TCG

PSA remains the most dominant grading company in the hobby, but rising costs, long wait times, and ongoing controversies have many collectors looking elsewhere. This article breaks down the grading alternatives gaining trust and explains when PSA still makes sense for your cards.

If you play or collect trading card games, sleeves are your first line of defense. They protect your cards from fingerprints, dust, scratches, bending, and the slow but steady wear that happens just from shuffling and moving cards around.

The One Piece Trading Card Game can feel overwhelming at first, especially with so many cards, sets, and rarities to understand. This beginner-friendly guide breaks down how the One Piece TCG works in 2025, what cards matter most, and how to start collecting with confidence.

Vintage Pokémon cards remain the crown jewel of the hobby. These are the earliest sets printed between 1999 and 2003 during the Wizards of the Coast (WotC) era, plus the first wave of early EX sets that many collectors also treat as vintage-adjacent.

If you collected trading cards in the 1990s or early 2000s, you probably remember walking into a hobby shop, picking up the newest issue of Beckett Magazine, and flipping straight to the price section for your favorite game. For a long time, Beckett was the authority on card values. If a card’s price went up in Beckett, collectors and shop owners noticed. It was the closest thing the hobby had to a universal standard.

So let’s walk through the real challenges, the pricing debate, the alternatives, and how to build a sustainable TCG business without becoming a scalper.

But then there’s the other crew…the people who show up at Target on delivery day, buy every box on the shelf, and then list them for triple the price before you’ve even had a chance to take off your coat.

Whether you’re brand new to the world of TCG collecting or returning after years away, 2025 is one of the best times to jump back in. Trading card games like Pokémon TCG, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney Lorcana, and the One Piece Card Game are more popular than ever. The hobby now offers safer marketplaces, better entry points, and clear ways to track card value, even for beginners.