I honestly wish they gave dice instead of coins in their other products, like the 1 and 3-pack blisters. I got a cool Yugioh monster themed die in a YGO product I bought some years ago. You can also use the dice for other games too.
Sleeves: Good Booklet with all cards: Good The box itself for storage: Good The one normal die: Good The number of packs in it: Good Promo card: Good Agree to disagree, i guess 😁👊
I just bought the Shiny Mimikyu Paldean Fates ETB and I love the box. But the booklet...Wow! I've always loved booklets in videogames and this ones are just beautiful
Personally, I actually LOVE ETBs since my son doesnt live with me, so when he visits during summers & holidays, they give us more of a chance to get something super great while also providing enough 'stuff' for us to play against each other & collect the boxes for memories. We always get SOMETHING, which is not true when I've let him select a number of solo packs in the past. I like them as a product for that purpose, even if they aren't necessarily the most cost efficient
@@John-du2mq okay but if I want to open packs for a low price, etbs are my friend, so yes you only need one, but most of the time it is good to get multiple
@@John-du2mqmost people can't afford to buy a whole box all the time etbs are usually the next best price bc of how overproduced they are. Just don't buy them from the store they're much cheaper online and there's plenty of trusted sellers.
i usually just do the math about buying the same amount of booster packs individually and usually it is almost the same price as the ETB and i get other stuff for " free" so it seems fine for me
pull rates and guarantees are different for booster bundles / etb's and premium collections and tins though. buying loose packs is all well and good but you dont get that guaranteed hit. like with the 151 Japanese booster box, you are guaranteed the masterball in at least 1 of the packs. if you buy 100 loose 151 packs you might still not get the materball from them.
@@BoosterShowdown Do you know what could the pull rates be in premium collection boxes? I opened a PAF one yesterday and got a hit in each of 8 packs. I wonder if this was insane amount of luck or these boxes tend to have good pull rates in general.
@kars28123 I pulled a Charizard in my ebt. I about sh*t . But yes, I've opened other 151 items, pulled some awesome cards but the Charizard is beautiful.
Gane shop owner here, your missing a larger metric about why etbs will be the only thing on shelves. The cheaper items always sell first. Kid says, MOM GIMME CARDS, mom grabs 2 sleeved boosters. Dad says, get Johnny some pokemon for his birthday, Jimmy's already getting other gifts so mom gets Timmy a 20 dollar ex box. Adult enthusiasts are buying boxes or bundles. It's just the fact that the inverse bell curve here is that parents or casuals are buying the cheapest and enthusiasts are buying the highest. It's honestly a super simple idea. Parents buy cheap for their kids Shiney cardboard hobby
I gotta be honest i just started collecting Pokémon Cards again and as someone that is starting out, the ETBS are an absolute banger!!! U get a nice looking box where u can store cards, u get 9 packs and a nice promo card. I bought the 151 Box, Twilight Masquerade Box and the Obsidian Flames ETB and im so happy! But now im definitely only opening displays and other types of tins or collections. But to start getting into collecting again, ETB's are great. Great video man:)
I just got back into it but after 3 etbs I started doing the math and as someone who plays as well etbs aren't really worth it I try and get booster bundles cuz the more cards I can get the more deck possibilities I have yea I could buy the single but the chase is still fun plus if I get a chase that I don't really care for it gets sold and I buy more packs
@@madhatterentmt6146 yeah thats what i meant, when u get back into collecting etb's are great but im also only buying displays, since i dont need etbs anymore of 3 i bought. buuuuuuut. i will still buy the surging sparks box, idk man i like the designs and so on tooand they're sitting in a nice cabinet at home for everyone to see:)
I started to collect pokemon cards again this year after not collecting some years ago, I think I stopped getting pokemon cards when I was in middle school. But after seeing pokemon cards becoming popular to buy, it made me wanna collect them now. I wanna buy ETB’s but with my bills and rent, I don’t wanna spend too much money. So I only buy single booster packs or bundle boxes when I can afford it.
@@firemiracle hell yea i got back in to it to play tired of begin couped up in the house playing games online lol so i start building decks and going to play at my local tcg shop met some hella cool people
As a competitor and mild collector, I buy ETBs for one reason: to store all my cards from that set in. If I rip a booster box, I buy an ETB of that set as well to store all the bulk in.
Thank you for the idea of what to do with them, this makes perfect sense just get one for this. I also just get one Being a normal person, maybe a couple of the cool promo boxes every once in a while idk how people afford cases and ten etbs per set
I sometimes pick up some cards to rip while I'm having downtime at my job (third shift, really quiet) and I always want to try to get an ETB if I do pick up anything, so I at least have somewhere safe to store my cards for the drive home as well as a way to sleeve anything good I might pull.
“YoU CaN jUsT bUy ThE SlEavES oN E-bay” first, if I’m paying shipping I’m getting the ETB anyways, second if it’s on E-Bay that means someone else either bought the box already.
As someone who is only about a month into the hobby, ETBs have been my main purchase and the ones I have been happiest with. They look nice, they give me plenty of everything I want, and they're easy to find + affordable. My plan going into Surging Sparks (now that I've determined I'd like to try both playing the game as well as collecting) is an ETB + booster bundle to start.
Excellent analysis of the ETB product 💪 I personally love opening 1 ETB per set, because I want the promo, and I love having the box to store my cards from that set. I don’t open a ton of product so the 1 box is usually enough 😊 I also love the booklet! But, 1 is enough for me and I’d rather buy booster bundles or products with other promos. Loved this one bud!
Man, I used to "collect" Pokemon TCG when I was a kid, left it for a couple thousand years and now I'm trying to comeback as an adult with disposable income (ay you said yourself in a different video haha) and you've been of great help, cheers mate! Thank you!
@@sleevenocardbehind thank you very much! Yes, I'm trying to decide what my goal will be before I jump head first hahaha the content is amazing, keep it up!
The ETBs are great imo. My wife and I like to grab some cards when we have date nights in areas that a local card shop is in. In all of these the booster boxes I see all go for over $100 which is not an investment casual collectors like my wife and I are willing to spend. However, the ETBs save you about 10 bucks on average for the amount of card packs you get. The last box we got this weekend was $35 and for the same amount of Stellar Crown packs it would've cost $45. So it doesn't make any sense not to get the ETB in those cases
Honestly, before I played the TCG, I stayed clear of ETBS. This was in the SWSH era so the ETBs just weren’t worth it unless it was a special set, but they are a godsend. Dice instead of those stupid cardboard ones, lots of energies (Might buy a stellar crown cuz those energies are so gooood), some packs to open, nice storage for stuff like dice and deck boxes, overall just pretty good product.
I love ETBs, not because anyone told me to love them but because they come with things I want, I LOVE the sleeves, the promos are always fun and pretty, there's a good number of packs in there, I also love the box itself, it's practical and nice looking. Dice are always a fun bonus too.. and I love the guide book where I can cross out the cards I've collected from the set. Also I live in Norway so we don't have a lot of different bundles to choose from so ETBs is the best choice a lot of the time...
The main reason I buy etb is in my country buying etb is less money for 9 boosters than if I have to purchase 9 boosters alone (and the box is cool so I don't have reason to not buy it)
Really love your explanation videos!! They are so in depth without being too complicated, and honestly makes me feel good about buying ETBs! Going to buy more to unbox on my channel (and keeping sealed too)!
ETBs are fun and affordable. The best part is that it provides storage and themed sleeves. While not everyone has a local store, it's better to buy singles whether in peron or online (for investing and playing) and league battle decks (for playing). The products to keep sealed are booster boxes and something I consider to be underrated are the Prerelease kits with the promos when the promos are something popular like charizard such as the chance of having vivid voltage promo stamp charizard or vivid voltage stamped lugia, but keep it sealed.
I think people miss the point because of the somewhat click-baity title; even though he argues exactly that. Consumers are 'brainwashed' to buy ETBs because they have a little bit of everything, and thus can make every type of consumer happy to some extent. They're especially good for new players (again, as he covers). The argument isn't that ETBs are bad; yes, he does elude that it might not be the highest value product depending on your needs, but ironically compared to the comments, why ETBs are so popular (and why they're always in stock, which was super interesting!) Great video!
@@John-du2mqyep there may be instances of batching issues, but overall the pull rates from product to product are roughly the same. careful where you get your supply though
The point regarding collection boxes looking good on display being a reason why people buy them is the same reason people buy etbs, they look cool and are almost uniform throughout its history with respect to its packaging.
I’m a TCG player and only a causal collector if I see a card I like, and the reason I buy ETBs is simply because I like them the most. All the extras, especially the booklet with the complete list of cards in the set so I don’t have to look them up, and the box itself for storage, are nice to have. As for single cards, I’ve long learned you don’t buy packs for actually playing the TCG; you buy singles. You can build most decks for like 30-75 dollars if you buy singles, with many staple cards being shared between decks as well. Opening packs is almost purely for fun, and ETBs imo are the most fun. That’s why I get them, from the player perspective
Normal ETB’s are a blessing for new collectors and old collectors for lots of reasons. If you’re strictly in it for money, the Pokemon Center ETB is probably super worth it strictly due to the limited stamped Promo. Great video man, absolutely love the content
I think the ETB‘s are a good thing for you to get someone who’s just starting someone who’s new. I like this got all the stuff they’ll need to start after you’ve been in there for a while. It might not be exactly what you need. I have to admit I am a dice addict so dice always are good
You are correct from a profiteering perspective. However, most people that buy Poke cards are just collecting for collecting's sake - and ETBs are great for said purpose. Not everybody is engaged in TCG to drain stores and sell high
Maybe I’m just weird, but I actually like opening ETB’s, or well I used to, can’t really afford to collect anymore 😅 It always felt like a big event, like every time me or my brothers would get one, we’d gather around and watch each other. We loved battling so the energies were much appreciated, we loved collecting and displaying so the sleeves were nice, we had all of our dice in one bag so it was always different whenever we grabbed them out of the bag, and the poison and burn chips changed a shocking number of times, so it was cool to have options
I buy the etb whenever a new set comes out so that I can prevent myself from spending so much money. I only allow myself to buy the amount of cards that will fit in the etb, I do not keep my bulk cards in anything else. It has helped me enjoy the hobby more as I am more selective with the products I am purchasing
A booster pack runs for anywhere from 4.86 to 5.40 in my area. I get 9 packs and a booster for 43.20 with these ETBs, therefore I typically save money and get a new promo to my promo collection when I get one. I also usually buy these at GameStop with my monthly pro rewards 5 dollar coupon, saving me more money. However, I only buy one new ETB once, as I don't feel the need for more than 1 of the promo. I give the energy cards away and keep the box for sorting.
I agree, I'm not huge into ETBs. I usually get it when I ask my husband to pick me up whatever the new set is at the time from target or from the vending machine, and all they have is the ETB. I personally prefer to get booster bundles because of the better price per back. I do LOVE the ETB boxes though! I have a local card shop that sells empty ETB boxes for 99cents each, and I get them to store all my bulk in :)
On the pokemon center an etb is $60 for 11 packs. A pack alone is about $5. So 11 packs by themselves are $55 and for $5 more you get the promos and all the extras
I'm just getting into Pokémon and the reason I got the ETB is because I thought the little booklet would cover on how to play the tcg, I just didn't realise it being an "elite Trainer box" it would be essentially a collection booklet instead of a guide. (Purely my bad for not looking into it enough)
I find ETBs useful for storing duplicates, especially holos. But unfortunately, living in a damp country, the insides of these cardboard boxes are prone to fungus, especially the ones I've had between one and two years. Trying to keep them clean and dry can be a real chore.
Personally, I've always preferred buying ETB's over stray packs or "premium collections". As I play competitively and don't really collect anymore, sleeves, dice, and boxes to put the bulk I might look at once a year are more useful and a Shaymin V and Vstar. I still get to open packs and pray for something usable or valuable (so I can sell it and buy usable cards) and the rest of the product is still useful to me; not just something I'll sleeve and throw in the trade binder for the rest of eternity. Also note that I still don't really buy anything in relation to packs much in general, as it's just cheaper to buy singles than it is to hope I get what I need from packs. Generally, most Pokémon TCG products are aimed at casuals and new players, rather than competitive ones.
Your videos are crammed with so much info! I was a vintage comic book addict so I get the lure of the cards. I have a really BASIC question for you: Are cards from different sets compatible? So, to make a 60 card deck can you use some from say, Surging Sparks and some from Evolving Skies? Just curious. Thanks!
Yes and no. You might want to google “Pokémon tcg standard vs expanded”. Standard format will include cards in the current rotation, expanded will include all modern cards.
I'll be honest, I got the ETB because it was Ogerpon themed. I wanted everything Ogerpon themed, sleeves, promo card, and all. not many bundles have pokemon I like as the theme
Problem with ETB, I'd rather have extra booster pack than energy pack. Another problem I have with pokemon is special sets don't have booster box, and forced you to get ETB instead.
I collect the ETB's themself. I also use them to store my double normal, reverse holo and holo from that set. My collections count around roughly 90 etb's packed with cards. I have like 7 151 ETB's but i also have alot of bulk from 151 and i could even use a 8th one. I just Love ETB's my wife not so much cause of how many i have. edit: me and a mate for once decided to pre-order a case with 10 etb's of surging sparks for opening on New Years Evening. we bought them 1/3 vs 2/3 cause he will open his part while i open one part and my wife and kid will be doing the 3rd part together. So each will have 3etb's and 3 extra packs from the 10th etb. we gonna fight over the 10th promo.
Only thing I like about ETBs are the promo cards, its usually why I even get it. The build and battle stadiums generally cost less than an ETB and you get 12 booster packs, plus the stamped cards from the battle decks!
ETBs are pretty good value but they stay longer because of their price. Usually they are $50+ while the other products that run out are $5-$30. And kids are more likely to afford the cheaper products and buy them out while the more expensive products sit longer because they might only be able to get them for their birthdays or Christmas or a special occasion.
started collecting again and my god, i remember booster boxes being a whole hundred dollars cheaper, but ETBs haven't really changed in price, or at least in my region
Personally, I only go for the Pokemon Center exclusive ETBs. I buy one to open, and one or two to keep sealed for display or sell. The stamped promos are only going to go up in value and if the set is undesirable, then I didn't invest much money and will just buy singles. Also if you all buy regular ETBs, support your LCS and get them for $30-35 and not at the big box retailers for $50+.
Some etb's here are almost the same price as the booster bundle (30-35 euros) online where i am from, which is the reason i get ETB's. Extra packs and more stuff is always good imo
where im from the ETB and 6 booster bundle have the same price/pack. So I usually buy ETBs over booster bundles since I get extra stuff for the same price/pack.
ETBs are good because it’s everything you need to start playing - the rule book, I wish they came with those. Also I like the sleaves, I use them for any tcg cause they’re cool.
I buy one etb for my kids cause of the sleeves and dice, then it’s a list of singles and booster boxes if they do well in school. Or saved money for half.
Interesting, I'm definitely guilty of buying an ETB because there was nothing particularly appealling and I didn't want to leave the store empty handed
I always buy the ETB so I can store the cards I get from that set. Sometimes their sleeves are crap but other times they seem made better and fit the cards in smoothly. I like displaying my ETB's too but feel like the pulls have been lacking bad. I don't have the money to buy booster boxes. I could but prefer the ETB's to get the box and promo cards.
I am a collector, but I buy the ETBs when they are a good value per pack. I go by price per pack only, and I don't consider anything else in a product as part of the value.
I think on sale they can be OK. 35 bux = 3.88/pack and you get MORE DICE. Sleeves are like 5-10 bux or more depending. Card shops sell the used boxes for 3 bux for extra storage.
As a kid a bought them because I assumed they were great for value and looked cool. And since they came with so many packs (to me) and the smaller ones did t seem like they did to my dumb mind that’s what I wanted and since it was like 100 dollars I could sometimes convince my mom to buy them
I'm kind of ocd. Two etbs, two BB, two packs of clear sleeves and a new binder to start building my set. Box to keep the duplicates. The two etb sleeves for commons. Clear sleeves for reverse holo, holos and hits. But everyone does it different ways.
ETB has zero hits but GOLD CARDS are often found inside. But thats like 1 gold card in 3 or 4 etb. HITS for chase card? NO. Buy booster box instead. Get magnetic case for the art work packs. Get another box and acrylic them, get a few box to open for hits. But cost effective is always just buy singles.
I collect cards for fun, not based on pure value or playability. I’ve only bought one ETB, Temporal Fates, because I love Walking Wake and wanted to have just one. But they’e not worth my money, so I don’t plan on getting any more. I don’t need all of the extra bits like the collectors guide and gameplay bits, so if the promo card is pretty I’ll buy it as a single from my local card shop, and if I *really* want packs from the set I’ll buy a booster bundle or a cool promo box that catches my eye
I find the ETB boosters have better pulls than other booster products. This was especially the case with Shrouded Fable. I opened 50 packs of non-ETB SF boosters and got no hits other than a few EX cards. A single SF ETB and I received two full arts and an SIR…
They're meant for new players, They buy the starter deck and find out they like the game, Then they want to get serious, so they go out buy the ETB and get everything they need, plus packs to break to potentially upgrade their deck. All without breaking the bank
I might be wrong but isn't the build & battle kit also big value? Like they are around $18 and they offer 4 packs vs $40 for 9 packs, the cost per pack is around the same isn't it? Plus you get 40 extra cards that are worth something?
Hmmm... I like to buy ETBs because it's cheaper per pack and I have almost an instant ROI when I sell the accessories and the box itself. 9 Booster Packs for $30 (I usually get the ETB at $29 or $31). I sell the box with the accessories at $15-$20 (it depends on the collection). At the end, the 9 booster packs cost me less than $15. I usually don't get Booster bundles or Booster Boxes, because I don't have anything to sell... All packs ripped and that was it.
good analysis! i don't collect a lot of modern cards, but might pick up an occasional etb if the set looks interesting and the etb has promo/sleeves/box with a pokemon i like.
The sleeves are cool, consistent pack value, box is cool, booklet is cool, even the outer wrapping on some sets can be unfolded and becomes a really cool artwork that you can display wherever (I never see people talk about this part,, but I have a few arranged on my walls), idk man,, it's a good value and you get a bunch of goodies. only thing I don't care about are the promo cards but eh, i'm indifferent, most sets used to not even come with one and it was still fine.
here in mx the etb has the same price per pack as a booster box or even cheaper, cause theres no big retail stores that sells booster boxes, only LGS sells booster boxes at msrp and sometimes with hyped sets over msrp, good thing is the retails like sears/amazon are selling pokemon on big scale now, they offer msrp prices and once the release hype is gone its always on sale, so if you wait a little u get all the bonus items and the promo with the etb for cheaper than booster box, and u dont have to buy 36packs at once, the only bad side is the "guaranteed" hits of the booster box but thats another gamble on top of it lol
Tempting to get back into collecting, but i can risk buying packs without getting a return. I compair buying pack like a addiction. I cant spend 7-10 dollars per pack when i could buy a pack of chicken. Or groceries. It was a fun chilhood memory but has no monetary value now
I'm honestly so jealous of you Pokemon TCG players as a Yu-gi-oh player, the amount of variety you guys have in sealed product is so hefty compared to us, in ygo if you want to open sealed product you can A) buy the sealed blister/booster box or B) there is no B, screw you; and its a shame since we use to actually had a bunch of other products, like special editions (three boosters and a promo) and promo tins (4 boosters and 3 promos).
It’s £55 for a PC ETB. There’s 11 packs £5 a pack and two promos one stamped. I bought 3 and two booster boxes it’s not a big decision for me. Team rocket set will be going hard depending on the cards
But i like to collect dice... Thats my vice.
I like the big die in the ETBs. Personally not a fan of the small dice with numbers on them, even for keeping track of damage.
@@pohretra8485 yeah I get that. I just like to collect dice in general
Lol
I honestly wish they gave dice instead of coins in their other products, like the 1 and 3-pack blisters. I got a cool Yugioh monster themed die in a YGO product I bought some years ago. You can also use the dice for other games too.
That unintentional rhyme is nice!
They make great birthday gifts. Specifically, gifts for myself.
Me too, especially when it’s not my birthday
Sleeves: Good
Booklet with all cards: Good
The box itself for storage: Good
The one normal die: Good
The number of packs in it: Good
Promo card: Good
Agree to disagree, i guess 😁👊
He isn't saying anything is bad? He's explaining why schmucks like you are gonna keep buying them. Yw
Actually, those sleeves are the worst type of sleeves you can find on the market XD
@@burgherozzo The cards fit, and dont get damaged in em. They fine to me 👍
I use those for playing decks. As long as you dont mix them violently, they are fine@@burgherozzo
@@weetjijwel050 They are too wide, cards can move around a bit in it causing damage. Should use penny sleeves all the time!
I think the booklets in ETBs are very underrated! I love to put them in the corresponding binder to check my set progress and keep track of promos.
I just bought the Shiny Mimikyu Paldean Fates ETB and I love the box. But the booklet...Wow! I've always loved booklets in videogames and this ones are just beautiful
I know right
The booklets are incredible, it's so nice having a visual set list available whenever I want it
I like to get at least one for the booklet alone just to see all cards and rarities etc. Even combo cards for playing are shown in there
I love my ever growing wall of etbs
Personally, I actually LOVE ETBs since my son doesnt live with me, so when he visits during summers & holidays, they give us more of a chance to get something super great while also providing enough 'stuff' for us to play against each other & collect the boxes for memories. We always get SOMETHING, which is not true when I've let him select a number of solo packs in the past. I like them as a product for that purpose, even if they aren't necessarily the most cost efficient
Yeah, don’t get me wrong! ETBs are genius and they are a really great product for so many situations
Go buy a booster box. You only need 1 ETB per new set but don't keep buying those.
@@John-du2mq okay but if I want to open packs for a low price, etbs are my friend, so yes you only need one, but most of the time it is good to get multiple
@@John-du2mqmost people can't afford to buy a whole box all the time etbs are usually the next best price bc of how overproduced they are. Just don't buy them from the store they're much cheaper online and there's plenty of trusted sellers.
You’re lucky then, I’ve opened 2 twlight masquerade ETB’s and only got 1 IR worth 7$ lol
i usually just do the math about buying the same amount of booster packs individually and usually it is almost the same price as the ETB and i get other stuff for " free" so it seems fine for me
pull rates and guarantees are different for booster bundles / etb's and premium collections and tins though. buying loose packs is all well and good but you dont get that guaranteed hit. like with the 151 Japanese booster box, you are guaranteed the masterball in at least 1 of the packs. if you buy 100 loose 151 packs you might still not get the materball from them.
@@BoosterShowdown Do you know what could the pull rates be in premium collection boxes? I opened a PAF one yesterday and got a hit in each of 8 packs. I wonder if this was insane amount of luck or these boxes tend to have good pull rates in general.
@kars28123 I pulled a Charizard in my ebt. I about sh*t . But yes, I've opened other 151 items, pulled some awesome cards but the Charizard is beautiful.
@@BoosterShowdownwow I didn’t know there was a guaranteed hit for ETB’s packs. Thanks for the info!
The marketing department killed when you think things are free
5:24 Competitive players overwhelmingly just buy singles. Most products aimed at players are the best value for casuals and beginners in my experience
So do collector's at first 😂
Gane shop owner here, your missing a larger metric about why etbs will be the only thing on shelves. The cheaper items always sell first. Kid says, MOM GIMME CARDS, mom grabs 2 sleeved boosters. Dad says, get Johnny some pokemon for his birthday, Jimmy's already getting other gifts so mom gets Timmy a 20 dollar ex box. Adult enthusiasts are buying boxes or bundles. It's just the fact that the inverse bell curve here is that parents or casuals are buying the cheapest and enthusiasts are buying the highest. It's honestly a super simple idea. Parents buy cheap for their kids Shiney cardboard hobby
This is a great point. I didn’t even visit this perspective. Maybe because I don’t have kids yet
I gotta be honest i just started collecting Pokémon Cards again and as someone that is starting out, the ETBS are an absolute banger!!! U get a nice looking box where u can store cards, u get 9 packs and a nice promo card. I bought the 151 Box, Twilight Masquerade Box and the Obsidian Flames ETB and im so happy! But now im definitely only opening displays and other types of tins or collections.
But to start getting into collecting again, ETB's are great.
Great video man:)
Nice selection! Isn’t that Charmander promo from Obsidian Flames the best???
I just got back into it but after 3 etbs I started doing the math and as someone who plays as well etbs aren't really worth it I try and get booster bundles cuz the more cards I can get the more deck possibilities I have yea I could buy the single but the chase is still fun plus if I get a chase that I don't really care for it gets sold and I buy more packs
@@madhatterentmt6146 yeah thats what i meant, when u get back into collecting etb's are great but im also only buying displays, since i dont need etbs anymore of 3 i bought. buuuuuuut. i will still buy the surging sparks box, idk man i like the designs and so on tooand they're sitting in a nice cabinet at home for everyone to see:)
I started to collect pokemon cards again this year after not collecting some years ago, I think I stopped getting pokemon cards when I was in middle school. But after seeing pokemon cards becoming popular to buy, it made me wanna collect them now. I wanna buy ETB’s but with my bills and rent, I don’t wanna spend too much money. So I only buy single booster packs or bundle boxes when I can afford it.
@@firemiracle hell yea i got back in to it to play tired of begin couped up in the house playing games online lol so i start building decks and going to play at my local tcg shop met some hella cool people
Main reason i buy ETB’s is that i know the packs haven’t been weighted.
Or booster bundles too!! I think they’re so underrated
That s also correct
@@NorbertNahumEvreuklovic I’m new to all this what does “weighted” mean
@@Rozrikupacks with hits usually weigh more. They use little scales and weight it in grams, usually the heavier the pack the more likely it has a hit
You can't weigh packs anymore with the modern sets.
As a competitor and mild collector, I buy ETBs for one reason: to store all my cards from that set in. If I rip a booster box, I buy an ETB of that set as well to store all the bulk in.
Thank you for the idea of what to do with them, this makes perfect sense just get one for this. I also just get one Being a normal person, maybe a couple of the cool promo boxes every once in a while idk how people afford cases and ten etbs per set
I sometimes pick up some cards to rip while I'm having downtime at my job (third shift, really quiet) and I always want to try to get an ETB if I do pick up anything, so I at least have somewhere safe to store my cards for the drive home as well as a way to sleeve anything good I might pull.
“YoU CaN jUsT bUy ThE SlEavES oN E-bay” first, if I’m paying shipping I’m getting the ETB anyways, second if it’s on E-Bay that means someone else either bought the box already.
Not entirely true. TCG stores open some their own product to stock up on singles, and then sell off the sleeves.
@ did you try to debunk me by proving my point? Maybe if the store owners are selling on the black market. Pls rethink what you typed
@@AusVtuber pls don’t delete this, keep it as a reminder of how stupid you are, and how you can improve to be a smarter person.
Nuh uh 😴
Someone woke up with piss in their cornflakes @@kevin4061
As someone who is only about a month into the hobby, ETBs have been my main purchase and the ones I have been happiest with. They look nice, they give me plenty of everything I want, and they're easy to find + affordable. My plan going into Surging Sparks (now that I've determined I'd like to try both playing the game as well as collecting) is an ETB + booster bundle to start.
ETB + Booster Bundle is probably the best aproach
Buying them at MSRP from Walmart or target? Absolutely, that’s ridiculous. Buying them at $35 from an online shop? Nothing wrong with that.
Literally this Walmart charged 60 for a etb when I first started my gf really wanted to open one and didn't wanna wait but never again
Best buy usually has them on sale for cheap too
Excellent analysis of the ETB product 💪 I personally love opening 1 ETB per set, because I want the promo, and I love having the box to store my cards from that set. I don’t open a ton of product so the 1 box is usually enough 😊
I also love the booklet!
But, 1 is enough for me and I’d rather buy booster bundles or products with other promos.
Loved this one bud!
Thanks! I also don’t open a lot so the ETB is a good choice for me for all the same reasons. Thanks for watching bro
@@sleevenocardbehind of course!! I always look forward to them 😊
I like to collect them and keep them sealed. I like the art work and the mystery of what could be inside.
That's a great reason to collect them. There is nothing like the anticipation of opening a sealed product, even if you never open it
Booster boxes in general are always a better buy to keep sealed than ETB's except for specialty sets.
Like the saying goes, 'One man's junk can be another man's treasures.'
💯💯💯💯
Man, I used to "collect" Pokemon TCG when I was a kid, left it for a couple thousand years and now I'm trying to comeback as an adult with disposable income (ay you said yourself in a different video haha) and you've been of great help, cheers mate! Thank you!
Welcome back to the hobby! It's great to see you're having fun and I hope you're enjoying the content.
@@sleevenocardbehind thank you very much! Yes, I'm trying to decide what my goal will be before I jump head first hahaha the content is amazing, keep it up!
The ETBs are great imo. My wife and I like to grab some cards when we have date nights in areas that a local card shop is in. In all of these the booster boxes I see all go for over $100 which is not an investment casual collectors like my wife and I are willing to spend. However, the ETBs save you about 10 bucks on average for the amount of card packs you get. The last box we got this weekend was $35 and for the same amount of Stellar Crown packs it would've cost $45. So it doesn't make any sense not to get the ETB in those cases
I like it for when you want to start a set. Good amount of bulk. The booklet is also useful, and the promo is nice. But mainly for bulk starting.
Honestly, before I played the TCG, I stayed clear of ETBS. This was in the SWSH era so the ETBs just weren’t worth it unless it was a special set, but they are a godsend. Dice instead of those stupid cardboard ones, lots of energies (Might buy a stellar crown cuz those energies are so gooood), some packs to open, nice storage for stuff like dice and deck boxes, overall just pretty good product.
Just buy one for a set and keep each set in its own box.
I wanna do this but I can't find the 151 etb anywhere 🙃
@@nich1238Same
I love ETBs, not because anyone told me to love them but because they come with things I want, I LOVE the sleeves, the promos are always fun and pretty, there's a good number of packs in there, I also love the box itself, it's practical and nice looking. Dice are always a fun bonus too.. and I love the guide book where I can cross out the cards I've collected from the set. Also I live in Norway so we don't have a lot of different bundles to choose from so ETBs is the best choice a lot of the time...
The main reason I buy etb is in my country buying etb is less money for 9 boosters than if I have to purchase 9 boosters alone (and the box is cool so I don't have reason to not buy it)
i get ETBs mostly for the list, dice, and cards. and kind of the box, since i use the boxes for other organization
Your visual representations of the topics you cover are really helpful and engaging. Thank you for all your effort!
Etbs are a great way to check if you like a set, and it gives me a clean storage option without buying anything external.
Really love your explanation videos!! They are so in depth without being too complicated, and honestly makes me feel good about buying ETBs! Going to buy more to unbox on my channel (and keeping sealed too)!
I bought a single Lost Origin ETB when it came out.
I pulled alt art Tina 4 packs in and sold it the next day for 280.
ETBs are fun and affordable. The best part is that it provides storage and themed sleeves. While not everyone has a local store, it's better to buy singles whether in peron or online (for investing and playing) and league battle decks (for playing). The products to keep sealed are booster boxes and something I consider to be underrated are the Prerelease kits with the promos when the promos are something popular like charizard such as the chance of having vivid voltage promo stamp charizard or vivid voltage stamped lugia, but keep it sealed.
I think people miss the point because of the somewhat click-baity title; even though he argues exactly that. Consumers are 'brainwashed' to buy ETBs because they have a little bit of everything, and thus can make every type of consumer happy to some extent. They're especially good for new players (again, as he covers).
The argument isn't that ETBs are bad; yes, he does elude that it might not be the highest value product depending on your needs, but ironically compared to the comments, why ETBs are so popular (and why they're always in stock, which was super interesting!)
Great video!
You nailed it. Thank you
The reason why I buy ETBs is because it may usually have better pull rates than Booster Bundles and Booster Box, but that’s if you get lucky
They dont
30% of the time it works every time
Absolutely dumbest take I ever heard wowzers and it’s edited so it was dumber lol
@@John-du2mqyep there may be instances of batching issues, but overall the pull rates from product to product are roughly the same. careful where you get your supply though
@@John-du2mq read what I said. I said “that’s if you’re lucky”
Stop paying $50 dollars for them 🤣 buy them when they on the low not market
The point regarding collection boxes looking good on display being a reason why people buy them is the same reason people buy etbs, they look cool and are almost uniform throughout its history with respect to its packaging.
I’m a TCG player and only a causal collector if I see a card I like, and the reason I buy ETBs is simply because I like them the most. All the extras, especially the booklet with the complete list of cards in the set so I don’t have to look them up, and the box itself for storage, are nice to have. As for single cards, I’ve long learned you don’t buy packs for actually playing the TCG; you buy singles. You can build most decks for like 30-75 dollars if you buy singles, with many staple cards being shared between decks as well. Opening packs is almost purely for fun, and ETBs imo are the most fun. That’s why I get them, from the player perspective
Normal ETB’s are a blessing for new collectors and old collectors for lots of reasons. If you’re strictly in it for money, the Pokemon Center ETB is probably super worth it strictly due to the limited stamped Promo.
Great video man, absolutely love the content
Thank you!
I think the ETB‘s are a good thing for you to get someone who’s just starting someone who’s new. I like this got all the stuff they’ll need to start after you’ve been in there for a while. It might not be exactly what you need. I have to admit I am a dice addict so dice always are good
You are correct from a profiteering perspective. However, most people that buy Poke cards are just collecting for collecting's sake - and ETBs are great for said purpose. Not everybody is engaged in TCG to drain stores and sell high
for me its the most fun to open and i like the box, everything other than the card and sleeves feels like a wait if space
Maybe I’m just weird, but I actually like opening ETB’s, or well I used to, can’t really afford to collect anymore 😅 It always felt like a big event, like every time me or my brothers would get one, we’d gather around and watch each other. We loved battling so the energies were much appreciated, we loved collecting and displaying so the sleeves were nice, we had all of our dice in one bag so it was always different whenever we grabbed them out of the bag, and the poison and burn chips changed a shocking number of times, so it was cool to have options
I like the ETB for when i don't want to collect the whole collection. I just keep my pulls in the box haha
I buy the etb whenever a new set comes out so that I can prevent myself from spending so much money. I only allow myself to buy the amount of cards that will fit in the etb, I do not keep my bulk cards in anything else. It has helped me enjoy the hobby more as I am more selective with the products I am purchasing
A booster pack runs for anywhere from 4.86 to 5.40 in my area. I get 9 packs and a booster for 43.20 with these ETBs, therefore I typically save money and get a new promo to my promo collection when I get one. I also usually buy these at GameStop with my monthly pro rewards 5 dollar coupon, saving me more money.
However, I only buy one new ETB once, as I don't feel the need for more than 1 of the promo.
I give the energy cards away and keep the box for sorting.
I agree, I'm not huge into ETBs. I usually get it when I ask my husband to pick me up whatever the new set is at the time from target or from the vending machine, and all they have is the ETB. I personally prefer to get booster bundles because of the better price per back. I do LOVE the ETB boxes though! I have a local card shop that sells empty ETB boxes for 99cents each, and I get them to store all my bulk in :)
99 cents!? I wish I had that deal
On the pokemon center an etb is $60 for 11 packs. A pack alone is about $5. So 11 packs by themselves are $55 and for $5 more you get the promos and all the extras
Love collecting the cards but don't ever have enough money! Always enjoy learning more about the TCG!
ETB's were on the shelves so long because the MSRP is way too expensive. $55 at Wal Mart for an ETB is just too expensive.
I love ETBs, but I’m also a sucker for trinkets. The dice and card sleeves are well worth the extra price added to the packs for me.
I'm just getting into Pokémon and the reason I got the ETB is because I thought the little booklet would cover on how to play the tcg, I just didn't realise it being an "elite Trainer box" it would be essentially a collection booklet instead of a guide. (Purely my bad for not looking into it enough)
My collection of pokemon centre stamped promos in twenty years will say different.
I find ETBs useful for storing duplicates, especially holos. But unfortunately, living in a damp country, the insides of these cardboard boxes are prone to fungus, especially the ones I've had between one and two years. Trying to keep them clean and dry can be a real chore.
Personally, I've always preferred buying ETB's over stray packs or "premium collections". As I play competitively and don't really collect anymore, sleeves, dice, and boxes to put the bulk I might look at once a year are more useful and a Shaymin V and Vstar. I still get to open packs and pray for something usable or valuable (so I can sell it and buy usable cards) and the rest of the product is still useful to me; not just something I'll sleeve and throw in the trade binder for the rest of eternity.
Also note that I still don't really buy anything in relation to packs much in general, as it's just cheaper to buy singles than it is to hope I get what I need from packs. Generally, most Pokémon TCG products are aimed at casuals and new players, rather than competitive ones.
Your videos are crammed with so much info! I was a vintage comic book addict so I get the lure of the cards. I have a really BASIC question for you: Are cards from different sets compatible? So, to make a 60 card deck can you use some from say, Surging Sparks and some from Evolving Skies? Just curious. Thanks!
Yes and no. You might want to google “Pokémon tcg standard vs expanded”.
Standard format will include cards in the current rotation, expanded will include all modern cards.
I'll be honest, I got the ETB because it was Ogerpon themed. I wanted everything Ogerpon themed, sleeves, promo card, and all. not many bundles have pokemon I like as the theme
Problem with ETB, I'd rather have extra booster pack than energy pack. Another problem I have with pokemon is special sets don't have booster box, and forced you to get ETB instead.
I collect the ETB's themself.
I also use them to store my double normal, reverse holo and holo from that set.
My collections count around roughly 90 etb's packed with cards.
I have like 7 151 ETB's but i also have alot of bulk from 151 and i could even use a 8th one.
I just Love ETB's my wife not so much cause of how many i have.
edit: me and a mate for once decided to pre-order a case with 10 etb's of surging sparks for opening on New Years Evening.
we bought them 1/3 vs 2/3 cause he will open his part while i open one part and my wife and kid will be doing the 3rd part together.
So each will have 3etb's and 3 extra packs from the 10th etb.
we gonna fight over the 10th promo.
This video was extremely insightful. Subbed 🙂
I’m glad you found it useful!
Only thing I like about ETBs are the promo cards, its usually why I even get it. The build and battle stadiums generally cost less than an ETB and you get 12 booster packs, plus the stamped cards from the battle decks!
ETBs are pretty good value but they stay longer because of their price. Usually they are $50+ while the other products that run out are $5-$30. And kids are more likely to afford the cheaper products and buy them out while the more expensive products sit longer because they might only be able to get them for their birthdays or Christmas or a special occasion.
The sleeves in the etbs are finally clear again instead of the frosted style. It gives a lot more value to box.
started collecting again and my god, i remember booster boxes being a whole hundred dollars cheaper, but ETBs haven't really changed in price, or at least in my region
Personally, I only go for the Pokemon Center exclusive ETBs. I buy one to open, and one or two to keep sealed for display or sell. The stamped promos are only going to go up in value and if the set is undesirable, then I didn't invest much money and will just buy singles. Also if you all buy regular ETBs, support your LCS and get them for $30-35 and not at the big box retailers for $50+.
Yeah, the exclusive ETBs are definitely worth the extra effort!
My lgs selling them market + 20% 😂
@@Iautocorrect for new releases? I can understand markups for out of print sets.
Some etb's here are almost the same price as the booster bundle (30-35 euros) online where i am from, which is the reason i get ETB's. Extra packs and more stuff is always good imo
where im from the ETB and 6 booster bundle have the same price/pack. So I usually buy ETBs over booster bundles since I get extra stuff for the same price/pack.
For a moment, I thought it was EBT like the food stamps.
I both collect and play the TCG and have never thought about buying a tool kit I either buy a booster box or an etb
Honestly, I find myself buying the ETB's when there is a set I like. I do this just to open some packs for fun, and after that I buy singles.
I can’t be the only one that buys one ETB for each set just so I can find my bulk easily 😂
ETBs are good because it’s everything you need to start playing - the rule book, I wish they came with those. Also I like the sleaves, I use them for any tcg cause they’re cool.
I buy one etb for my kids cause of the sleeves and dice, then it’s a list of singles and booster boxes if they do well in school. Or saved money for half.
Interesting, I'm definitely guilty of buying an ETB because there was nothing particularly appealling and I didn't want to leave the store empty handed
Meanwhile in mtg wizards keeps making their products have less packs in them. Genuinely jealous of how much is included in Pokémon etbs
I always buy the ETB so I can store the cards I get from that set. Sometimes their sleeves are crap but other times they seem made better and fit the cards in smoothly. I like displaying my ETB's too but feel like the pulls have been lacking bad. I don't have the money to buy booster boxes. I could but prefer the ETB's to get the box and promo cards.
I am a collector, but I buy the ETBs when they are a good value per pack. I go by price per pack only, and I don't consider anything else in a product as part of the value.
I think on sale they can be OK. 35 bux = 3.88/pack and you get MORE DICE. Sleeves are like 5-10 bux or more depending. Card shops sell the used boxes for 3 bux for extra storage.
this is the education i've been searching for
As a kid a bought them because I assumed they were great for value and looked cool. And since they came with so many packs (to me) and the smaller ones did t seem like they did to my dumb mind that’s what I wanted and since it was like 100 dollars I could sometimes convince my mom to buy them
If you have a local game store (LGS), please support them instead of the big box retailer. Usually, they are cheaper.
I'm kind of ocd. Two etbs, two BB, two packs of clear sleeves and a new binder to start building my set. Box to keep the duplicates. The two etb sleeves for commons. Clear sleeves for reverse holo, holos and hits. But everyone does it different ways.
If you can get them for 40$ its great. Get em for 33? Ur basically paying for just the packs.
It depends, when a new set releases the ETBs tend to be the best value if you want boosters.
ETB has zero hits but GOLD CARDS are often found inside. But thats like 1 gold card in 3 or 4 etb. HITS for chase card? NO.
Buy booster box instead. Get magnetic case for the art work packs. Get another box and acrylic them, get a few box to open for hits. But cost effective is always just buy singles.
I collect cards for fun, not based on pure value or playability. I’ve only bought one ETB, Temporal Fates, because I love Walking Wake and wanted to have just one. But they’e not worth my money, so I don’t plan on getting any more. I don’t need all of the extra bits like the collectors guide and gameplay bits, so if the promo card is pretty I’ll buy it as a single from my local card shop, and if I *really* want packs from the set I’ll buy a booster bundle or a cool promo box that catches my eye
Buying etbs at retail is usually a bad idea but online you can usually get them for the same price as loose packs.
I find the ETB boosters have better pulls than other booster products. This was especially the case with Shrouded Fable. I opened 50 packs of non-ETB SF boosters and got no hits other than a few EX cards. A single SF ETB and I received two full arts and an SIR…
Thank you for this info!! Distilled it so perfectly.
They're meant for new players,
They buy the starter deck and find out they like the game,
Then they want to get serious, so they go out buy the ETB and get everything they need, plus packs to break to potentially upgrade their deck.
All without breaking the bank
I might be wrong but isn't the build & battle kit also big value? Like they are around $18 and they offer 4 packs vs $40 for 9 packs, the cost per pack is around the same isn't it? Plus you get 40 extra cards that are worth something?
Hmmm... I like to buy ETBs because it's cheaper per pack and I have almost an instant ROI when I sell the accessories and the box itself. 9 Booster Packs for $30 (I usually get the ETB at $29 or $31). I sell the box with the accessories at $15-$20 (it depends on the collection). At the end, the 9 booster packs cost me less than $15.
I usually don't get Booster bundles or Booster Boxes, because I don't have anything to sell... All packs ripped and that was it.
good analysis!
i don't collect a lot of modern cards, but might pick up an occasional etb if the set looks interesting and the etb has promo/sleeves/box with a pokemon i like.
The amount of dislikes on this video is crazy! I love ETBs you guys, it's just a hot-take title
i buy one per set because i use the box to put bulk cards in, the booklet is very nice to have, and and i love the value per packs
The sleeves are cool, consistent pack value, box is cool, booklet is cool, even the outer wrapping on some sets can be unfolded and becomes a really cool artwork that you can display wherever (I never see people talk about this part,, but I have a few arranged on my walls), idk man,, it's a good value and you get a bunch of goodies. only thing I don't care about are the promo cards but eh, i'm indifferent, most sets used to not even come with one and it was still fine.
The sleeves are all i really want. The box to store bulk is nice.
i just hoped onto the pokemon card hobby cuz i see shorts of people opening packs, and i wanna try it too, cuz gambling is fun
Now that i’m in Japan, i don’t care for ETBs anymore. Booster boxes at msrp at where it’s at.
here in mx the etb has the same price per pack as a booster box or even cheaper, cause theres no big retail stores that sells booster boxes, only LGS sells booster boxes at msrp and sometimes with hyped sets over msrp, good thing is the retails like sears/amazon are selling pokemon on big scale now, they offer msrp prices and once the release hype is gone its always on sale, so if you wait a little u get all the bonus items and the promo with the etb for cheaper than booster box, and u dont have to buy 36packs at once, the only bad side is the "guaranteed" hits of the booster box but thats another gamble on top of it lol
Tempting to get back into collecting, but i can risk buying packs without getting a return. I compair buying pack like a addiction. I cant spend 7-10 dollars per pack when i could buy a pack of chicken. Or groceries. It was a fun chilhood memory but has no monetary value now
Not sure where you live but 10 per pack is insane. You should really just see pack ripping as gambling and not focus too much on the actual return.
I'm honestly so jealous of you Pokemon TCG players as a Yu-gi-oh player, the amount of variety you guys have in sealed product is so hefty compared to us, in ygo if you want to open sealed product you can A) buy the sealed blister/booster box or B) there is no B, screw you; and its a shame since we use to actually had a bunch of other products, like special editions (three boosters and a promo) and promo tins (4 boosters and 3 promos).
It’s £55 for a PC ETB. There’s 11 packs £5 a pack and two promos one stamped. I bought 3 and two booster boxes it’s not a big decision for me. Team rocket set will be going hard depending on the cards