The kids trading cards that have become big business for grown ups

It's the decades old poké-craze that's showing no signs of slowing down.

We've all heard of Pokémon cards and we know some are worth big bucks, but 25 years on, retailers still struggle to keep up with demand and collectors are scrambling for a chance to score big.

Melbourne trading card store Plenty of Games owner Joel Gibbons said the cards were "just getting more and more popular".

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"Post COVID, there was a massive boom and people started collecting old school cards, new cards and stuff," Gibbons said.

"But we've seen a gradual rise in players from then till now."

Many of these collectible cards sell for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars — and there's never been more to choose from.

From Magic: The Gathering and Disney's Lorcana, to a galaxy far far away with Star Wars: Unlimited, there's a trading card game for everyone.

Disney's Lorcana sets feature special "Enchanted" cards that can fetch up to $1500, while some unique Magic: The Gathering cards have sold for millions.

In 2023, rapper Post Malone bought a one-of-one Lord of the Rings themed Magic: The Gathering card for $3.2 million.

The latest Pokémon card set, Prismatic Evolutions, was recently released around the world and sent retailers into a spin.

Fans and would-be scalpers rushed stores in early January to get their hands on the cards.

Videos posted to social media highlight the chaos, with people getting pushed to the ground and piles of cards being flung across shop floors.

Many who managed to get their hands on the new cards are selling them online for hundreds of dollars.

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Julian Bridges, known online as okJLUV, has been infatuated by Pokémon from an early age.  

"A lot of this stuff, like, goes back 20, 25 years when I first started collecting. So when Mum was buying me packs," Bridges said.

"What might be a $10 card today could be $1000 card tomorrow."

His collection consists of folders upon folders of cards worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"This relatively innocuous card, maybe three years ago, was worth $200 now this is worth $2000... so no signs of slowing down either, which is crazy," he said.

A new dad, Bridges lifelong obsession now has it's perks.

"Especially now when, like, you know, cost of living  and people are doing a little bit tougher, you know, you get a big bill to pay, it's nice to know that you can just like, pull something out that you've collected for fun and kind of like, support your your family a bit with that too," he said.

Bridges now travels the world in search of rare and valuable cards. 

And if you're looking to cash in too, you never know what you might catch!  

"There's no better time to start than now...you never know what you find today could be worth 1000s in 10 or 20 years," Bridges said.

Watch the full video in the player above.