Hiya, I have 2 boys that are starting to ask for these collectable card game cards. especially yu-gi-oh and pokemon. I would be interested in any of them or fantasy collectable card of any kind, art, comics ect. As I know that they are a great way to get my boys interested in math and to encourage reading. I am wondering if anyone has some? info on pros/cons? Maybe there kids are going out of this phase or have extras? Any ideas on where to get them at a reasonable price(cheap)? My 2 don't really care about card rarity or if they are new. they just want to play with them at home. thanks LAdystyx

Flee markets or garage sales are a great way to get them at a reasonable price.  Try your goodwill stores, they sometime have them as well. Jean

That could be a fun swap in the Games Forum!

My kids like the new Webkinz trading cards. My DD has a blast with those Bella Sara cards too.  She loves uploading the code and playing with the ponies online.

I'll ask my son tonight if he is willing to part with any. Maybe we can do a trade. Thanks! Rita.

if you are part of Posh Points they seem to have them listed there quite frequently... if you are not a member, I'd love to give you a referal (you get 15 points for joining I think)

Tag sales are hit and miss but are worth the try. I often can buy a $12 deck for $1 and other times, a random bag of beat up cards for $5 or so. Often though fake cards are mixed in that can't really be played with due to errors on the cards. And again the cards are usually pretty beat up.

Try Freecycle (www.freecycle.org to sign up for a group in your local area), do a 'wanted' post for YuGiOh! cards.

Buy from eBay, from those with very high ratings only (beware fake cards, getting ripped off is not fun). You can often buy a box of 1000 common cards for under $40 with shipping included. However---read what I say below about starter decks.

Go to a gaming store in your area. The one near me sells common cards 5 for $1. (See below on starter decks though.)

The starter decks and structure decks are built very well with very good cards in them, Wal Mart has them for $9.97. Buy a starter deck (meaning it has all you need in it to play a game immediately and is a good balance of cards) and that is the easiest to start playing with. So basically for $10 they can play and play with great cards too. Not too much invested at all, that is less than a typical board game. The 'structure decks' are more complex and harder for a newbie to learn to play with so I would say to avoid buying those right now. Also some are weak and some are very powerful and until you know which you want to spend money on or avoid, just don't buy a structure deck (new) now.

We just got into this about 7 months ago and finally I learned over the summer. It is a fun game with many variations but frankly in the end if you play against others with 'great cards' who has a basic gist of the game you'll lose if you only have the common cards (the cheapo ones that people are reselling for little money). So that is why I recmmend getting your kids one starter deck each, like the pretty new highly powerful deck "Syrus Trusdale" (yellow box), a 2nd best is "Jaden Yugi" starter deck (in a red box).  Again Wal Mart and Target sell those for $9.97 while Toys R Us and KB Toys and gaming stores often are higher priced ($12 to $18). The gaming store near me even jacks up the price on the 'powerful' decks and then sells the 'least desirable' decks for $10 (to match Wal Mart). So anyway it is easy to just go to Wal Mart or Target and get what you want!

I advise also to spend $3-ish for a set of card protectors with a decorated back. These protect the cards from damage and perhaps even more importantly, help children keep their decks together and not accidentially inter-mix each others decks. Also it is worth it to spend $1-3 on a cheap plastic 'deck box' to store the deck in. Very handy for keeping them together and protecting them from damage as well. Using elastic bands on the unprotected decks to keep them together ruins the cards.

Happy Dueling.

Hi! My son has gathered a hand-full of Yugioh and Pokemon cards and says he also has a slew of Harry Potter cards he is willing to part with for a book credit. Just let me know. Thanks! Rita.