There are some cards that I refuse to sell and will be unwilling to sell for a very long time. But for cards that are reasonably easy to re-purchase in the future or to downgrade if the prices remain high, I am selling.
Unless you are completely set financially (and this means something different to each person), it is borderline foolish and selfish to not sell anything in this boom. Collecting requires some level of sacrifice, either to further another collecting goal or to make our life and our family’s lives easier when opportunities present themselves.
I’ve been considering this as well. A couple shows will be near by over the coming months, so I may look to trade or just sell if the market continues on this path.
I struggle a bit as well. I rarely look at one of my binders and should definately sell all those cards during this cycle, but only have enough time to list a few a week
Dyl, in the nicest way possible, you need to take a step back from these topics related to selling. Your advice is well-intentioned and rational but it comes across to me as overly pushy and nosy.
Unless someone is causing their family to fall into debt or deprive their children of opportunities or enjoyment, I do not see how keeping one’s Pokémon cards could be described as selfish behavior. And even then, someone else’s financial situation is a private matter.
If you’ve sold off large portions of your collection and are using the proceeds to achieve a major life milestone or a larger collection goal, wonderful! It’s incredible to think that Pokémon cards can now pave the way for so many opportunities in life, but we should let others choose a path for themselves, their collections and their families.
To be fair for both sides of that viewpoint, Dyl said “anything”, meaning hey there has to be something you could sell from a side collection or extras and possibly make your life easier
For sure! I also feel it’s crazy if you didn’t sell /something/ given how parabolic things are.
These are more comments I’ve had toward a few of his posts on the matter. They’re well-reasoned and come from a good place but I feel it’s run its course.
Therapy session warning…I’m struggling with this right now
I haven’t sold anything from my PC and haven’t even considered it until recently. I track the price of my most valuable graded cards just so I have a general idea of the market. Ironically the reason I started tracking the prices in the first place is because I wanted to buy doubles for this exact situation. Needless to say that ship has sailed.
How steep the graph looks lately is making me feel uncomfortable and I’m questioning how sustainable it is in the short term.
I told myself I’m just going to hold and not pay attention to short term concerns. Then I realized that 9 pieces of cardboard sitting in my dresser could payoff the remaining balance on my mortgage and now I’m back to square one.
Although I don’t want to sell anything, it feels like just yesterday we were talking about how we regretted NOT selling more in 2020/2021. I’m embarrassed to share such a first world problem but I’m torn and have to assume others are too.
I assume all 9 of those cards are forever collection pieces and ones you cherish most? If so, there is nothing wrong with keeping them.
If there are 1 or 2 where you would be ok selling and making a huge dent in your mortgage, that would be life changing for sure! Nothing better than not owing anyone anything (except taxes of course)
The struggle is real. I have been doing the same thing. It really comes down to what you are comfortable with and can sell without losing sleep. I trusted my instincts. I concluded if selling some shiny cardboard can give long-term stability like being debt free it is worth it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
I choose to sell cards I am fortunate to have multiple copies. Other cards I feel I can easily replace at a lower grade or different language later. There are some I’m still on the fence about.
One of the challenges is shipping cards to be sold. If only I had them all in a vault!. (Lessons for the future, ) So nerve racking!
I see a PSA 10 Dark Charizard from Team Rocket 1ED. If these 9 are PSA 10 set cards, I would recommend paying off your mortgage with the sales and buy them back in PSA 9 (or repurchase 10s in the future if/when they decline in price).
I am holding for now. I have a portfolio of cards that I have slowly built up over a few years now, and whenever I do sell some, I always look back and quietly wish I still had them. For me, this is more fun than a savings account, and makes me think twice about large purchases, as they would require me to sell more to fund. I like to think to myself, knowing I own these cards makes me happier than the money would. We are all gonna die, right? Green bills don’t make me anywhere close to as happy as shiny cardboard.
