The Pull Rate — Pokemon TCG Market Brief
The Pull Rate is built to be a short, useful market brief rather than another list of products to buy. The target cadence is Sunday afternoons, Eastern Time once email delivery is fully configured.
What a free issue includes
- The week’s move: the biggest confirmed change in the tracked market data.
- Sealed index: the current index level, date, and what changed.
- One call: a buy, hold, or skip opinion with a price threshold and the risk that could make it wrong.
- Scorecard: a link back to earlier calls so the record stays visible.
No “10x” promises. No pretending an asking price is a sale. Every issue should state the data date.
This week’s free brief
Data as of: August 2, 2026. Prices are TCGplayer market prices from the Colorful Cardboard daily tracker, not seller asks.
The tracked basket leaned softer this week, but the useful move was in a product that has already spent plenty of time punishing impatient buyers. The Scarlet & Violet 151 Booster Bundle rose from $180.42 to $184.05, a 2.01% seven-day gain. The 151 Ultra-Premium Collection followed at +1.94%, moving from $922.15 to $940.05. Moonbreon (Umbreon VMAX) added 0.83% to $2,416.28, while Surging Sparks Booster Box gained 0.48% to $301.18. Those are real moves, but only the two 151 products cleared one percent. This is selective bidding, not a broad sealed breakout.
The other side of the tape was louder. Evolving Skies Booster Box fell from $2,601.09 to $2,510.64, down 3.48%, the largest tracked seven-day move. Destined Rivals Booster Box declined 2.80% to $525.68; Charizard ex (Obsidian Flames SIR) lost 2.31% to $112.94; and Obsidian Flames Booster Box fell 2.29% to $379.99. A four-figure box dropping $90 in a week is not a cute dip signal by itself. It is a reminder to use thresholds instead of treating every red number like a bargain.
The CC Modern Index is 970.09, down 0.62% week over week from 976.13 on July 26. That small index loss hides a split tape: 151 is firming off a low base while several older sealed positions are still giving back ground. The index is a direction check across this monitored basket, not proof that every product is equally liquid.
This week’s call: HOLD the 151 Booster Bundle; buy only at $180 or less. The current $184.05 price is still below the July 12 reading of $191.46, but it is above this week’s $180.42 starting point and above the $180 line where the risk/reward gets interesting. Existing holders do not need to dump a modest bounce. New buyers should wait for an actual retrace to $180 or lower, then reassess if the tracker closes below $175. This call is wrong if the daily tracker records three consecutive closes at $195 or higher; that would show the $180 entry line is too conservative without relying on seller asks or an undefined supply story.
Issue archive
Week of August 2, 2026: 151 Booster Bundle gained 2.01%; the CC Modern Index was 970.09, down 0.62% week over week; the public call was to hold 151 Booster Bundles and buy only at $180 or less.
Scorecard, July 12 call: The call was to hold 151 Booster Bundles and buy only at $185 or less when the tracker read $191.46. The $185 entry triggered, but a threshold buyer is now at $184.05, down 0.51% before fees. More importantly, the call’s below-$180 warning triggered on July 14 at $169.13 and the bundle bottomed at $168.13 on July 15, a 9.12% drawdown from $185. Waiting avoided the July 12 chase, but the hold/support thesis failed its warning line. That is mixed at best, not a win.
No “10x” promises. No pretending an asking price is a sale. Every issue should state the data date.
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