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Gen Z Basics: The Trading Card Mania

YPulse explores Gen Z’s trading card hobby—from the types they collect and play with to who’s driving the hobby’s growing popularity...

Written and Edited by the YPulse Editorial Team

Oct 26 2026
North America

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For our new Gen Z Basics series, YPulse is breaking down core behaviors that define this gen—starting with what you need to know about their relationship with trading cards
Trading card collecting is especially big among young males, from their teens all the way into their 30s
Pokémon cards are the top kind they’re collecting, making it easy for brands to hop on the trend

Good news, ’90s kids: trading cards are back in business, baby! The past year has brought a wave of headlines about the trading card boom, and lo and behold, guess who’s helping fuel the frenzy? (We’ll give you a hint: It starts with a G and ends with a Z.) From turning card collecting into a lucrative side hustle, with some reselling rare finds on eBay for hundreds of dollars, to spending hours scouring stores and the internet for ultra-exclusive pulls, Gen Z is taking trading card collecting seriously. We’ve been seeing signs of Gen Z’s trading card mania for...