First time poster shooting my shot. Getting back to collecting in the summer of 2025 and I’m learning to break some bad habits, which include, but are not limited to:
Late night impulse purchases (once stayed up until 5am to buy a PSA 9 Paradigm Trigger Lugia V alt art on eBay)
Buying a big slab, THEN reacting and selling things off to make up the costs (I’m looking at you $850 CGC Munch Rowlet)
Constant checking of cards listings on eBay, snkrdunk, TCGPlayer, and Fanatics: this has replaced doom scrolling for me, and it doesn’t feel healthy as I feel the pangs of cards that I want “slipping through my fingers” (see FOMO)
While I feel like I have a better handle on my finances, the urge to buy something before it skyrockets in price continues to itch my brain. How were your experiences collecting? How have y’all managed your collecting goals while being financially responsible?
Whenever you’re feeling like things are becoming unobtainable I think it’s healthy to put aside the devices and just spend 20 mins with the collection you have. The cheapest and most sustainable way to enjoy the hobby is always to appreciate the things that we already own.
Good to set a collection goal to work towards rather than spending on everything at once - especially in this current market where everything is inflated.
My FOMO is canceled out when I remember that I have 50+ years left to collect and obtain those cards. Slow, steady, and practical.
Will you miss out on plays if you aren’t turbo boost kick flipping all the time? Yeah probably, but again… you have time on your side.
However, are some cards getting out of reach for end goal collections? Well… if you frame it as a 3-6mo timeline then yes. 6mo-2yr really opens up that opportunity and 2-5yr is even better odds in your favor.
Good luck have fun, stay in long enough you’ll be fine.
Don’t feel like you have to “catch up” to or emulate other peoples collections, especially these days. Enjoy what you have and aim for cards you personally want
I’d say this is actually a good habit. It’s way better to do it this way around than sell your cards first and then the card you want jumps and you can’t even afford it anymore.
I like the way you framed it. Replacing doom scrolling while having fomo. Its a difficult thing to chose which cards you want to keep in your collection and which cards you chase in the moment.
Time really is the nr 1 factor here which is the boring answer. Even if it feels out of hand, more opportunities will arise within time.
^ I’ve found that this has been very helpful. Because it gets me excited to expand my collection, but also builds a self control remembering how I got these other cards.
So you’ve been collecting again for a year and some change, and I remember when I was where you’re at I thought similar things. Specifically with:
It always seems like anytime I am interested in a card type, it goes up in price as soon as I have the funds available. This is annoying, but @wisewailmer once put (paraphrasing), “people always wish that they had gotten into pokemon in 2018/19, but what people don’t understand is that if you wanted a card, it may have been cheaper, but it only popped up once or twice a year. And even still, selling a card to be able to fund that purchase took even longer. The benefit of the market now is that, while things are more expensive, you have more opportunities to purchase the cards that you want more frequently.”
what I would suggest is starting an eBay store and engaging with Pokemon that way. It’s a lot of fun and it keeps you updated with the market without feeling defeated by it, because you’re trying to ride the wave too. When you’re first starting, this process is very slow unless you have a lot of capital, but it’s still a lot of fun and doesn’t break the bank. Actually does the opposite!
It’s kind of like fantasy football. You think you may know football, but as soon as individuals start affecting your outcomes, you start to pay waayyy more attention to it and understand football even deeper than you had previously.
No need to fomo. You got this! Turing what you’re already doing into things that will benefit you is, I think, the best path forward. For example, a late night purchase might be okay if you’re looking to buy a low auctioned card to grade for your store. Or consolidating the value of your inventory to make a big purchase, thus expanding your collection. Or doom-scrolling prices of cards for your store could be a way to continue being in the market.
ill do this but before i buy it, plan for what cards i’m gonna sell and calculate how much i can reasonably get, based on liquidity, price (higher price stuff might be harder to sell), etc. Leave some room for negotiations, like if I wanna sell fast then I’m okay with selling at like 90% value or something.
also having an excel spreadsheet for budget has been immensely helpful in curbing any wanton temptations. i can’t just make a big purchase and hide it in the corners of my mind, has to go in the spreadsheet.
