This recent market boom has forced me to reckon with an uncomfortable truth about myself. During these periods, when Pokemon reaches greater and greater heights than I ever before, a hoarder mentality activates. Even though the impact on my wallet is manageable (so far), it’s consuming my free time and mental energy.
Since moving to Japan seven months ago, I have generally kept my distance from card stores, only visiting once every few weeks or so. But during February and March, I was going to shops three or four days a week, trying to use my knowledge from scouring eBay/Fanatics/Mercari to pick up undervalued items or duplicates to resell. Using this hoarder mindset, I tell myself that the supply of certain cards is genuinely drying up—a sentiment which has been unfortunately validated even more during this boom period, because I can see the change in person when visiting card shops. So, I scoop up as many cards as possible—but, more often than not, my motivation is for future financial gain, not collection completion. And I don’t even want to think about how much time I spend looking for cards online.
Even after unfollowing/blocking pretty much every hype or vendor POV account on YouTube and Instagram, I continued feeling a competitiveness entirely within myself: because I have such a long history of market knowledge (even from childhood), I should be able to locate undervalued cards before they spike, right? Maybe economic uncertainly plays a role, too. If the job market continues to destabilize, I’ll always have some Pokemon cards to sell… even though that was never the reason I began collecting in the first place.
My concerning hoarder feeling culminated last week, when a pricey lot of old back cards was listed on Mercari whose market price far exceeded the list price. I already own most of the cards in the lot, more or less, but the thought of capturing more of the market before prices continue to rise was too alluring. However, because my U.S. credit card occasionally doesn’t work on Mercari, I frantically called a few of my Japanese friends asking if they’d make the purchase for me. After a few rejections, my other option was to pay at a convenience store. Luckily. my conscience kicked in, and I ultimately didn’t feel comfortable handing almost 1 million JPY in cash to a store clerk—the risk of something going wrong was too high. To me, this was a clear sign to take a break.
I’ve been collecting since 2003, when I was six years old. I have a collection that I can be genuinely proud of—containing binders, graded cards, sealed packs, miscellaneous merchandise, and plenty of other items with genuine meaning to me. I find it concerning that, despite my wonderful collection built over two decades, I can continue to feel like it’s not enough.
I’ll still be around e4, but I’m looking forward to some time away from online auction sites and in-person shops. Reprioritizing how I want to spend my time is my main motivation. I’m curious if anyone has been feeling the same way, especially during periods of strong growth. If my words have resonated with you at all, please share!
connor
