Booster box vs Elite Trainer Box: which should you actually buy?

If you have decided to buy sealed Pokémon product rather than single cards, you will almost immediately run into the same choice everyone runs into: booster box, or Elite Trainer Box? They sit at similar-ish price points, they both come from the same set, and the packaging does not make it obvious which one suits you.

The short answer is that they are built for different people. Here is the longer one.

What you actually get

A booster box is a sealed display of booster packs from one set, and nothing else. English Pokémon booster boxes have most recently shipped as 36-pack displays, though this varies by set and by region — Japanese boxes in particular use a different structure entirely.

An Elite Trainer Box — universally shortened to ETB — is Pokémon's all-in-one product. Contents vary by release, but you can generally expect:

• Eight to ten booster packs from the set
• Card sleeves featuring the set's mascot artwork
• Energy cards
• Dice, damage counters and a condition marker
• Dividers and a sturdy storage box
• A code card, and on most sets an exclusive promo

Price per pack

This is the part that decides it for most people. A booster box gives you roughly three to four times as many packs as an ETB, but does not cost three to four times as much. If the only thing you care about is opening packs, the booster box wins and it is not close.

What you are paying the premium for in an ETB is the accessories, the artwork and the box itself. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you were going to buy sleeves and a storage box anyway.

Who each one suits

Buy the booster box if…

• You want maximum packs for your money
• You are chasing a specific card and want the most attempts at it
• You are buying to keep sealed — boxes have historically been the sealed format that holds value best
• You already own sleeves and storage

Buy the Elite Trainer Box if…

• You are buying a gift — this is the single best gift purchase in the Pokémon range
• You or the recipient are new to the game and need the accessories
• You want the set-exclusive promo and the artwork
• You want a smaller commitment than a full box

What about keeping them sealed?

Sealed product from popular sets has historically held its value better than the loose packs from the same print run, and booster boxes have generally held it best of all. That said, nothing about this is guaranteed — print runs, reprints and demand all move, and anyone telling you a specific sealed product is a sure thing is selling something.

The practical version: if you are torn between opening and keeping, the booster box gives you more optionality per pound. ETBs are bought to be opened far more often than they are bought to be stored.

The third option nobody mentions

If you want to try a set before committing to either, buy two or three loose packs or a blister first. It costs very little, it tells you whether you like the set's artwork and pull rates, and if you then decide you want a box you have lost almost nothing. Buying eight or more loose packs from one set, though, is the point at which a booster box becomes cheaper — so if you find yourself going back for a fifth pack, do the maths.

Where to buy

Whichever you go for, buy from somewhere that sources through official distribution. Sealed Pokémon product is one of the most counterfeited collectables in the world, and the fakes have got considerably better at looking right. We have a full guide to spotting fakes if you want to know what to look for.