{ "url": "https://www.moonstonehq.com/articles/the-box-is-the-product", "slug": "the-box-is-the-product", "title": "The Trainer Box That Costs More Than Its Booster Box", "summary": "An Elite Trainer Box holds a fraction of a booster box's packs, and across the 44 sets where we track both, it costs a median 0.39x the box. The spread is the story: from 0.21x on Evolving Skies to 1.53x on Steam Siege, where the accessory outgrew the product it was packaging. And when the same trainer box carries a Pokemon Center stamp, the median markup is 1.71x for identical contents.", "section": "Set economics", "published": "2026-09-06", "readMinutes": 6, "publisher": "moonstone", "findings": [ { "value": "0.39x", "measures": "median ETB price, against its set's booster box", "basis": "44 sets holding both" }, { "value": "1.53x", "measures": "the top of the range", "basis": "Steam Siege" }, { "value": "1.71x", "measures": "median Pokemon Center stamp markup", "basis": "34 same-set pairs" }, { "value": "3.99x", "measures": "the widest stamp gap on a set you can open here", "basis": "Destined Rivals" } ], "tables": [ { "title": "ETB against booster box, same set, same day: the top seven ratios of 44 and the bottom four", "columns": [ "Set", "ETB", "Booster box", "ETB / box" ], "rows": [ { "Set": "[Steam Siege](/set/steam%20siege)", "ETB": "$1,800.00", "Booster box": "$1,177.49", "ETB / box": "1.53x" }, { "Set": "[Roaring Skies](/set/roaring%20skies)", "ETB": "$4,899.99", "Booster box": "$4,384.73", "ETB / box": "1.12x" }, { "Set": "[Celestial Storm](/set/celestial%20storm)", "ETB": "$2,091.30", "Booster box": "$2,487.85", "ETB / box": "0.84x" }, { "Set": "[Obsidian Flames](/set/obsidian%20flames)", "ETB": "$278.58", "Booster box": "$365.73", "ETB / box": "0.76x" }, { "Set": "[Rebel Clash](/set/rebel%20clash)", "ETB": "$323.78", "Booster box": "$489.51", "ETB / box": "0.66x" }, { "Set": "[Unified Minds](/set/unified%20minds)", "ETB": "$1,813.25", "Booster box": "$3,029.75", "ETB / box": "0.60x" }, { "Set": "[Journey Together](/set/journey%20together)", "ETB": "$139.25", "Booster box": "$241.41", "ETB / box": "0.58x" }, { "Set": "[Evolutions](/set/xy%20-%20evolutions)", "ETB": "$635.89", "Booster box": "$2,521.87", "ETB / box": "0.25x" }, { "Set": "[Guardians Rising](/set/guardians%20rising)", "ETB": "$421.79", "Booster box": "$1,824.50", "ETB / box": "0.23x" }, { "Set": "[Sword & Shield](/set/sword%20%26%20shield)", "ETB": "$157.93", "Booster box": "$689.04", "ETB / box": "0.23x" }, { "Set": "[Evolving Skies](/set/evolving%20skies)", "ETB": "$509.27", "Booster box": "$2,458.52", "ETB / box": "0.21x" } ] }, { "title": "The Pokemon Center stamp, priced: same trainer box, with and without, the widest eleven of 34 pairs (Delta Reign excluded, see methodology)", "columns": [ "Set", "Regular ETB", "Pokemon Center ETB", "Stamp markup" ], "rows": [ { "Set": "[Destined Rivals](/set/destined%20rivals)", "Regular ETB": "$119.00", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$474.84", "Stamp markup": "3.99x" }, { "Set": "[Paldea Evolved](/set/paldea%20evolved)", "Regular ETB": "$218.08", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$601.37", "Stamp markup": "2.76x" }, { "Set": "[Prismatic Evolutions](/set/prismatic%20evolutions)", "Regular ETB": "$157.90", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$432.02", "Stamp markup": "2.74x" }, { "Set": "[Obsidian Flames](/set/obsidian%20flames)", "Regular ETB": "$278.58", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$690.70", "Stamp markup": "2.48x" }, { "Set": "[Ascended Heroes](/set/ascended%20heroes)", "Regular ETB": "$169.14", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$406.66", "Stamp markup": "2.40x" }, { "Set": "[Silver Tempest](/set/silver%20tempest)", "Regular ETB": "$156.15", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$364.37", "Stamp markup": "2.33x" }, { "Set": "[Scarlet & Violet 151](/set/151)", "Regular ETB": "$569.14", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$1,320.91", "Stamp markup": "2.32x" }, { "Set": "[Scarlet & Violet](/set/scarlet%20%26%20violet)", "Regular ETB": "$135.82", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$292.61", "Stamp markup": "2.15x" }, { "Set": "[Surging Sparks](/set/surging%20sparks)", "Regular ETB": "$129.37", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$273.14", "Stamp markup": "2.11x" }, { "Set": "[Evolving Skies](/set/evolving%20skies)", "Regular ETB": "$509.27", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$1,060.30", "Stamp markup": "2.08x" }, { "Set": "[Lost Origin](/set/lost%20origin)", "Regular ETB": "$194.39", "Pokemon Center ETB": "$386.41", "Stamp markup": "1.99x" } ] } ], "charts": [], "sections": [ "When the accessory becomes the collectible" ], "method": [ "Prices are tracked TCGplayer figures from our nightly sealed sync, read on 2026-09-06. ETB against box compares each set's cheapest single-unit Elite Trainer Box to its exact 36-pack booster box SKU; 44 sets hold both, and sets missing either are excluded rather than estimated. Pokemon Center pairs compare the cheapest regular ETB to the cheapest Pokemon Center exclusive ETB of the same set; 34 sets hold both, and the table prints them in descending markup down to Lost Origin. Every ratio is a division of two recorded same-day prices. Multi-unit lots, cases, and bundle SKUs never enter any figure here. One 2026 set with a wider stamp gap than Destined Rivals is linked by product because our card catalog does not yet carry its singles." ], "terms": "Figures are moonstone's own recorded measurements, dated as published. Quote them with the population stated beside them. The article at `url` is the human form of this file." }