Looking for better-priced Pokémon cards & unique merch from Japan? This app might just be what you need.

If you love collecting Pokémon cards, you would probably be familiar with the various methods of getting your hands on them – specific shops around Singapore, Facebook groups and card trade shows over the weekend.

In the case of my colleague, Iqmall, apart from hunting for what he calls the “Four Horsemen” of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) – Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar and Umbreon – he also spends a fair amount of time searching for cards related to his favourite Pokémon – Totodile.

Accessing Japanese platforms through an app

Hence, when he heard about the app Collect2Day, which allows users to buy cards from various Japanese platforms such as JDirectItemsAuction (formerly Yahoo! Auction) and Mercari all at once, his interest was piqued.

“Being able to search through Mercari along with other platforms on an app is great. If we buy from Mercari, we have to go through the website itself or another online site,” he added.

For those who do not know, Collect2Day was launched by Buy&Ship, Hong Kong’s leading cross-border e-commerce platform.

Apart from Pokémon cards, the app also allows users to purchase other Pokémon merchandise, Beyblades, One Piece trading cards, and even Labubus.

The app also provides automatic translation from Japanese, so you don’t need to be fluent in the language to shop.

Besides Japanese platforms, the app also allows users to access listings located in Hong Kong under the Buy&Ship option for marketplace.

But how useful is the app for a dedicated collector?

Here’s what Iqmall had to say.

Lower prices with free shipping

For Iqmall, the first thing that caught his eye were the prices of some of the cards.

A Mega Gengar card with a grade of PSA 10 (the highest standard for a trading card’s condition) was going for S$1,166.

Shipping was free, with only an extra handling fee of S$4.

In comparison, a search for the same card on another e-commerce platform found it being sold for at least S$1,250 – S$84 more than the listing on the app.

Another card in question was a Mega Charizard X card with a golden scheme.

On the app, a number of listings for the card were found to be below S$2,000, comparable to those found on a shoe & streetwear store that also shows listings for trading cards.

“The listings on the app would definitely be something that I’m willing to consider,” Iqmall said.

Being able to buy items not available in Singapore

A bigger draw for Iqmall however, turned out to be the availability of other Pokémon merchandise on the app, beyond the trading cards.

Such as this Totodile 3D card for instance, which did not appear to be available on another popular e-commerce platform.

“Sometimes, Singapore really just doesn’t have it (such items),” Iqmall said.

Another eye-catcher was the following postcard featuring multiple Pokémon in the style of claymation.

“I have never seen this in my life,” Iqmall quipped.

Such is the advantage of having access to a completely different market like that of Japan, he added as he continued scrolling through the app.

“You get to see products that you never thought existed,” he added.

Interested to find out more about what you can shop for on the app?

You can download it onto your phone right here.

It’s not just collectibles you can search for; even second-hand clothes from Japan are also sold on the app.

Who knows what you might be able to discover?

This sponsored article got the author interested in hunting down merch for his favourite Pokémon generation from Black and White.

Top image collage via Collect2Day