Today I will review a new take on Pokémon Mystery Boxes. I am personally not a fan of Mystery Boxes, because with alot of products, you will not get your price back, or maybe one good item and the rest filled up with products I don't want.
Before you read: All the opinions you are about to read are my own, nobody is paying for this review, nor is anyone reviewing or approving what you are about to read.
Holon Cardshop contacted PokeGuardian and wanted to let me review a sample of their Custom Pokémon Mystery Boxes in exchange for a honest review from PokeGuardian, proving to me that Mystery Boxes can be fun.
Holon Cardshop is a Germany based store specialized in Japanese cards. They have years of experience selling online around the globe.
Before all of this, Holon Cardshop said that the contents will always be worth slightly more than the prices mentioned below (usual EU retail prices) and for the international versions Holon Cardshop will include a little bit extra, despite the higher shipping. That is a very good sign.
The prices are:
- € 29,99 shipped Europe
- € 34,99 shipped Worldwide
What they proudly mention is that it's hand picked by themselves, according to your liking. That means you can customize it like this:
- Name 2-3 of your favourite Pokémon
- Name an item you don’t want/have any use for (deckbox, sleeves etc)
What it contains
It will include mixed languages, mostly japanese and english. Single cards are always included, Holon Cardshop mentioned it’s not just single cards only. Contents can be a variety of things (Deck sleeves, Deckboxes, Sealed promo's, Pins, Coins, Packs, Single cards and more).
My own customized box
I pretended that I was actually paying for this product, so I picked Lugia as my favourite Pokémon, mentioned I liked Lillie and I only wanted cards instead of Merchandise. I only wanted English and Japanese cards, there was an option for German cards.
The first thing you see (in the first image) is that you are nicely presented with a large business card (it's custom illustrated by the artist AutobotTesla). That is a very nice touch.
The package it's shipped in, is plain cardboard. It does not tell that it would contain Pokémon cards, which is very nice.
In some countries, it's not unusual flashy packages would get stolen by some postmen.
I opened the bubble mailer and it contained 2 English Tag Team era packs, which was very nice. The cards were nicely packaged too with a teambag and a toploader, and greeted with another very nice business card from them!
Next I opened the pack with single cards and I was very very surprised. There was alot of variety, from old to new and cheap to expensive. I was very surprised with the Top half Lugia LEGEND. This instantly made me excited!
Along with this there were both English and Japanese Lugia EX cards from Plasma Storm. I also requested Lillie and I got a SM4+ Mirror foil card, that was a very nice touch!
I was satisfied by the variety of this selection, a Pokémon VS card (which are hard to get old Japanese exclusive cards), Japanese Diamond & Pearl holo cards, and some more recent cards. The cards were in good condition too.
I opened both packs next, and I had not much luck, but that is the risk of opening booster packs. But they are still recent booster packs.
Verdict
For the price, I was very surprised what it contained for the price. The presentation was nice and the contents are certainly worth more than the price I would have paid for. Maybe it would be a nice option for more money to get more older / rarer cards to make it even more special. My personal collection got a nice boost.
The fact you can customize your box, is very nice. Holon Cardshop cares about card protection, so it's always a nice feeling to get your goods packaged properly.
If you want some fun, I do recommend going for this product. At this price point, it's far better than getting an Elite Trainer Box where you are not guaranteed ultra rares. These are not the normal recently released cards we all don't want, these are cards you can use for your collection. I really think € 29,99 is a very nice sweet spot and I personally will order one again in the future.