, the sleeves were switched from clear plastic to a matte finish. This allows for the cards to shuffle better during gameplay.
Some members of the community argue that ETB sleeves cause damage. Well, we wrote up a whole article on it and found that after 1,000 insertions, the sleeves actually do cause damage.
However, this is a highly irregular use of a card sleeve, so they should be ok to use.
Are ETBs good value?
ETBs will be most valuable to those who actually play the TCG as they will use all of the goodies included in the product, such as the rulebook, coin, dice, etc. However, there are other extras that can be beneficial to everyone such as the box itself, sleeves, and of course, the promo card.
The real meat and potatoes of the ETB is the booster packs.
Booster packs usually cost about $4.50 if bought individually, so receiving 8 booster packs for $40 plus a bunch of other goodies is a great value. The $50 ETBs containing 10 booster packs are even better.
Are ETBs a good investment?
Some collectors like to purchase products such as ETBs and hold onto them, keeping them sealed in the original plastic wrap.
As we’re currently experiencing, products from the late 90s and early 2000s have exploded in value. These collectors are hoping to sell in the future to turn a profit on the product.
Some ETBs gain value quickly, sometimes even +50% in less than a year. There are a few factors at play in this scenario. The Pokémon Company (TPC) sometimes doesn’t print to meet the demand of some products. This leads to low supply and high demand. However, this +50% value can drop fast if TPC decides to execute an additional print run of the product. In this case, supply increases, and inflated prices go down with demand.
In short, ETBs can be a good investment in the short term, but sometimes fall flat. In the long term, for example, 20 years from now, the value will be much higher and you’re guaranteed to make a profit. But it’s important to remember that more and more collectors are holding onto sealed products, so it is unlikely that modern ETBs will ever see the value skyrocket as the original sets have.
Where to buy Pokémon ETBs
Luckily, the ETB is one of the best-selling Pokémon TCG products, so it’s not difficult to find a retailer.
Most big-box stores sell Pokémon cards.
- Walmart
- Target
- Toys R’ Us
- Costco
- Best Buy
- Chapters/Indigo
- Gamestop
- London Drugs
If you want to order cards online, check these sites.
Conclusion
Elite Trainer Boxes are one of the best Pokémon TCG products you can buy due to their value and how fun they are to open. They appeal to both TCG players, collectors, and casual hobbyists. Whenever a new set releases, there is an ETB to go along with it, containing an exclusive promo. This promo card alone can be enough to draw customers in.
