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Last Updated On: February 10th, 2024
- Pokémon Level: All
- Best for: All
Diving into Pokémon card collecting can feel like stepping into a new world. You’re excited to start, but there’s a big question on your mind: where do I find the best sites to buy Pokémon cards and accessories? With so many choices out there, it’s easy to feel lost in a sea of options.
To cut through the confusion, we’ve put together a guide of the best places to shop, organized by regions across the globe. We’ve even checked these spots against the official Pokémon resellers list to make sure they’re legit so that you’re buying from reputable places.
Some areas have a richer selection of stores than others, but we’ve tried to cover as much ground as possible. And if we’ve missed a spot that you love, don’t keep it a secret — drop us a comment and let us know! We’ve also included some global marketplaces where you can hunt for Pokémon cards, and we’re sharing tips on how to spot trustworthy sellers.
Table of Contents
Overview
Buying Pokémon cards from verified sellers is incredibly important, especially if you’re looking to enter any official tournaments or organized community events.
Unverified sellers can easily pass off fake cards as authentic pieces online with photo manipulation or sly marketing tactics. On the other hand, verified sellers offer a much safer, smoother buying process from start to finish. If a card store has a good reputation within the community (and reviews to back it up), they’ll ship the right card and ship it well (i.e. with protective packaging and tracking) as they won’t want to jeopardize their community standing.
Best Sites to buy Pokémon Cards
Before we go over the list of sites, it’s important to encourage — and prioritize — buying Pokémon cards from your local community. Supporting local card stores means supporting the local TCG community, and it can help fund TCG tournaments, events, and even pre-release days for upcoming sets.
I personally like to buy from Pokémon card stores near me as I find it’s helpful to speak to other Pokémon fans when I have questions shopping. Although nowadays it’s hard to beat the convenience of shopping from home, and fortunately there are many stores with an online presence, too.
Global Options
Let’s start with a couple of recommendations for worldwide marketplaces worth checking out. They’re particularly great if you live in a location with minimal local stores or if you’re looking for an exceptionally rare, out-of-print card — large marketplaces come in handy in this regard.
eBay
Website: ebay.com
eBay is an absolute gold mine for Pokémon cards — if you can find trustworthy, reliable sellers with reviews to back up their experience. Fortunately, eBay also offers an authenticity guarantee (for eligible trading cards) which provides some peace of mind that you’re buying the real thing; think of it like purchase protection.
One of the best things about eBay as a Pokémon card buyer is that they ship to over 210 countries. eBay’s vast marketplace caters to an international audience — so it deserves a look.
And speaking of a vast marketplace, the sheer amount of sellers on the platform make it a great place to compare prices and get the best value for cards or sealed products you’re looking to buy.
TCGPlayer
Website: tcgplayer.com
TCGPlayer is very similar to eBay, although it focuses exclusively on collectible trading cards. In addition to Pokémon cards, they offer cards for many major franchises like Lorcana, Magic: The Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh!
TCGPlayer has some direct-to-consumer products as well, but the site acts as a major hub for third party sellers around the world. They’ve got a great feedback rating system so fans can pick sellers with confidence, and it’s run by TCG fans who care about the products. It’s a safe, and secure choice for buying Pokémon cards.
Specific Regions
While eBay and TCGPlayer are great places for anyone around the world to shop Pokémon cards, there are several sites and sellers with a regional footprint worthy of consideration, too.
Africa
The options for buying Pokémon cards and accessories in Africa are heavily skewed towards South Africa.
If you’re based in Africa but not in a country towards the South, your best bet is to check out local TCG community events (look for fan forums or threads on local Subreddits) or even Facebook Marketplace.
Solarpop, based out of South Africa, is the main recommended site for the region according to the official Pokémon Company resellers list. Solarpop offers more than just Pokémon products, too, and they have a brilliant range of cards and TCG accessories to choose from.
Website: solarpop.co.za
The fact that Solarpop is listed as an official reseller on The Pokémon Center site makes them a reliable source for cards. They also appear to be popular within community spaces, like board game and TCG groups on Facebook.
Additional sites to consider in the South African region include:
The official Nintendo storefront is always a safe bet, and both Level Up and PokéPlug have solid reviews online from fans. Don’t forget mass retailers, too, like Takealot in South Africa offers a good variety of products with decent shipping costs.
Asia
There are so many incredible options for Pokémon card fans based in Asia, with many unsurprisingly located in Japan. Check out the full list of Pokémon Centers available from The Pokémon Company in Japan.
You’ll find Pokémon Center stores in locations like Tokyo and Kanazawa, along with stores in Taipei and Singapore. If you can get to one of the stores, make the effort as they often host incredible community events and occasionally hand out promotional cards, too.
Some parts of Asia have a wider selection of stores than others. If you’re based in India, for example, you may struggle to find solid stores to purchase from, so your best bet is local community events, eBay, or online, independent sellers.
Other popular, fan-recommended sites across Asia include:
- Card Otaku (Osaka, Japan)
- Magi Camp (Tokyo, Japan)
- PokeWayne (Hong Kong)
- Toy Or Game (Singapore)
Some retailers will ship across the world, too, such as PokeWayne. Based out of Hong Kong, PokeWayne will ship to the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, UK, and other major European countries.
Lastly, make sure to check out major retailers in your area as well. Even regular supermarkets are stocking Pokémon products nowadays.
Europe
European Pokémon fans are also lucky to have many options when it comes to finding Pokémon TCG retailers. Many sites listed as official retailers and resellers by the Pokémon Company ship across Europe. If you see one in another country that particularly appeals to you, make sure to check out their shipping details to check if they ship to you.
A great example here is Asmodee. We’ll be mentioning them later when we look at United Kingdom-oriented stores, but they’re also recommended by The Pokemon Company for fans based in Belgium, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Website: asmodee.de
Cardmarket is another exceptionally popular choice when it comes to the best sites to buy Pokémon cards in Europe. This site is functionally similar to eBay and TCGPlayer, and it offers plenty of amazing information to help fans make informed decisions.
Other great options include:
- Amigo (Germany)
- Bescards (Netherlands)
- Ceescards (Netherlands)
- TCG Park (Slovenia)
- The official Pokémon Amazon storefront
As mentioned earlier, be sure to support your local game stores whenever possible. They will often have a dedicated website for convenient shopping.
Oceania
The recommended stores for Oceania are somewhat limited. Most stores focus almost exclusively on New Zealand and Australia, but there are some decent options to pick from. The retailer recommended by The Pokémon Company in their official list is Banter Toys.
Website: bantertoys.com.au
As you can see from the image above, they also offer some handy accessories like ULTRA PRO binders and portfolios.
Additional sites include EB Games (Australia) and Baydragon (New Zealand), alongside major retailers like Kmart.
North America
North America is a fantastic zone for Pokémon card sites. There are heaps of options to pick from, no matter where you are exactly, including a handful of major supermarkets and massive retailers.
One of the most highly recommended sites to get Pokémon cards from in Canada in particular is Hobbiesville.
Website: hobbiesville.com
The site has an impressive range of products, and it’s great for picking up new releases, too.
Another one of the best sites to buy Pokémon cards for the wider North America area is Troll and Toad. Similar to Cardmarket, Troll and Toad offers a huge variety of cards — including some exceptionally rare, older pieces.
Additional sites and retailers include:
- 401 Games (Ontario, Canada)
- Card Cavern Trading Cards (Online only, U.S.)
- Danireon (Ontario, Canada)
- Gamenerdz (U.S.)
- The official Pokémon Amazon storefront
Major gaming retailers like Gamestop are a good shout, too. They often have sales and loyalty programs which can help you get your hands on more affordable cards.
South America
There are some solid options to choose from in South America, with one of the largest retailers based out of Mexico being Gamesmart.
Website: gamesmart.mx
Other options include:
- Copag (Brazil)
- Big Bang (Chile)
- CD Distribution (Columbia)
These sites are recommended by the Pokémon Company as official resellers and they have good reviews from the community online, too.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is spoilt for choice when it comes to buying Pokémon cards. Firstly, this region has access to an official Pokémon Center storefront, which is ideal for keeping up with the latest releases and product drops.
Other great sources in the U.K. (verified sellers):
Major retailers like Tesco and Asda will often have Pokémon products available, as will popular gaming stores like GAME, too.
I’m based in the U.K. personally and I can vouch for Magic Madhouse 100% — I buy from them constantly and I find that cards always arrive in great condition. Shipping can take a little longer than desired but they’re always transparent if there are expected delays which is something I value in a retailer (case in point their homepage currently states a “1 Day delay with shipping” at the moment).
How to Spot Trustworthy Sellers
Depending on where you live in the world, you may choose to shop from retailers or websites in your local area that are not on this list. In the event you have no experience with a given company, or at the very least a strong recommendation from a friend, you can vet whether they’re a trustworthy choice with the following tips:
- Does the company have solid reviews online? If a website is offering extremely low-price, high-value cards (like a genuine Moonbreon for $15) and doesn’t have any reviews, assume it’s too good to be true and move on.
- How long have they been selling Pokémon cards? A shop’s level of experience isn’t the be-all and end-all of their reputation, but knowing that a seller has been selling cards since the ’90s does add to their credibility. See whether the chosen store offers anything other than Pokémon cards, too.
- Does the company offer card grading or additional services? If a store offers additional services or has additional content about Pokémon cards, chances are they know what they’re talking about and are invested in the community.
- Do they host community events? Speaking of community, if an LGS website is advertising Play! Pokémon events or other community tournaments, it shows that local fans know them and trust them.
Of all these pointers, the most important tip is the first one. Check out sites like Trustpilot to see whether the chosen retailer has a good standing within the community.
Lastly, be sure to verify shipping and return policies, read “about us” company pages, and ensure contact information is present for every company you choose to shop with online.
Summary
The Pokémon TCG scene is as vibrant as ever. The proliferation of the game — and trading cards by extension — exceeds sports cards even for the most popular sports in the world. A vast amount of TCG retailers have emerged alongside this growth — including local brick and mortar card shops, large chains or superstores, and online powerhouses like eBay, Amazon, and even TCGPlayer.
Most card collectors around the globe have a variety of trustworthy options to choose from. As we’ve highlighted in this post, locations such as the United Kingdom, the greater European region, North America, South America, and Asia (particularly Japan) have some of the best sites to buy Pokémon cards within arms reach.
On the other hand, customers located in parts of Oceania outside of Australia or New Zealand, or in pockets of Asia, must rely on retailers willing to ship to them instead. Global marketplaces, third party sellers, and social media groups on Reddit and Facebook are great ways to connect with additional sellers and collectors. Of course, be skeptical when purchasing cards from unknown sellers — read reviews, verify company information such as contact info and when they were established, and whether they are involved in the TCG community.
Be sure to let us know if your favorite retailers are missing from this list by commenting below!
Bij ArlyToys Speelgoed en Pokemon TCG vind je ook veel Pokemon om Lelystad (Nederland)