I'm a recluse myself and as a collector/re-seller im of course aware of the changes we've been going through as a community. (Atleast thats what i thought) But the other day i was invited to come along to a pokémon convention locally here by a good friend and his son. His son asked his dad to bring me, cause he was afraid of getting scammed and his dad knew too little about pokémon, this kid is 9 years old.. Once there in the trade area's, kids age's ranging from like 6 to 14 all sat down there trading with eachother which at first glance took me right back to my childhood but what i walked into was not ''hey this card looks cool, want to trade it for my cool ones? or hey my card has 200hp so i want a 200hp card in return'' No, literally 90% of the kids had their phones out when doing a trade and were looking at sold comps on either ebay or other platforms before trading their cards'' trying to get one up on eachother. They didn't let them be touched by others without sleeves cause they're worth less if there's whitening. Truly saddened me to see what the pokémon community had become there and then.
Just came back from collect-a-con and I saw plenty of young kids trading because they thought the card looked cool. Sure there's plenty of people of all ages checking comps to get a good deal (or even one up others) but I saw plenty of people trying to scam each other in 2000. There's still a lot of young kids coming into the hobby and loving it as much as I did in 2000.
Yeah don't worry those are the hardcore collectors , my nephew rubs them in the dirt , every time I give a pack to a kid they are heavy played/ damaged within a day. In the 90s I was one of those kids who put them directly into top loaders or binders and never let anyone touch them.
Definitely feeling this, but I’d say there is so much to engage with, when I get tired of collecting I move to playing or just spectating the hobby. Lots of great TCG content these days.
One thing that actually kind of worries me is that fact the pokemon company is catering to the new environment. Cant blame them they want to make their money. Why are vintage cards so worth it? Because it brings back the nostalgia from 30 year olds that now have adult salaries and they want the cards they had fun with as children. If pokemon makes it so kids cant pull these cards and just get frustersted they are going to say screw it and move on and 20 years from now they will be chasing the nostalgia somewhere else. Pokemon needs to cater to children and fun again not someone having to open 3000 packs to get one alt art card. But what do i know. Im just some random guy on the internet.
Not only that but the over saturation of card types. It used to be getting a holo was amazing now holos are looked at as duds. There’s flat Vs, vmax, vstar, character rare, rainbow, gold, alt, etc. and like you said you have to open 20 packs to luckily get ONE of those things. Not only that but leaks leaks leaks. You can’t even try to begin to enjoy the current set anymore… the quantity over quality mentality has got to the Pokémon company and it’s definitely frustrating as someone who enjoys modern and vintage…
Idk people used to weigh packs back in the 90s and if your parents only took you to a certain store to buy packs , then a holo was extremely rare , I think I only ever got like 6 holos from base set -fossil i think it's way easier to get a cool card now.
I personally think this is one of your greatest videos! Really spoke to my soul and put in words what i felt over the past Months. Keep up the great work in the old Granny house ❤️
I feel this. I rejoined the hobby in late 2021 after grabbing a pack from a wally-world on vacation. The hype train is so hard to avoid. There are a few niches that allow you, as a new member of the community, to enjoy the hobby without the FOMO/hypetrain you describe. Funding the hobby from flipping is much more enjoyable than risking your 401k on Charizord UPC’s
People dont understand if you want to ”invest” in rare and/or old cards you will have to be in it for a very long time, at least 10 years and if you cant wait that long This is not for you.
Agreed, I know people who think they can just buy a small box or an ETB and just become rich. That’s just not how it works. I’ve been collecting for almost a year now, and there’s no way I’ve made anywhere close to the money total I’ve spent in total. Plus, it’s more just for the experience in my mind, anyway.
@@donutcollectsYT nah mate, I've been in the game for a couple months and made so much money just flipping cards.... Might as well be printing it, it's ridiculous 😃
I’m stumbling upon this video and your channel for the first time and all I can say is that if you truly love something you’ll make it work for yourself, if not move on, or reunite down the line
Always the voice of reason in the hobby Scott! Being a recluse has it's benefits. I was at the UK's biggest card show at the weekend and the difference between when they launched in 2020 vs now at the tail end of 22 is astronomical. Before you'd go to the stalls take the time to chat to sellers and have the ability to really engage and talk Pokemon. Which to me is the best aspect of a card show aside from the buying and selling. Now you have streamer set ups, PSA grading services, people queuing up to the door for pack battles just so many people which is great in many ways but to be honest I enjoyed the hobby more when it was less mainstream.
You are the man! I got out of the hobby after a few year like around 2002 and then got back into it more recently. I feel this even since I got back into it. There is so much more of me, me, me mentality. I feel it has tainted the hobby not in the best way. It’s not just about the prices driving up either but also the investor type hoarding specific cards and items. I get it. There is a huge pool of money nowadays for Pokémon. But it’s changed the landscape for true collectors that enjoy the art, the history and the fun of collecting. Keep the great content.
Couldn't agree more buddy. There has always been money in Pokemon to a certain degree but the level of greed and the lengths some people go to achieve their goals at the cost of others is what disappoints me.
I'm not rich but I can scrounge an extra 250 bucks a month to buy a chase card from each set. Some of the cards are starting to exceed that so it's getting a bit harder as a collector
I did a similar video. My feed of course would pull this one up to my Home Screen. This is a great video and has to be talked about. Also the mental and psychological impacts. Gambling and addiction absolutely. I’m glad you made this video. Helpful to us all. You’re very articulate on the fly and that is really a privilege to get to be a part of your knowledge.
I think you bring up a great point about “I don’t think people have gone anywhere.” I’ve heard some people say that a lot of people left after 2020 and I don’t see it. It seems so many more people stayed and we’re not by the bug. Always love a new video from you and have enjoyed seeing you put out more content lately.
It's not really kids that are keeping the hobby afloat. It's all the nostalgic adults and the ones buying the ETBs and booster boxes. Not only do they buy them, they buy a lot of them. Seen people say when a new set comes out, they preordered cases. SO MUCH PRODUCT is being opened to chase cards because these people have the money to do it. Vintage is vintage. Always gonna have that classic feeling of owning them and people will admire them for life, but it's modern now where people are gambling and have full blown addictions to opening packs. I got into it like that. Going every week to Walmart and buying $100-200 worth of stuff to chase cards. It did not go the way I wanted. It got old finally after a year and change. I finally got it under control. That's not even a lot compared to other people. Seen one person say they had opened 1,000 packs of a new set and it was only out for 2 weeks. Like people are seriously spending so much money in the hobby just chasing cards and opening packs. No wonder the demand is so high and Pokemon is having to keep the printers on 24/7. Then the market itself and the price of cards is even more crazy now than it was back in 2014. It's awesome that you can build a valuable collection over time but when everyone is all about graded cards, flipping cards, making money, and how much value cards have over the TCG and a simple appreciation of the art, then it's not a hobby anymore. It's all about investing. Since when did people ever put investing in the same conversation as Pokemon? Thats a new thing happening.
You hit it on the head with this one. This is literally what I was expressing to my partner 30 minutes ago on our car ride home. Lets hope these "hype beasts" and "scalpers" make their way out of the hobby and get real jobs. Let us collect!!!
I still collect by emotions, no plans to sell any of it but if I did I was lucky with many of my purchases and have done well since 2020. I'm a big pikachu collector was able to get stuff in 18-19 for $40 and it's selling for $3-400 now
Invest in vivid voltage. I see a lot of TH-camrs bashing VV, but they're delusional, VV will be one of the best sets, for the fact big boy Pikachu is in it
@@bagelz3359 I personally like Cosmic eclipse better, I was able to get the character pikachu card in all 11 languages and have then framed in my room. VV was nice but pull rates for the pikachu are abysmal
@@Wisconsin.pikachu i love Pikachus too🥰 My best deal was 7years ago when i got 44 Mint German Base Set First edition Pikachus for 5€ each... At one Point in 2020 i sold some of them for 200€ each... 4000% gain in value at that time xDDD Now i still have about 30 of them and they are at 50-60€ a piece... Still a great Investment for only 7 years! Only thing i regret is Scream Pikachu... I bought one Mint for 20€ and wanted to buy some more later, but within months they went up to 500€ a piece 🤯 so sad... Peace ✌️
@@Mallhall85 I wish I would have got as many of the 2019 ancient mews that I could have 🤣 I ordered mine for $15 with free shipping they are average $100 rn, the seller I got mine from in Japan has it listed for $180 now
It’s such a bad feeling when you really want something for your collection, but can not buy it right away and all of a sudden it shoots up and is out of reach.
Definitely hard mode right now... Briefly reflecting on everything this hobby has been through, it's been one hell of an interesting journey! I've always enjoyed your insight along the way :)
The end of the video shows the huge and ultimately better difference of what is currently happening in MTG. WoTC is cashing in hard rn and putting their community is a really hard position years from now if they don't correct their course.
Very engaging video! It's interesting to see how some people are switching to the hype, especially in the UK where whatnot is starting to pop up and grow. The premiums some pay to have their name read out on a stream fascinates me. I get why people like it, but not for double the market price. I'm fairly new to collecting again (came back in during Cosmic Eclipse) and it took me a while to find what I like to collect. For me, it's prerelease cards, and the prerelease decks to go with them
I've been opening packs/collecting for 4-5 weeks now and I'm not as deep as this conversation but for me it's not about money/profit/spending. I've spent more on booster boxes/ETBs/packs than anything else I have on myself for years but I absolutely love it and so does my partner/child so it's very much worth the cost. As long as you're enjoying it and these cards/this game is making you happy, do and spend what you want!
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Having restarted our collection in the absolutely nutty time of Q4 of 2020, we have seen an insane shift in dynamics. The financial environment has FORCED us to be very selective with what we buy. And there items we desperately want that we simply cannot check off our list (looking at you Moonbreon) because of how quickly that hot tickets increase in value. It's also been very difficult to continue building an online selling presence on TCG Player and Ebay because everyone is doing it and you have to swallow a lot of medicine and constantly undercut people in hopes to get a transaction AND get the positive feedback you need. This plays a part not only in singles but in the dozens of sealed items we purchased that simply have not gone up in value because Pokemon continues to reprint everything.
It needs to be acknowledged that making money through the hobby is one of the best ways to help you reach your collecting goals. There shouldn’t be a stigma with selling or trying to make a business around your hobby, anything else is really just gate keeping and privilege talking. The economic opportunity to self-fund your hobby without reaching too deep into your pockets is one of the things that makes this hobby so special. And when the market recognizes the value of what you’ve worked hard for its a reward in and of itself. You’ve talked about the challenge being a prerequisite of collectibility and I see the business/entrepreneurial side as an extension of that. Not only is it “let me get this rare card” it’s also “let me get this rare card in a cheaper way than just outright buying it for market value”. It’s exciting to get a card you love that might cost thousands of dollars by working up to it or for much cheaper by grinding for it and finding the opportunity where it exists. I get there are people who hype things up and are trying to aggressively make money with no care for the hobby itself or the community but ignore them. You have more control over what you see than you think, and they’re the ones who won’t be here in 5-10 years anyway. Have fun and let people do what they want.
Agreed. Now that is a organic and smart way to collect. Selling off 10-20 regular cards for example so can buy something that is special to you is just good business. You win and the buyer of your cards win. That has always been about in the hobby. It's the punks that buy up 20 UPC Charizard boxes flipping them onto the market to go buy up a chase card after. There is a way of collecting without stepping on the little guy to get what you want.
I sold off my collection. The new environment was just too much. Price spikes, market manipulation, thousands of pop 10 cards, celebs, and the like make for such a hostile environment. I used to just get the cards I loved and that was enough. I got caught up in buying and selling, and at the end of the day it felt like day trading. So I stopped.
I observe it in others, and as you say, in society too. I'm fairly insulated from it myself, since I have so many other demands on me and interests. It's also something that we've been expecting for a while and discussing for several months on the fourum, so it's actually kinda nice to know that things are relatively stable at a low for the time being. FoMo is minimal, and again, little excitement to sell. (But all this is coming from someone who does not NEED to sell. I imagine it could be different for those that do.)
I rejoined the hobby both 2014 then again in mid 2019 and I definitely have seen a huge difference in how attitudes in the hobby have changed. In 2014 it was literally just collect what you like and it was usually just small groups of people discussing, collecting, and trading. When I came back again in mid 2019 it's was big groups on social media sharing love for the hobby and connecting. However that came to an end fast when groups got even bigger and making money became the hobby. It was no longer about sharing the love but more are collections becoming status symbols and flexing what you had. Now days most all the social media groups are a wasteland of live streams cracking pack for people that are paying or its people just trying flip stuff. It used to be about you getting a nice a card you wanted for your collection or people would say they loved the pokemon or art. Now it's "wow that's worth X".
I collect Pokemon cards since 15 years continuous and feel the same way. Before 2016 everyone bought the cards they like and now people only buy the cards and products to make profit. Its insane how some people buy out a type of a box because it could climb in price.
Great Video, unfortunately I haven’t collected any of Sword and Shield, maybe I will with the new sets next year but I don’t know. I went wild with Sun and Moon team up though and Hidden fates (unfortunately printed to oblivion!)
There is a "grabbiness" about the hobby. I still, in my area, can't find anything at Target. Shelves are bare...like stripped. It's kind of gross and pathetic. But whatever. I still think it's a great hobby. The game and the art art still awesome. Some of the upcoming sets just look stunning. That hasn't changed. So...I keep collecting, and selling stuff too. The fun sales are the ones at the local flea market to young kids with wadded up dollar bills. Someone selling fake cards a few stalls away...and I am there selling legit packs, cheap, to these kids breaking out their hard earned $$. Anyway...I love that part. And I will continue to love collecting. A completed master set is a thing of pop culture beauty. Really. Anyway...thanks for the reflections.
I play the game. I am easily overwhelemed with all the combinations of cards, types, mechanics, etc. I think I'm even more overwhelemed with the amount of new product. How can the competitive players keep up???
I agree. It feels different in the hobby. But, it is also exciting that people are in the hobby. I think they are going through what we went through in the 90's. They may be rich adults, but they are kids to the hobby. They pick up everything that shines and flip it on the playground. As they mature they will become more nostalgic about this generation of pokemon and products.
I hate to say it - but it’s technology. I’ve tried to look at it every positive way I can but I think the world simply changed too fast. 90’s-00’s we’re the last “good” era where community was a thing. Today, the internet is a completely different animal and 50% of our lives maybe more are virtual. The problem? Human connection/community/relationships are no where to be found in the virtual.
I think it’s hard to collect anything in 2023. Even coin collecting has just gotten ridiculously expensive. The sad part is the dollar isn’t worth much and the past 15 years the federal research trained people to gamble by supporting the stock market and creating a mentality that everyone wins. Add bitcoin and other new investment types that people have gotten rich off and everyone just wants to get rich quick. It’s pretty sad. Makes it hard to be a collector and be able to afford to do it and enjoy it.
Kind of related but not really I guess lol, I wonder how many people are going to be blindsided by tax forms from selling over $600 on ebay, through paypal or pretty much any other online payment processor. I imagine there has to be a lot of people that didn't realize that law went into effect this year and will end up having to pay taxes off those gains they made. Maybe it won't be that big of a thing but I'm curious to see what happens come tax season.
I don't know what I'm seeing these days. They say the Pokémon hype is dying down. Is it though? Modern getting crazy expensive, preorders going up and the japanese singles market is going nuts, like wtf?
I'm just kind of upset that Pokémon Has been turned into more of an aggressive sport than a hobby. I'm all for making money but the love of collecting the cards just has so much more appeal. The appreciation for the artists and getting the feeling you got when you were a kid. Some of that has been taken away from me in a way. I'll always love it But the Pokémon community has changed big-time. Miss buying Japanese jungle for $40 a pack opening it for fun lol crazy times
The everything bubble really was an everything bubble. I hope nobody lost too much as Pokemon continues to correct past this wildly artificial hype, and whoever bought a house within the last 18 months is going to be suffering pretty hard here in a year or so
I have started collecting and grading Dragon Ball Super cards since it feels more like 2020 prior Pokémon. But obviously you would have to like dragon ball super to enjoy it 😂
I’m with ya. I still like Pokémon and pick stuff up to collect. Dragon ball super though..the cards are just amazing to me. I genuinely love opening the products!
@@ijustRIPcards definitely, so many great cards too and not a lot of population on the cards which I like. PSA 10’s seem easier to obtain because of the general quality.
We all know the Pokémon plane has taken off and landed. The hobby in 2/3 years time will just be collectors buying/selling with collectors. None of these scalping money maker bullshit. Don’t ever see the Pokémon plane taking off again personally
Pop culture collectibles predictably go through this type of cycle. After the speculation phase (which for Pokémon is basically over now), there is a drought where prices drop for years and people are getting out of the market. Then in about 10 years if the younger generation is interested, it picks back up again, with prices even higher than the speculative phase. If the younger generation is not interested, it fades away and dies. But since kids today love Pokémon still, there is a good chance it could be a mature high value collectible in 10 years.
I’m gonna be honest, when I see all the people #grinding I can’t help but be like do you know how much more money you would make if you, ya know... got a job?
It is an awesome Investment long Term! They are not produced in an absurd amount afaik, and the promos inside are great and already now go for a decent price! Also 9 Booster inside is never a bad thing ;) In 10 years it will go for around 500$ for sure if sealed... Peace ✌️
@@Mallhall85 You have no idea what you're talking about, it's a Pokeball with arguably the worst Pokemon set ever released. It does not matter if it wasn't printed a lot, nobody wants this. They have been sitting on my Targets shelves forever, nobody ever buys them.
2019 was not 'before nft's'. Maybe you had not heard of them but they were a big hype in 2016/2017 too and maybe even earlier. I doubt the concept will ever be succesfull I'm not buying it. I do like Crypto in general tho. I'm a student with little money relatively but I still like to spend some of my money in pokemon (cards & products) these days. I'm also excited for Scarlet & Violet. I like playing PTCGO at my laptop. I think most of my cards have gone up in value over the past months so I really can't identify with your story today, i'm sorry.
@@warriorsdynastypart275 I've been a collector for 23 years and the last 2 or 3 years have been terrible, I've barely bothered with most the sets this year other than the eevee based one and the other one with loads of alt arts
Eeveelution alts from evolving skies will probably age well, Charizard v alt from brilliant stars under $200 flashing buy signal. Not financial advice / DYOR / just buy what you like
@@DrDIYhax 20+ years ago I use to hop on a muni bus (in SF)on Saturdays to go to Toys R US and play League. I kinda came back for Evolutions but Hidden Fates was the real set to get me back into it. These modern set are actually really fun to open in my opinion, Plus most of the modern sets are affordable and cheaper to open.
Oh god there’s nothing more cringey than the whatnot Z list “celebrities.” Tell me you got bullied all your life without telling me you got bullied all your life. I will say I’ve been on insta for 3 years now (got in the game September 2019) and we’re all still close knit and support each other. I love helping people find deals, connecting a buyer and a seller, as well as leaving some meat on the bone when it comes to seller, especially to collectors.
Ex gambler who put 100k into Pokemon in 2020 and everything has gone up. Didn't buy singles, all sealed XY, Sun and Moon and Japanese booster boxes. I bought well.
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I'm a recluse myself and as a collector/re-seller im of course aware of the changes we've been going through as a community. (Atleast thats what i thought)
But the other day i was invited to come along to a pokémon convention locally here by a good friend and his son.
His son asked his dad to bring me, cause he was afraid of getting scammed and his dad knew too little about pokémon, this kid is 9 years old..
Once there in the trade area's, kids age's ranging from like 6 to 14 all sat down there trading with eachother which at first glance took me right back to my childhood but what i walked into was not ''hey this card looks cool, want to trade it for my cool ones? or hey my card has 200hp so i want a 200hp card in return''
No, literally 90% of the kids had their phones out when doing a trade and were looking at sold comps on either ebay or other platforms before trading their cards'' trying to get one up on eachother.
They didn't let them be touched by others without sleeves cause they're worth less if there's whitening.
Truly saddened me to see what the pokémon community had become there and then.
That is very sad to hear 😞
Just came back from collect-a-con and I saw plenty of young kids trading because they thought the card looked cool. Sure there's plenty of people of all ages checking comps to get a good deal (or even one up others) but I saw plenty of people trying to scam each other in 2000. There's still a lot of young kids coming into the hobby and loving it as much as I did in 2000.
Yeah don't worry those are the hardcore collectors , my nephew rubs them in the dirt , every time I give a pack to a kid they are heavy played/ damaged within a day.
In the 90s I was one of those kids who put them directly into top loaders or binders and never let anyone touch them.
Definitely feeling this, but I’d say there is so much to engage with, when I get tired of collecting I move to playing or just spectating the hobby. Lots of great TCG content these days.
A someone who primarily plays the tcg rather than collect, I'd say the game is quite healthy. With a decent plan, even the jankiest combo will work.
One thing that actually kind of worries me is that fact the pokemon company is catering to the new environment. Cant blame them they want to make their money. Why are vintage cards so worth it? Because it brings back the nostalgia from 30 year olds that now have adult salaries and they want the cards they had fun with as children. If pokemon makes it so kids cant pull these cards and just get frustersted they are going to say screw it and move on and 20 years from now they will be chasing the nostalgia somewhere else. Pokemon needs to cater to children and fun again not someone having to open 3000 packs to get one alt art card. But what do i know. Im just some random guy on the internet.
Not only that but the over saturation of card types. It used to be getting a holo was amazing now holos are looked at as duds. There’s flat Vs, vmax, vstar, character rare, rainbow, gold, alt, etc. and like you said you have to open 20 packs to luckily get ONE of those things. Not only that but leaks leaks leaks. You can’t even try to begin to enjoy the current set anymore… the quantity over quality mentality has got to the Pokémon company and it’s definitely frustrating as someone who enjoys modern and vintage…
@@pizzanoodz I'm fine with the leaks of the next set. Give me a chance to see what new threats to my deck are coming.
Idk people used to weigh packs back in the 90s and if your parents only took you to a certain store to buy packs , then a holo was extremely rare , I think I only ever got like 6 holos from base set -fossil i think it's way easier to get a cool card now.
I personally think this is one of your greatest videos! Really spoke to my soul and put in words what i felt over the past Months. Keep up the great work in the old Granny house ❤️
I needed this.
That shirt is so good!
"Short term gain, long term cost" that one hit me. Thanks bro. I will keep your experience in mind with my new chanel. Thank you. Wish you the best 🤙
I feel this. I rejoined the hobby in late 2021 after grabbing a pack from a wally-world on vacation. The hype train is so hard to avoid. There are a few niches that allow you, as a new member of the community, to enjoy the hobby without the FOMO/hypetrain you describe. Funding the hobby from flipping is much more enjoyable than risking your 401k on Charizord UPC’s
People dont understand if you want to ”invest” in rare and/or old cards you will have to be in it for a very long time, at least 10 years and if you cant wait that long This is not for you.
Agreed, I know people who think they can just buy a small box or an ETB and just become rich. That’s just not how it works. I’ve been collecting for almost a year now, and there’s no way I’ve made anywhere close to the money total I’ve spent in total. Plus, it’s more just for the experience in my mind, anyway.
Investing is supposed to be 10 years or more
@@sp123 investing can be very short term to but not in this case.
Same man, I’ve tried explaining this to family haha, and there just sell it and am like you don’t understand lol
@@donutcollectsYT nah mate, I've been in the game for a couple months and made so much money just flipping cards.... Might as well be printing it, it's ridiculous 😃
I’m stumbling upon this video and your channel for the first time and all I can say is that if you truly love something you’ll make it work for yourself, if not move on, or reunite down the line
Always the voice of reason in the hobby Scott! Being a recluse has it's benefits. I was at the UK's biggest card show at the weekend and the difference between when they launched in 2020 vs now at the tail end of 22 is astronomical. Before you'd go to the stalls take the time to chat to sellers and have the ability to really engage and talk Pokemon. Which to me is the best aspect of a card show aside from the buying and selling.
Now you have streamer set ups, PSA grading services, people queuing up to the door for pack battles just so many people which is great in many ways but to be honest I enjoyed the hobby more when it was less mainstream.
You are the man! I got out of the hobby after a few year like around 2002 and then got back into it more recently. I feel this even since I got back into it. There is so much more of me, me, me mentality. I feel it has tainted the hobby not in the best way. It’s not just about the prices driving up either but also the investor type hoarding specific cards and items. I get it. There is a huge pool of money nowadays for Pokémon. But it’s changed the landscape for true collectors that enjoy the art, the history and the fun of collecting. Keep the great content.
Couldn't agree more buddy. There has always been money in Pokemon to a certain degree but the level of greed and the lengths some people go to achieve their goals at the cost of others is what disappoints me.
Watching this in 2023 is very reflective and really interesting. These points apply today if not more
I'm not rich but I can scrounge an extra 250 bucks a month to buy a chase card from each set. Some of the cards are starting to exceed that so it's getting a bit harder as a collector
I did a similar video. My feed of course would pull this one up to my Home Screen. This is a great video and has to be talked about. Also the mental and psychological impacts. Gambling and addiction absolutely. I’m glad you made this video. Helpful to us all. You’re very articulate on the fly and that is really a privilege to get to be a part of your knowledge.
I think you bring up a great point about “I don’t think people have gone anywhere.” I’ve heard some people say that a lot of people left after 2020 and I don’t see it. It seems so many more people stayed and we’re not by the bug. Always love a new video from you and have enjoyed seeing you put out more content lately.
It's not really kids that are keeping the hobby afloat. It's all the nostalgic adults and the ones buying the ETBs and booster boxes. Not only do they buy them, they buy a lot of them. Seen people say when a new set comes out, they preordered cases. SO MUCH PRODUCT is being opened to chase cards because these people have the money to do it. Vintage is vintage. Always gonna have that classic feeling of owning them and people will admire them for life, but it's modern now where people are gambling and have full blown addictions to opening packs. I got into it like that. Going every week to Walmart and buying $100-200 worth of stuff to chase cards. It did not go the way I wanted. It got old finally after a year and change. I finally got it under control. That's not even a lot compared to other people. Seen one person say they had opened 1,000 packs of a new set and it was only out for 2 weeks. Like people are seriously spending so much money in the hobby just chasing cards and opening packs. No wonder the demand is so high and Pokemon is having to keep the printers on 24/7.
Then the market itself and the price of cards is even more crazy now than it was back in 2014. It's awesome that you can build a valuable collection over time but when everyone is all about graded cards, flipping cards, making money, and how much value cards have over the TCG and a simple appreciation of the art, then it's not a hobby anymore. It's all about investing. Since when did people ever put investing in the same conversation as Pokemon? Thats a new thing happening.
Way more upside came from the boom even after it rebounded back to earth.
You hit it on the head with this one. This is literally what I was expressing to my partner 30 minutes ago on our car ride home. Lets hope these "hype beasts" and "scalpers" make their way out of the hobby and get real jobs. Let us collect!!!
My young boys are crazy about Pokemon so that is a good sign for the future. It will slow down again and you can cash in on my kids nostalgia.
your commentary on collecting is some of the favorite I follow on YT - great job!
I still collect by emotions, no plans to sell any of it but if I did I was lucky with many of my purchases and have done well since 2020. I'm a big pikachu collector was able to get stuff in 18-19 for $40 and it's selling for $3-400 now
Invest in vivid voltage. I see a lot of TH-camrs bashing VV, but they're delusional, VV will be one of the best sets, for the fact big boy Pikachu is in it
@@bagelz3359 I personally like Cosmic eclipse better, I was able to get the character pikachu card in all 11 languages and have then framed in my room. VV was nice but pull rates for the pikachu are abysmal
@@Wisconsin.pikachu i love Pikachus too🥰
My best deal was 7years ago when i got 44 Mint German Base Set First edition Pikachus for 5€ each... At one Point in 2020 i sold some of them for 200€ each... 4000% gain in value at that time xDDD
Now i still have about 30 of them and they are at 50-60€ a piece... Still a great Investment for only 7 years!
Only thing i regret is Scream Pikachu... I bought one Mint for 20€ and wanted to buy some more later, but within months they went up to 500€ a piece 🤯 so sad...
Peace ✌️
@@Mallhall85 I wish I would have got as many of the 2019 ancient mews that I could have 🤣 I ordered mine for $15 with free shipping they are average $100 rn, the seller I got mine from in Japan has it listed for $180 now
@@Wisconsin.pikachu haha nice xD i have 30 ancient Mew from the old movie, but not a single one from 2019😅 never knew they were a thing!🤯
It’s such a bad feeling when you really want something for your collection, but can not buy it right away and all of a sudden it shoots up and is out of reach.
What a banger of a video! Love your takes and the background as well🔥 😂 the risk taking on pokemon is so true
Definitely hard mode right now... Briefly reflecting on everything this hobby has been through, it's been one hell of an interesting journey!
I've always enjoyed your insight along the way :)
Damn this hit home for me on so many levels! I wish this video existed before I sold my collection in 2018, I miss my cards so much
Do you miss your cards or do you yearn for the value associated with them in today's market?
@@1ledluverjlp it’s both but leaning more towards missing them. They were literally passed down to me essentially.
The end of the video shows the huge and ultimately better difference of what is currently happening in MTG. WoTC is cashing in hard rn and putting their community is a really hard position years from now if they don't correct their course.
Thank you for making this video, and thank you for protecting e4.
TH-cam needs to work on their CC it has it saying “ass and pratt” instead of smpratte lol
Very engaging video! It's interesting to see how some people are switching to the hype, especially in the UK where whatnot is starting to pop up and grow. The premiums some pay to have their name read out on a stream fascinates me. I get why people like it, but not for double the market price. I'm fairly new to collecting again (came back in during Cosmic Eclipse) and it took me a while to find what I like to collect. For me, it's prerelease cards, and the prerelease decks to go with them
I've been opening packs/collecting for 4-5 weeks now and I'm not as deep as this conversation but for me it's not about money/profit/spending. I've spent more on booster boxes/ETBs/packs than anything else I have on myself for years but I absolutely love it and so does my partner/child so it's very much worth the cost. As long as you're enjoying it and these cards/this game is making you happy, do and spend what you want!
Having restarted our collection in the absolutely nutty time of Q4 of 2020, we have seen an insane shift in dynamics. The financial environment has FORCED us to be very selective with what we buy. And there items we desperately want that we simply cannot check off our list (looking at you Moonbreon) because of how quickly that hot tickets increase in value.
It's also been very difficult to continue building an online selling presence on TCG Player and Ebay because everyone is doing it and you have to swallow a lot of medicine and constantly undercut people in hopes to get a transaction AND get the positive feedback you need. This plays a part not only in singles but in the dozens of sealed items we purchased that simply have not gone up in value because Pokemon continues to reprint everything.
Fantastic. Applies to life overall right now
It needs to be acknowledged that making money through the hobby is one of the best ways to help you reach your collecting goals. There shouldn’t be a stigma with selling or trying to make a business around your hobby, anything else is really just gate keeping and privilege talking. The economic opportunity to self-fund your hobby without reaching too deep into your pockets is one of the things that makes this hobby so special. And when the market recognizes the value of what you’ve worked hard for its a reward in and of itself. You’ve talked about the challenge being a prerequisite of collectibility and I see the business/entrepreneurial side as an extension of that. Not only is it “let me get this rare card” it’s also “let me get this rare card in a cheaper way than just outright buying it for market value”. It’s exciting to get a card you love that might cost thousands of dollars by working up to it or for much cheaper by grinding for it and finding the opportunity where it exists.
I get there are people who hype things up and are trying to aggressively make money with no care for the hobby itself or the community but ignore them. You have more control over what you see than you think, and they’re the ones who won’t be here in 5-10 years anyway.
Have fun and let people do what they want.
Agreed. Now that is a organic and smart way to collect. Selling off 10-20 regular cards for example so can buy something that is special to you is just good business. You win and the buyer of your cards win. That has always been about in the hobby. It's the punks that buy up 20 UPC Charizard boxes flipping them onto the market to go buy up a chase card after. There is a way of collecting without stepping on the little guy to get what you want.
Seriously underrated message that can be applied to so much. Such a shining light in the hobby…
I sold off my collection.
The new environment was just too much. Price spikes, market manipulation, thousands of pop 10 cards, celebs, and the like make for such a hostile environment.
I used to just get the cards I loved and that was enough. I got caught up in buying and selling, and at the end of the day it felt like day trading. So I stopped.
More great info thank you been watching for years
This vid def spot on, I definitely feel some of that
The people who really enjoy the cards will be the nost profitable in the end. Like it was with vintage. How it should be.
I observe it in others, and as you say, in society too. I'm fairly insulated from it myself, since I have so many other demands on me and interests. It's also something that we've been expecting for a while and discussing for several months on the fourum, so it's actually kinda nice to know that things are relatively stable at a low for the time being. FoMo is minimal, and again, little excitement to sell. (But all this is coming from someone who does not NEED to sell. I imagine it could be different for those that do.)
I rejoined the hobby both 2014 then again in mid 2019 and I definitely have seen a huge difference in how attitudes in the hobby have changed. In 2014 it was literally just collect what you like and it was usually just small groups of people discussing, collecting, and trading. When I came back again in mid 2019 it's was big groups on social media sharing love for the hobby and connecting. However that came to an end fast when groups got even bigger and making money became the hobby. It was no longer about sharing the love but more are collections becoming status symbols and flexing what you had. Now days most all the social media groups are a wasteland of live streams cracking pack for people that are paying or its people just trying flip stuff. It used to be about you getting a nice a card you wanted for your collection or people would say they loved the pokemon or art. Now it's "wow that's worth X".
Next smpratte video: "And now, a word from this video's sponsor, Raid: Shadow Legends"
I collect Pokemon cards since 15 years continuous and feel the same way. Before 2016 everyone bought the cards they like and now people only buy the cards and products to make profit. Its insane how some people buy out a type of a box because it could climb in price.
You’re not a sell-out Scott. You can’t put a price on golden words; another well articulated video.
That shirt is 🔥
Great Video, unfortunately I haven’t collected any of Sword and Shield, maybe I will with the new sets next year but I don’t know. I went wild with Sun and Moon team up though and Hidden fates (unfortunately printed to oblivion!)
I got robbed 4K on a fake charizard .😅
Definitely feels much harder to do anything these days on Pokémon
There is a "grabbiness" about the hobby. I still, in my area, can't find anything at Target. Shelves are bare...like stripped. It's kind of gross and pathetic. But whatever. I still think it's a great hobby. The game and the art art still awesome. Some of the upcoming sets just look stunning. That hasn't changed. So...I keep collecting, and selling stuff too. The fun sales are the ones at the local flea market to young kids with wadded up dollar bills. Someone selling fake cards a few stalls away...and I am there selling legit packs, cheap, to these kids breaking out their hard earned $$. Anyway...I love that part. And I will continue to love collecting. A completed master set is a thing of pop culture beauty. Really. Anyway...thanks for the reflections.
You think the market will ever see those heights again? There’s so many sets, so many cards, and limited attention.
I play the game. I am easily overwhelemed with all the combinations of cards, types, mechanics, etc. I think I'm even more overwhelemed with the amount of new product. How can the competitive players keep up???
I agree. It feels different in the hobby. But, it is also exciting that people are in the hobby. I think they are going through what we went through in the 90's. They may be rich adults, but they are kids to the hobby. They pick up everything that shines and flip it on the playground. As they mature they will become more nostalgic about this generation of pokemon and products.
Japanese modern is on fire that’s all I know 🧠
For me it’s about the satisfaction of owning the rare cardboard
I hate to say it - but it’s technology. I’ve tried to look at it every positive way I can but I think the world simply changed too fast. 90’s-00’s we’re the last “good” era where community was a thing. Today, the internet is a completely different animal and 50% of our lives maybe more are virtual. The problem? Human connection/community/relationships are no where to be found in the virtual.
I think it’s hard to collect anything in 2023. Even coin collecting has just gotten ridiculously expensive. The sad part is the dollar isn’t worth much and the past 15 years the federal research trained people to gamble by supporting the stock market and creating a mentality that everyone wins. Add bitcoin and other new investment types that people have gotten rich off and everyone just wants to get rich quick. It’s pretty sad. Makes it hard to be a collector and be able to afford to do it and enjoy it.
Could not agree more!
Man I just want to have a sealed EX era booster box but it’s just not affordable as box breaks open them all
Kind of related but not really I guess lol, I wonder how many people are going to be blindsided by tax forms from selling over $600 on ebay, through paypal or pretty much any other online payment processor. I imagine there has to be a lot of people that didn't realize that law went into effect this year and will end up having to pay taxes off those gains they made. Maybe it won't be that big of a thing but I'm curious to see what happens come tax season.
Thank you for this video. I feel today's community is too cut-throat.
I’ve been seeing more really great cards going for dirt cheap just for a buck! It’s like damn bro 😂
This is hilarious
Card shops are all about the clout and money nowadays. I started buying online now
Your description of Whatnot bwahahah
I don't know what I'm seeing these days. They say the Pokémon hype is dying down. Is it though? Modern getting crazy expensive, preorders going up and the japanese singles market is going nuts, like wtf?
I'm just kind of upset that Pokémon Has been turned into more of an aggressive sport than a hobby. I'm all for making money but the love of collecting the cards just has so much more appeal. The appreciation for the artists and getting the feeling you got when you were a kid. Some of that has been taken away from me in a way. I'll always love it But the Pokémon community has changed big-time. Miss buying Japanese jungle for $40 a pack opening it for fun lol crazy times
The everything bubble really was an everything bubble. I hope nobody lost too much as Pokemon continues to correct past this wildly artificial hype, and whoever bought a house within the last 18 months is going to be suffering pretty hard here in a year or so
That's why at the end of the day knowledge wins.
OG or newbie, if you get your knowledge up youll win.
Pokemon market these days.. Gotta Catch'em All Indeed
🤣
I have started collecting and grading Dragon Ball Super cards since it feels more like 2020 prior Pokémon. But obviously you would have to like dragon ball super to enjoy it 😂
I’m with ya. I still like Pokémon and pick stuff up to collect. Dragon ball super though..the cards are just amazing to me. I genuinely love opening the products!
@@ijustRIPcards definitely, so many great cards too and not a lot of population on the cards which I like. PSA 10’s seem easier to obtain because of the general quality.
WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SHIRT?!?
´there is so much some guys just call "dirt". hate how negativity is spread on others
We all know the Pokémon plane has taken off and landed. The hobby in 2/3 years time will just be collectors buying/selling with collectors. None of these scalping money maker bullshit. Don’t ever see the Pokémon plane taking off again personally
Pop culture collectibles predictably go through this type of cycle. After the speculation phase (which for Pokémon is basically over now), there is a drought where prices drop for years and people are getting out of the market. Then in about 10 years if the younger generation is interested, it picks back up again, with prices even higher than the speculative phase. If the younger generation is not interested, it fades away and dies. But since kids today love Pokémon still, there is a good chance it could be a mature high value collectible in 10 years.
Look at japanese cards now
He mentioned E4 a couple times. What is that?
www.elitefourum.com/
💯 👍🏻
It is definently clout chasing and home shopping network.
There's an obsession with money/attention in society in general these days. Not sure if it was the same 20 years ago.
I’m gonna be honest, when I see all the people #grinding I can’t help but be like do you know how much more money you would make if you, ya know... got a job?
People are so down bad there asking if the Dragonite Pokemon Go Ball is a good long term investment on r/pokeinvesting 😅
It is an awesome Investment long Term!
They are not produced in an absurd amount afaik, and the promos inside are great and already now go for a decent price! Also 9 Booster inside is never a bad thing ;)
In 10 years it will go for around 500$ for sure if sealed...
Peace ✌️
@@Mallhall85 You have no idea what you're talking about, it's a Pokeball with arguably the worst Pokemon set ever released.
It does not matter if it wasn't printed a lot, nobody wants this. They have been sitting on my Targets shelves forever, nobody ever buys them.
I talk about my crypto trading on my Pokemon discord and first the other members were annoyed but i show them it goes hand and hand
2019 was not 'before nft's'. Maybe you had not heard of them but they were a big hype in 2016/2017 too and maybe even earlier. I doubt the concept will ever be succesfull I'm not buying it. I do like Crypto in general tho. I'm a student with little money relatively but I still like to spend some of my money in pokemon (cards & products) these days. I'm also excited for Scarlet & Violet. I like playing PTCGO at my laptop. I think most of my cards have gone up in value over the past months so I really can't identify with your story today, i'm sorry.
Is there a better marketplace to sell than ebay? If so what would you guys recommend?
Whatnot is a good platform
What cards would you recommend to hold on to from the last few sets ?
Find cards that you like or pick cards that are hard to pull from sets
@@warriorsdynastypart275 I've been a collector for 23 years and the last 2 or 3 years have been terrible, I've barely bothered with most the sets this year other than the eevee based one and the other one with loads of alt arts
Eeveelution alts from evolving skies will probably age well, Charizard v alt from brilliant stars under $200 flashing buy signal. Not financial advice / DYOR / just buy what you like
@@DrDIYhax 20+ years ago I use to hop on a muni bus (in SF)on Saturdays to go to Toys R US and play League. I kinda came back for Evolutions but Hidden Fates was the real set to get me back into it. These modern set are actually really fun to open in my opinion, Plus most of the modern sets are affordable and cheaper to open.
@@warriorsdynastypart275 hidden fates was pretty good yeah I love the shiny sv cards 😍 I have a whole box of em
Oh god there’s nothing more cringey than the whatnot Z list “celebrities.” Tell me you got bullied all your life without telling me you got bullied all your life.
I will say I’ve been on insta for 3 years now (got in the game September 2019) and we’re all still close knit and support each other. I love helping people find deals, connecting a buyer and a seller, as well as leaving some meat on the bone when it comes to seller, especially to collectors.
Selling **
Ex gambler who put 100k into Pokemon in 2020 and everything has gone up. Didn't buy singles, all sealed XY, Sun and Moon and Japanese booster boxes. I bought well.
As a Japanese collector. I'm starting to feel it after the card shops in Japan, are starting to 10X certain cards and the market now 🥲