Collect-A-Verse is becoming one of the fastest-growing card trading events in the country. Photo: Collect-A-Verse.
As demand and prices soar for Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, some collectors are turning trading into a full-time career.
That is no different for collectors here in Canberra, who sell thousands of cards each year for thousands of dollars.
The thrill of unpacking and selling cards has taken the ACT by storm, so much so that the ACT now hosts one of the biggest regular trading events in the country: Collect-A-Verse.
So what makes a few square centimetres of cardboard with an illustration so valuable, and why are so many people so in on the fad?
Collect-A-Verse organiser Dan Rathbone said trading card popularity has picked up dramatically in the last 12 months, with record prices being set around the world.
Mr Rathbone said he believes a big part of it comes from nostalgia, with kids who enjoyed the likes of Pokémon as children in the 90s and early 2000s now having ‘adult money’.
“Prices have skyrocketed, and it’s just been this wave of people wanting to invest in something that they had as a kid,” he said.
“We’re seeing Pikachus and Charizards from Pokémon selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The singer Post Malone bought a Magic: The Gathering card featuring The One Ring from The Lord of the Rings for over US$2 million.
“It has really become an industry of its own.”
The price of trading cards isn’t the only thing growing either. So far, Mr Rathbone and the team at Geek Events have held two previous Collect-A-Verse events in 2026.
The first was at the University of Canberra in January, the second at Thoroughbred Park in June and the next is scheduled for Exhibition Park on 5 September.
Mr Rathbone said the first event saw about 25 vendors offer to sell their cards, but now their September event has more than doubled, with over 50 vendors expected to attend.
“We are in that perfect spot between Melbourne and Sydney,” he said.
“There are so many people between those cities who collect and buy cards, and it’s expanding to the regions as well.
“Canberra is a great spot for people in those regional areas to come in and see what’s on offer without driving five-plus hours to the other big cities.”
Mr Rathbone said the next event in September will have something for every collector’s budget, with cards priced as low as 50 cents and as high as $70,000.
“We’ve had some high-graded hooded Pikachus sell for over $10,000,” he said.
“At one stage, we had a couple of Pikachu cards where they look like Mario and Luigi that were up for sale for around $73,000, last we checked.
“With that said, not everything will be that expensive. There are plenty of opportunities for people to buy and see something they like without breaking the bank.
“That’s part of the fun with trading cards. Sometimes it’s the cards that are worth just a dollar that mean the most.”
The next Collect-A-Verse meeting will be held at Exhibition Park on Saturday, 5 September, from 9 am to 4 pm. Tickets are required before 2 pm; entry after 2 pm is free. To purchase tickets, visit Humanitix.
