Pokemon fan pays for college after selling cards for $80,000

Brent Koepp
Screenshot of Pokemon fan Caleb King showing off his TCG collection.

A Pokemon fan was floored after discovering his childhood Trading Card Game collection was worth thousands of dollars. The college student was able to sell his Nintendo collectibles to help pay for tuition. 

Originally debuting in 1998, Pokemon cards have seen an explosion in value in 2020. Items once thrown into binders by children in the 90s can sell for as much as a house.

One fan was stunned when they realized their collection of TCG items was now worth an incredible amount of money. So much so that they are paying off their medical school bills by selling them.

Pokemon card collector Caleb King in Fox News Atlanta segment.
The university student sold his Pokemon Card collection for $80,000 to help pay for college tuition.

Student pays for college selling Pokemon cards

According to a report by Fox News, a University of North Georgia student named Caleb King was able to sell his Pokemon cards for over $80,000. Incredibly, the young adult only paid $4,000 for some of his collection back in 2016 – an astonishing 180% increase in value.

In an interview with the news outlet, King explained how his family had initially warned him from wasting his money: “A lot of people tried to discourage me from doing it at the beginning – especially my parents. They said “Hey, you shouldn’t be spending that kind of money on these cards, that’s ridiculous.” … I didn’t listen, and it paid off.”

The university student explained that he was able to use the money he made off the TCG collectibles to help pay off his medical school tuition. The Pokemon collector urged fellow fans to look through their childhood keepsakes after making thousands of dollars on eBay selling cards.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, King still reportedly has over $50,000 worth of cards left in his possession. His purchase in 2016 is an example of how some collectors were able to buy items for next to nothing only for them to explode in value just a few years later.

If nothing else, the student’s story will have many scrambling through storage to see if any of their Nintendo collectibles are now worth anything. For our guide on how to make money collecting and selling Pokemon cards, check out our guide here.