My plan has always been to focus on the rare Pichu cards over anything else. For now my collection is at a point where there are only 3 cards left - one of which I have at PSA at the moment - before I’ll have to start seriously going after main set releases like the PSA 10 Neo Genesis 1st Edition Pichu.
My approach of rarity over value has fortunately meant that I’ve never had to adapt to market changes as I’ve always known that the card at the top of my list would likely be very expensive, but I can look back on the rarer cards in my collection and breathe a sigh of relief that I picked those up when I did.
At the end of the day if I end up having to pay 5 figures for the Neo Genesis Pichu in future then so be it, but for now I can happily delay that whilst I focus on higher priorities.
If the card is out of your budget you ultimately 2 options: either put some money aside for it and come back later or move on to the next item on your list and don’t sweat it.
Stick to current prices. Auctions are not a great way to gauge market prices even though they are very helpful. Just stick to current prices and bid within budget. You can go a little over what you think the current price is and overpay a little because market prices are more like ranges than set price points.
Makes sense! How would you go about gauging market prices other than sold auctions on eBay? I guess I’m looking to collect more than I am invest although in finding what I want to own, I’ll always consider resale value even if I don’t pull it out of a closet for 10 years. Just trying to stretch my money as far as I can and own as many of my favourites slabbed while not overpaying too much.
Why do you disagree with auction prices as a way to gauge the market? I find that the best way because BIN are usually at the top dollar, but if the seller wants to flip the card they may take the last auction price. You can just look at completed best offer listings of a card that you like to see they almost always take a lower offer. (This doesn’t apply to cards that show up once in a blue moon, as you’ll likely need to pay record price to get it)
I think people see this guy with what I assume is millions of dollars worth of some of and literally *the* best cards in the game who talks very confidently about his views and assume he is the all knowing messiah of pokemon cards. Not that Scott doesn’t obviously know a lot, just people stop judging or filtering the info they get from someone they admire.
I would definitely use auction endings as a resource. I just wouldn’t make a conclusion about the price range of a card solely based on 4 slightly older auctions and two more recent auctions. If something is selling very consistently through BIN I would use that as data resource along with auction endings and data from other platforms. I wouldn’t ignore BIN. Same with consistent auction endings. I know it’s harder now to find true sales prices. While BIN prices can be inflated, auction prices can end anywhere and have much more variability. I’d use all data I could. That’s all I was saying.
If you type in Pokemon price history on google there’s a few sites that I know track sales. If you’re involved with social media sometimes you’ll see sales of cards that bypass seller fees and inflated pricing because of those fees. FB marketplace groups, Instagram. They all can be utilized but eBay sold listings is fine. I just wouldn’t use only auction endings, or only best offers accepted, or only BIN prices, or only current listings.
I’ve been using 130point as a basis as I find some of the pokemonprices auctions aren’t correct at face value (drilling into the links confirms this obviously).
So on that when I try and confirm older than 2-3 month prices that I cant find on 130point, the links from pokemonprices are often dead/cant be found so I’m not sure if they were accurate or not.
Couldnt agree more. The echo chamber is real and a lot of people see trophies or high end cards and critical thinking goes out the window. I don’t even think it’d make a difference if people learned that some of these peoples statuses and positions in the market were given to them not earned or achieved.
The “position and status” was most definitely not given to people like Scott. Scott is a pillar of the hobby and a great guy. He’s been on Japanese sites hunting on these things with a select others far far longer than 90+% of the people who are now heavily involved in the hobby.
As someone who’s done the trophy hunt let me assure you that it is not easy, and this era of them popping up now is just because of the big money currently involved. For 99% of the time of their existence just seeing a trophy card pop up was half luck and half effort with attention to dozens of different avenues and frustrating methods of payment.
This is all besides the point. Scott isn’t and never was a problem, quite the opposite. Efour is a resource unlike any other for the Pokemon community. Cullers helped me secure the trophy that I sold to Enlightenedbulbasaur, and many many collectors dreams have been pushed towards coming true here.
If there is anything to point fingers at for the echo chamber, it is the absolute mania going on right now. Pokemon has and will continue to grow, but the explosive attention and obsession with almost any and all products involved in it are unrealistic and unsustainable. More than ever you have people asking what they should spend their money on, or what they think will happen to the price of this card or that box.
That’s the stuff people need to stop. If you can’t decide how you actually want to collect how could anyone else do that for you.
Follow the best advice given here by Scott and just about anyone else heavily involved in the hobby. Buy what you care about and you won’t be disappointed.
If the cards go up that’s nice, but if they go down then we can just buy more
Adapt by acknowledging this is a hobby you care about and all the prices will fade away to realistic goals and ways to accomplish them
What do you find to be the best solution of protection for your binders? I am in the same boat. Always concerned, nothing has happened but it just gives me anxiety haha
@zavik right now I have them in an enclosed shelf with a swinging door and a dehumidifier. I’m looking into a drying cabinet and worst case scenario a bolt down floor safe. I love looking through them and taking out cards so I want everything to stay accessible; I’ll let you know what the final outcome looks like when I work it out!
Howd you you get that I’m jealous out of that? Are you a bot? 32 posts since 2017 and you grace me with your 33rd. Thanks man. You’re not a second account at all. Plus how was I banned over that? Ownership is what gives people their platform. The reason people listen to any of these people is because of their assets. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. You’re telling me if Gary didn’t own Charizards or Scott didn’t own trophies that people would be the same way? Fourthstartcg you wont have to worry about none of this because your YouTube videos are atrocious and you come across as a wimp. Enjoy being an online hall monitor.
The OP was a banned member who has made countless alt accounts and trolled the forum over the past year. Including the comment above mine. They were in the previous locked thread as well. Sorry these bad eggs waste everyone’s time. We try our best but its really tough to isolate these trolls since they use vpn’s.