POKEMON cards and other hit collectibles from the 90s are regaining popularity, with savvy sellers tapping into the market.

Younger readers may recall the animated Japanese television shows featuring Pikachu and fellow 'pocket monsters' – with fans possibly still keeping a stack of cards hidden somewhere in a shoe box.

But with card traders making more money than ever on sites such as Facebook Marketplace, the temptation to flog impressive collections is growing.

Oxford collector Jacob Balding is offering his Pokemon set, which includes more than 24 first edition cards, for £535.

Some of these feature the rare Lapras holo first edition and pre-release Aerdoactyl holo, also first edition.

Mr Balding also claimed he has near-complete Fossil, Jungle and Team Rocket Pokemon card sets.

Abingdon Pokemon enthusiast Jordan Hamblin and James Scar from Witney are each offering their card collectiosn for £300.

However, Pokemon and Yu Go Oh specialist Charlie Robins, who works at Toy Planet in Wantage, said the smartest thing collectors could do was hold onto their collections for another decade.

He explained: “Pokemon cards will always increase in value.

“Depending on its condition a shiny Charizard card can cost up to £150 right now – it was much less before the start of the pandemic but its worth has definitely gone up over the last few months.

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“In 10 or 20 years time their value would have definitely gone up by four or five times what it is now, so the best thing is to keep them.”

So far, the highest price ever paid for a single card was £43,450.

This was the super rare Pikachu Illustrator card.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Robins also pointed out that Pokemon cards are ‘great investments’ and that many people in their 20s or early 30s are buying sets now with the hope that in years time they would be able to sell them off for much more.

Despite many sellers offering extensive Yu Gi Oh collections online for hundreds of pounds the Wantage resident the search for them has definitely died down.

He added: “ It is definitely worth checking what cards people have – they can either cost not much at all or a lot of money, there is no middle ground really.”

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The popular collectibles store on Mill Street where Mr Robins work often organises trade-ins and games where fans can swap cards.

Toy Planet can also arrange evaluations for people who have ‘shoe boxes full of cards’ but do not know what they are worth.

Mr Robins added that the shop sells many collectibles but also buys good quality cards.