Most collectors lose deals not because they search too little, but because they search too broadly. Type "pokemon charizard" into eBay and you'll drown in lots, proxies, and $9 commons. The fix is a precise search string — and once you have one that works, you turn it into an alert so it runs forever.
Here are the Pokémon searches I actually keep. Copy them, adjust the price, and steal the exclusion pattern.
Modern chase cards
- Moonbreon:
Umbreon VMAX 215/203 alt art -lot -proxy -custom— run it - Charizard ex 151:
Charizard ex 199/165 PSA -lot -reprint— run it - Giratina V alt:
Giratina V 186/196 alt art -proxy -custom— run it
Vintage & WOTC
- Base Set Charizard:
Base Set Charizard 4/102 -reprint -reverse -custom— run it - 1st Edition holos:
1st edition pokemon holo PSA -lot -proxy— run it
Sealed product
- Booster boxes:
pokemon booster box sealed -empty -proxy -single— run it
The exclusion pattern that makes them work
Notice every search ends with minus terms. These four do most of the cleanup on Pokémon searches:
-lot— kills bulk listings-proxy -custom -orica— kills fakes and fan art-reprint -reverse— kills the wrong variant when you want the original
Add -CGC or -BGS when you only want PSA, and a price ceiling to match your budget.
Set up a Pokemon Cards alert on Good Llama
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Found a search that works?
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Turn the best searches into alerts
A great search is only great when you're looking at it. The collectors who win run these exact strings as standing alerts — so eBay is watched 24/7 and they get pinged the instant a match lists. That's what Good Llama does: paste your search, set a price, and it monitors new listings around the clock, confirms the card and grade, and messages you before the deal sells.
Don't want to build them yourself? I've pre-loaded the best Pokémon searches on the curated deals page — add any of them to your alerts in one click, or start free and paste your own.
Bookmark this page, copy the searches, and tune them to your grails. Then let the alerts run while you get on with your day.
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