There have been a lot of news stories recently concerning classics cards from the Pokémon Trading Card Game selling for lots of money to collectors on eBay. Not all of the cards need to come from the original sets, as a Charizard card has just sold for over ten thousand dollars online and it comes from the recent Hidden Fates set.
The vast majority of the Pokémon cards that sell for a lot of money are either very rare or in amazing condition, as they mainly come from the first few sets that were released at the height of Pokémania. The Hidden Fates set is different than normal, as it's including "Shiny" reprints of cards from earlier sets. The Shiny cards use the same variant colors as the Shiny Pokémon in the games, which is why the Shiny Charizard has black skin and red wings.
The hunt for Shiny Pokémon has bled over into the real world, as a Shiny Charizard GX card has sold for just over ten thousand dollars on eBay. According to Dotesports, the reason why the bidding went so high for this card was partly due to its condition, which was classed as "Pristine" by Beckett Media. The scarcity of the Hidden Fates is driving prices up even further, as collectors and fans are buying boxes up wherever they can find them in order to try and find a rare card.
Pokémon has seen a resurgence of interest over the past few years, thanks to the worldwide success of Pokémon Go. There has been a nostalgia boom for old Pokémon merchandise, especially if it relates to the Kanto region and Pokémon Red & Blue, which is why people have started digging through their attics in search of old cards.
Charizard has always been one of the most popular Pokémon in the series and cards bearing its image have always done well for this reason, even when the cards themselves haven't been competitively viable. The fact that the Shiny Charizard GX card is selling for so much proves just how popular the big lizard still is with the fans.
Source: Dotesports