Sandstorm Booster Pack

Sandstorm Booster Pack guide

What's inside the Sandstorm Booster Pack

One sealed Sandstorm Booster Pack contains a random selection of 9 to 11 cards, with at least one rare, all from Sandstorm.

Vintage packs came with different artwork on the wrapper, and collectors often pay more for a particular Pokémon on the front. Some sellers also list "heavy" packs picked by weight to hold a holo, which is worth knowing before you buy loose packs.

1st Edition and Unlimited booster packs are both listed here, and 1st Edition sells for far more, so check the listing title before comparing prices.

About Sandstorm

The second EX series set, themed around Hoenn's deserts and fossils. Released on 18 September 2003, it belongs to the Wizards of the Coast era, when Pokémon cards first took off and print runs were far smaller than today. It came out 23 years ago, so most sealed stock has been opened and what is left sits with collectors.

Sandstorm has 100 cards in its main numbering.

What collectors open Sandstorm for

The Sandstorm cards collectors most want to pull are Zangoose, Solrock, Shiftry, Seviper and Sableye. Any one pack can hold them, but most packs will not: buying the single card is usually cheaper than opening for it.

Our catalogue lists the set's rarest tiers as 14 Holo Rares and 20 Rares. Prices for every card are on the Sandstorm set page.

Is the Sandstorm Booster Pack a good investment?

Sealed Sandstorm is now a collector's item: very few unopened booster packs survive, and each one opened makes the rest rarer. Condition and authenticity matter more than anything else at this age. Single packs are the easiest to resell but also the most likely to have been searched or weighed. Watch the price of Zangoose, the set's headline card, since sealed Sandstorm tends to move with it.

Past prices do not guarantee future ones, and this is not financial advice. Read should you buy sealed Pokémon products? for the pros and cons.

Before you buy

Look closely at the wrapping in the photos. Factory wrap on packs is tight and crimped evenly at both ends; baggy, shiny or uneven wrap is a common sign of a reseal. Avoid "weighed" or searched packs from bulk sellers: some sellers weigh packs to pull the holos out first. For product this old, ask whether it has been checked by an authenticator: fakes and resealed vintage boxes are made to fool buyers. Check whether delivery from abroad adds import fees, and store sealed product flat, out of sunlight and away from damp.