Pokémon TCG products explained: booster packs, ETBs, bundles and booster boxes
What is inside each kind of sealed Pokémon TCG product, how they compare for opening on stream, and which ones suit rip and ship and box breaks.
Pokémon TCG7 min read
Walk into a card shop and the Pokémon shelf has a dozen kinds of box on it. For collectors, and especially for anyone opening on stream, it helps to know what each one actually contains and what kind of opening it makes. Here are the main sealed products, from smallest to largest.
Booster pack
The basic unit: a sealed foil pack of around ten cards in most English sets, with commons, uncommons, a reverse holo and at least one rare. Single packs are the classic rip and ship product: low price per order, so many buyers can join.
Blisters and small boxes
Retail blisters hold one or a few packs, often with a promo card or a coin. They suit buyers who want a specific promo along with their packs.
Booster bundle
A small box of six booster packs and nothing else. A good mid-sized order on stream: long enough to be an opening, short enough to keep the queue moving.
Elite Trainer Box (ETB)
One of the best-known products. An ETB usually contains nine booster packs plus accessories: card sleeves, energy cards, dice, condition markers, a player's guide and a sturdy storage box. Pokémon Center versions usually add a couple more packs and a special promo.
ETBs make a great opening on stream: the unboxing itself is part of the show, and nine packs is a satisfying run for one buyer.
Collection boxes and premium collections
These are built around one or more promo cards, often an oversized card too, with a handful of booster packs. The number of packs varies a lot from one collection to the next. Buyers usually pick these for the promo as much as for the packs.
Booster box
The big one: a sealed display box of booster packs, usually 36 for an English set. Most Japanese booster boxes hold 30 smaller packs instead. Booster boxes are what serious collectors and breakers buy, and they are the product most often split into spots in a box break.
Which products suit streaming?
| Product | Typical packs | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Booster pack | 1 | Rip and ship, many small orders |
| Booster bundle | 6 | Mid-sized orders |
| Elite Trainer Box | 9 (more in Pokémon Center versions) | A full opening for one buyer |
| Collection box | Varies | Buyers who want the promo |
| Booster box | 36 (English), usually 30 (Japanese) | Box breaks and long openings |
Tracking packs across products
Because products hold different numbers of packs, a running count of packs opened is a fun number to show on stream. StreamQueue's pack counter lets you set how many packs each product holds, so a booster box adds 36 and a single pack adds one.
Buying tips
- Buy from official retailers or established shops.
- Check that boxes are sealed properly before you open them on camera.
- Be wary of prices far below everyone else's for the same product.
- Keep receipts. Viewers sometimes ask where product comes from.
Pokémon is a trademark of its owners. StreamQueue is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company or Game Freak.