ETB, booster box or bundle? What to buy, and what a fair price looks like

Every common box explained, with its pack count, its MSRP and what you pay per pack, so you can buy the right one at a fair price.

Sealed Pokémon products come in a lot of shapes. Some are mostly packs. Some are mostly extras. The right one depends on what you want to do with the cards: open them, collect them, play with them or give them away. This guide covers what's inside each common box, who it suits and what it should cost.

One word first. MSRP is the list price: what a retailer normally charges for a product before any sale. Every price below is the MSRP from our Products pages. Sales tax is extra, and some stores charge a little more or less.

The common boxes, to scale. Photos from our Products pages, each with its MSRP.

Seven sealed products with their MSRP: sleeved booster $4.49, 3-pack blister $13.99, mini tin $9.99, tin $21.99, booster bundle $26.94, Elite Trainer Box $49.99, booster box $161.64.

What's inside each box

A sleeved Perfect Order booster pack Booster pack. The basic unit: one pack of random cards, 10 in most sets (30th Celebration packs hold 5). Most stores sell single packs in a paper sleeve, like the Perfect Order Sleeved Booster Pack at $4.49. Single packs are the cheapest way to try a set.

Booster box (also called a booster display). 36 packs in one box, and nothing else. The Perfect Order Booster Display Box is $161.64, which works out to $4.49 a pack. A booster box is the best value per pack when you can find one at MSRP. Big-box stores often don't stock them; local game stores usually do. Some special sets, such as 30th Celebration, skip the booster box, so their packs only come in the other boxes below.

Booster bundle. 6 packs in a small box, and nothing else. The Perfect Order Booster Bundle is $26.94, also $4.49 a pack. It's a booster box in miniature: the same price per pack, for much less money up front.

Elite Trainer Box (ETB). Usually 9 packs, though the count varies by set, so check the box. You also get things a player uses: card sleeves, Energy cards, dice, a coin, a player's guide, a storage box with dividers and a promo card. The Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box has 9 packs and is $49.99, or $5.55 a pack. You pay a little more per pack for the extras and the box. The box itself is handy for storing a set.

Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box. Sold by Pokémon Center only. It usually has a couple more packs than the regular ETB of the same set, plus an extra promo card with the Pokémon Center logo. The 30th Celebration Pokémon Center ETB has 11 packs and is $59.99, which is $5.45 a pack.

Blisters. Packs in a plastic bubble on a card back, often with a promo card and sometimes a coin. A 3-pack blister like the Perfect Order 3-Pack Blister is $13.99 ($4.66 a pack). A 2-pack blister like the 30th Celebration 2-Pack Blister (sold as the Knock Out Collection) is $9.99, about $5.00 a pack. Blisters are easy to find at checkout lanes and pharmacies.

Tins and mini tins. A metal tin with packs and usually a promo card. A full tin like the Mega Charizard Tin is $21.99 for 4 packs, or $5.50 a pack. A mini tin like the 30th Celebration Mini Tin is $9.99 for 2 packs, about $5.00 a pack. People keep the tins for storage and display.

Collection boxes. These vary the most. A poster, sticker, binder or figure collection pairs a few packs with a promo card and an item. The 30th Celebration Poster Collection is $14.99 with 3 packs. The 30th Celebration Binder Collection is $31.99. At the top end, the 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection is $179.99. Read the box for the pack count before you compare. With a big collection you're mostly paying for the promo cards and the item, not the packs.

Build & Battle Box. Made for a set's launch weekend, when stores hold prerelease events. You get a ready-to-play 40-card deck with a promo card in it, plus 4 packs to add cards from. The Chaos Rising Build & Battle Box is $21.99. It's the cheapest way into a new set if you want to play.

Battle decks. A ready-to-play 60-card deck, usually with no packs. The 30th Celebration Battle Deck is $19.99. Buy one if you want to learn the game, not to pull rare cards.

What's inside. Pack counts and extras for each box.

What each box holds. Booster box: 36 packs, no extras. Booster bundle: 6 packs, no extras. Elite Trainer Box: usually 9 packs (it varies by set) plus sleeves, Energy cards, dice, a coin, a player's guide, a storage box and a promo card. Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box: usually 11 packs, the same extras plus an extra Pokémon Center promo. 3-pack blister: 3 packs and a promo card. Tin: 4 packs, a promo card and a metal tin. Mini tin: 2 packs, an art card, a sticker sheet and a small tin. Build & Battle Box: 4 packs, a 40-card deck and a promo card. Battle deck: no packs, a 60-card deck.

Value per pack, side by side

If opening packs is the point, price per pack is the fairest way to compare. These figures are MSRP divided by the number of packs.

What you pay per pack (at MSRP). MSRP ÷ packs. Extras like sleeves, dice and tins aren't counted.

Price per pack at MSRP, cheapest first: booster box $4.49, booster bundle $4.49, sleeved booster $4.49, 3-pack blister $4.66, tin $5.50, Elite Trainer Box $5.55.

MSRP, pack count and price per pack by product
Product (example)	MSRP	Packs	Per pack
Booster box (Perfect Order)	$161.64	36	$4.49
Booster bundle (Perfect Order)	$26.94	6	$4.49
Sleeved booster (Perfect Order)	$4.49	1	$4.49
3-pack blister (Perfect Order)	$13.99	3	$4.66
Tin (Mega Charizard)	$21.99	4	$5.50
Elite Trainer Box (Perfect Order)	$49.99	9	$5.55

Special sets like 30th Celebration have 5-card packs, so compare those per card, not per pack.

Two things to keep in mind:

Extras have value too. An ETB costs about a dollar more per pack than a bundle, but it comes with sleeves, Energy cards, dice and a storage box. If you'd buy those anyway, the gap shrinks.
Per pack is not per hit. Every pack of a set has the same odds, whatever box it came in. A booster box doesn't hide better cards.

Which box suits you

Pick by what you want to do. Each tile links to the product page.

Open packs: a booster bundle. Collect a set: an Elite Trainer Box. Play: a Build & Battle Box or a battle deck. Give a gift: an ETB or a tin.

You want to open packs: a booster bundle, or a booster box if you're sure about the set. Lowest price per pack.
You want to collect a set: an ETB. The box and dividers keep the set together, and the packs count toward it. Many collectors buy singles to finish a set later.
You want to play: a Build & Battle Box at launch, or a battle deck to learn. An ETB's sleeves and Energy cards help too.
You're buying a gift: an ETB or a tin. Both look good unwrapped and hold enough to make an afternoon of it. A mini tin or a blister makes a good stocking filler.

How to tell a fair price from a reseller markup

New products sell out fast, and resellers often list them above MSRP within hours. A few simple checks protect you.

Fair price or markup? A dollar or two over MSRP is normal retail. Well above it in release week is a markup.

A gauge from the MSRP up to twice the MSRP. At or near MSRP: fair. A little over: normal at some shops. Well above MSRP in release week: likely a reseller. Example: an ETB with an MSRP of $49.99, where a dollar or two over is normal retail and well above it in release week is a markup.

Look up the MSRP first. Every product on our Products pages shows its MSRP and release date. Compare the listing to that number, not to other listings.
Check who's selling. On Amazon, Walmart.com and Target.com, a product page can show third-party sellers next to the store itself. Look for "Sold by Amazon.com", "Sold and shipped by Walmart" or "Sold and shipped by Target". A third-party seller on the same page is often a reseller. Our Amazon drop guide covers this in more detail.
Expect small differences. A dollar or two over MSRP, or a local game store charging a little more for a hot set, is normal retail. A price well above MSRP in release week is almost always a reseller markup.
Watch the per-pack price on bundles. "Lots" and repacks from unknown sellers often hide a high per-pack price, or packs from older, cheaper sets. Work out the per pack before you buy.
Know when prices rise for real. Once a product is out of print, its price often climbs. That's the market, not a scalper, but it's also a good reason to buy at MSRP while stores still restock.
Wait if you can. Popular products often get more than one print run, and stores restock. A free account gets you drop alerts when stock lands, and our drop-day checklist helps you get ready.

The same checks work for any trading card game. Lorcana, One Piece and sports cards also have MSRPs, booster boxes and resellers.