Newbie, looking for some information.

Well I'm sure I'll sound stupid to everyone around here who knows everything about Pokemon, but my daughter is getting into Pokemon and has a decent sized collection.

I know card collecting can be fun and rewarding, but Pokemon is so huge that I don't really know what all the card series are all about and what she actually has or if it may be a valuable card.

Is there any kind of software that will let you track your card collection and possibly provide information on each card? I would think something like this must exist given the popularity of the game but I have been unable to turn up little more than just some websites.

I'd like to get her started on the base set which is what I think most of the cards are that she has, but I see a box of those is on the order of $500+.....is there anywhere cheaper to buy those cards or boxes or any good places to get boxes in general?

Thanks for any help guys.

Hi there! Welcome to PC!

There's an entire forum dedicated to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It's over here.

I don't have a lot of knowledge about the TCG, but I looked around on google a bit and found this program. It's not exactly what you're searching for, and the GUI is a little sloppy, but it could help you manage your daughter's collection a bit easier. Also, be careful when you're installing it. Select the "custom install" option and uncheck the "Install Toolbar" boxes. You can also decline the other offers so you don't install any unwanted software. The members in the forum I mentioned before might be able to help you out more.

I also haven't bought a set of cards since I was a kid, so I'm not sure where to purchase them. Again, perhaps the people in that forum might be able to help you more than I can.

Sorry I couldn't answer your questions fully, but hopefully you'll find something useful :)

My first question for you is, how long has your daughter been collecting? The Base Set was released in 1999 and last printed in 2000/2001, so knowing how long your daughter has been collecting would help determine whether it's actually the Base Set that she has or some other set. If she's only recently started within the last year, it's probably not the Base Set she is collecting, especially if she's under 12. I don't want to see you spending big money on cards she won't recognize when a still-in-print set will make her much happier.

As for the collection tracking stuff, there's a few Excel spreadsheets around the Pokemon Trading Card Game section of this forum somewhere that people have created to keep track of the stuff, but I've not got the time right now to go digging.

Hey KillaVolt, welcome to PC! I'm going to move your thread over to Pokemon Trading Card Games, since you'll probably have a better chance of getting your questions answered over there than you would here (that is, if you haven't already).

MOVED.

If you have an iPhone, I use a combination of two apps to track the growth and value of my card collection - Pokellector and Ace Pokecard. Both are available for free on the app store.

If you don't have a smartphone, I also use store.tcgplayer.com/collection. It's the most comprehensive one, as it lets you map what cards you have, and computes the value of your collection for you as well.

As for the price of the base set, it honestly depends. For a complete, mint, base set collection, I would say $500 is a fairly reasonable price, although you would pay $100 - $200 less by buying each individual card. You can buy them on coolstuffinc.com, which has by far the lowest price for quality cards. If you would rather see the cards before you buy them, google game stores in your area that carry collectible trading cards - they'll help you out, although you'll pay more than you would online.

Talk to your daughter and see what she wants. She may want only the newer cards, or she may want to pick and choose each card. I'm not a complete collection collector - I prefer to cherry pick each and every card that goes into my collection, besides the ones I get from booster packs. On that note, she may only want to get the booster packs - getting a rare card through the luck of the draw is immensely satisfying, and is one of my favorite parts of collecting.

Beyond base set, the original series is comprised of the Fossil, Jungle, Base set 2, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, and Gym Challengers. There are also the Wizard Promo Cards, which aren't as well known, but are fabulous.

Let your daughter take charge of her collection. Teach her how to organize it, store it, track it, and research new cards, and then let her do her own thing. A collection like this, that she's starting at a young age, will be something she takes pride in for the rest of her life - let her put the time and work into it.

Good luck to you and your daughter! I hope you both enjoy the collecting experience.