Do any of you have a card you like and want to own, but would rather “find” than purchase on it’s own? Right now I’d like the shining Mew from the Shining Legends set but I refuse to just buy it itself.
2 Likes
I guess you mean you’d rather pull it from a pack? If you have enough extra money then you can justify it. Otherwise it can be a lot cheaper buying one.
Yes exactly. I know I can get a certain card easily and for cheap, but I want the fun of “finding” it. Anyone else feel that way about a specific card?
Been trying to pull a Charizard reprint from Evolutions. Got every other one including the FA, but nothing that scratches that nostalgia 
2 Likes
I don’t necessarily have a specific card I would pull, but I will always open up packs for the experience. It is one of the best feelings in the hobby. Even modern product is fun. I recently decided to open a few shining legends packs and had so much fun I ended up opening 10 Elite trainer boxes.
4 Likes
Rainbow rare charizard. Mostly because I truly think I’d pull a gem minty one, and I believe no one in the right mind would be listing a truly mint version 
1 Like
Yeah, that’s a large part of my motivation with boosters. Even if I spent $20 on a pack and only pull a $5 card with the rest it’s still fun.
Or, even the mostly useless cheaper and easy to find cards; if you like them it don’t have them or just enjoy the art. Still a “good pull” if you weren’t aiming for an investment
I love this. This behavior really supports the hobby:)
2 Likes
Haha I am sincere as can be. I like my small pieces of cardboard!
Opening packs and pulling rare cards is a blast. I wish I could afford to do it more! I always have a much larger attachment to cards I pull myself. I opened a few EX Hidden Legends packs a few years back and pulled a Kyogre ex, was amazing as I never pulled an ex as a kid. Sent it off to PSA and it’s now a 10 and will never leave my collection.
As for cards I would like to find, I don’t have any right now, but previously I really wanted to pull the URs from XY7. Not sure how many boxes I bought (at least 7) but I managed to get 2 Kyogre and 1 Rayquaza. Way more exciting to pull than buy from eBay.
2 Likes
I think everyone would rather pull the card as opposed to just buying it, but most of the time chasing one card doesn’t make financial sense. As of right now, I give myself 2-4 booster boxes to try finding a card I want, and if I don’t pull it, I simply buy it. Doesn’t mean I won’t open up packs in the future, but the hunt is simply over.
Did this recently with RR Buzzwole as it’s slowly becoming my favorite pokemon. Opened up 2 boxes, and ended up pulling it on the last pack. Really happy I was able to pull it as it was the only card I wanted out of the set, and there isn’t much fun in opening up Crimson Invasion packs 
. Still, opening up more than 2 boxes in my case would have been a financial mistake.
1 Like
My first and largest goal was to open a box of every set ever made for just that reason. I love pulling cards for my collection myself. Ideally I would have never got out of the hobby and built it all myself as they released, but this was the next best way to do it. I completed that goal (less base 1st) and most of my collection is now cards that I pulled myself. The thrill of catching up on all those old sets that I was out of the hobby for was awesome and it is nice to have crystals, gold stars, old school ex’s that I pack pulled myself. I collect all English sets in binders and 90% percent of those cards I personally pulled. I keep cards that are worth grading in PSA 9. More than half of those I pulled myself.
3 Likes
It’s a shame you were probably a couple years too late to do this with 1st Ed Base(when boxes were around $10k), but what you have accomplished is still mighty impressive. The EV just isn’t there anymore on pretty much most sets…
What makes me sick is I was actually around for that… I saw a few of them sell for ~$10k I just didn’t pull the trigger. I had my eyes on that $10k collector’s cache box for quite some time before Rusty bought it. Oh well. I was able to open several base 1st packs including one holo but that Ninetales only got an 8.
It is crazy to see the prices lately of some boxes I opened only a couple years ago for a fraction of the price. Aquapolis, skyridge, legendary collection, shadowless, ex deoxys etc.