Jun 29, 2026
Todd envisioned a path to riches paved in Pokémon cards. But at roughly $15K in debt, it’s clear this would-be eBay reseller didn’t have a great game plan.
In a recent episode of The Dave Ramsey Show, Todd told Ramsey and co-host Jade Warshaw about his Pikachu problems, admitting that he got himself “screwed over” after listening to a friend and racking up debt to flip Pokémon cards.
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When Ramsey pressed him to give an exact number on his current credit card debt, Todd said he didn’t know, adding, “I don’t really, like, pay attention to, like, that.” Although Todd wasn’t sure of the exact amount of credit card debt he had accumulated, he estimated that it was between $10K and $15K
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Dave Ramsey made it clear that Todd can’t get out of this mess without first knowing exactly what he owes. As Ramsey put it: “I want to define my stupid very carefully and thoroughly, that’s step one.”
Ramsey then asked Todd whether he had ever successfully sold one Pokémon card for a profit, to which Todd sheepishly said he hadn’t.
“I kind of just winged it because I saw other success stories,” Todd explained.
At that point, Warshaw asked what was driving Todd’s desperation. At first, Todd said, “Oh, that’s just the American dream in my mind, I’m just trying to, like, make the next dollar like anybody else.”
But after Washaw asked about Todd’s current job, he said he’s been “bouncing around employment.”
After hearing that, Ramsey couldn’t hold back any longer. He told Todd he needs to get a 40-hour job and then another 30-hour job to pay off his credit card debt ASAP. After that, Ramsey told Todd to call his “stupid” friends and get them to help him sell his Pokémon cards.
What’s the deal with Pokémon’s parabolic rise?
Although Todd’s case is extreme, it shows just how popular the idea of Pokémon investing has become. As Pokémon celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, it seems like nostalgia is hitting a lot of people really hard, and they’re willing to pay up for cards on the secondary market.
Data published by CNBC showed that the average price of Pokémon cards was already on a tear between 2004 and 2020, with a 282% gain. But things really heated up during the COVID-19 pandemic, with that same average price rising 1,350% between 2020 and 2026.
For context, the uber-bullish S&P 500 gained roughly 120% from 2020 to 2026.
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With such extreme demand for everything Pokémon, many people who aren’t genuine fans are now competing to resell products for a quick profit. And even with 10 billion official Pokémon cards printed in 2025, IGN reports that demand still seems to be outweighing supply.
In fact, Pokémon scalpers have become such a major problem that retailers like Target openly restrict sales of new merch and cards to resellers, according to Polygon. IGN also reported that the situation is so dire that the Pokémon Company expects to use Japan’s social security system this August as a form of ID to curb scalpers buying up collectibles.
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Should you ever put Pokémon in a portfolio?
There’s no denying that a lot of people are chasing Charizard nowadays, but “Pokémon investing” isn’t so simple. Cases like Todd’s show that reselling Pokémon cards is far from an easy “get-rich-quick” scheme. If you get too swept away in the “catch ’em all” craze, you could wind up with a Snorlax-sized setback.
In terms of an investment, treat Pokémon cards similar to any other collectible, like fine art or movie memorabilia. With such a long history and global fan base, it’s unlikely Pokémon cards will ever be “worthless,” but just how much each one is worth is highly speculative and usually driven by hype cycles.
Ideally, you should only buy into Pokémon cards if you genuinely like them and aren’t banking on a big ROI. But going into debt for any of these collectibles is, as Ramsey put it, “stupid.”
Not every Pokémon card will get you gains, but interest on your debt is a guaranteed liability.
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise who loves making financial topics accessible and understandable to readers. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found in publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk.
