Just got this advertisement on Facebook and have noticed a lot of these ads recently. I feel like a lot of these hype beasts #entrepreneurs could be a big reason for more buyers being in the market. Besides more people being indoors, would be a valid argument for why sports cards and Pokémon cards have seen a big jump in pricing.
I would be fine with this however, this means that the price increases could be from artificial demand increases rather than normal organic interest in the hobby.
Oof, that sends chills down the spine. I’ve also noticed more and more of these hype beast “sneaker head” types infiltrating the hobby in recent years. Maybe it’s just a normal consequence of growth, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
For sure it’s a big reason. Gary Vaynerchuk (the dude in that pic - 8M ig followers) went on the breakfast club radio station on March 28th to talk about sports cards, PSA grading, how it works, how its profitable, etc. He also said a few times throughout the video that “Pokemon is EVEN BIGGER than sports right now.”
Anyone who collects trading cards in general hearing this probably went right to ebay to start buying up Pokemon cards because they think it’s going to be a bigger/better investment than sports. This was around the same time everyone was being told to stay indoors which meant more people buying and surfing online. I don’t think this type of growth over the past month is organic at all. But time will tell
I really like how he said my generations plan is not to have some old ass art hang up in the wall. And he wants LeBron James rookie cards on the wall I’m sure many people in our age group are probably gonna want a Pokemon on the wall. this probably isn’t news to anybody on the forum since there’s been lots of people that have been saying that and doing that for years.
For sure. I’m just saying in general the effects of a comment like that from a person like Gary V can have on the market and the buying trend Pokemon is seeing right now. I’m sure there’s lots of other factors too, many which have been discussed already. I don’t know of many big entrepreneurs/hype beasts hyping Pokemon up right now, but I did see another guy on instagram (@sean_wotherspoon - 1.1M followers) open up a shadowless base box 5 days ago and just opened a 1st ed jungle box as well. I’m sure there’s more of these people all over I’ve never even heard of doing the same stuff with large audiences as well
You know, for those who are already big in the game (those with established stores and those who have achieved their biggest collection goals), the new popularity of the Pokemon collector’s hobby because of influencers and entrepreneurs is heaven. For average people like me who have just started and are dreaming of buying their chase card one day, it’s a nightmare. If super rich people are entering this hobby en masse, certain goals will get out of reach forever. That’s discouraging, not gonna lie…
It’s funny because Gary V in that interview says in the end “you know what could be bigger than sports? Pokémon cards but I don’t know too much about it” something to that effect
These people are the scam artists of our generation. I bet this is some kind of MLM business model where he sells you dogshit product claiming it’s gonna be the next Honus Wagner and then you have to sell it further down the line to other suckers.
Meh, I think that’s giving the guy way too much credit, especially when he only talked about Pokemon for the length of 1 or 2 sentences. 130,000 views on the video isn’t that big of a deal.
I remember hearing Gary Vaynerchuk on sports radio a month or so ago. He was talking about how sports cards are like penny stocks. I didn’t hear anything about Pokemon, but I caught the end of the interview. Went to his Twitter where he mentioned it once. It seems to add up.
I doubt this. All Pokémon cards are going up, someone that just jumps into Pokémon after watching this a month ago isn’t going to have the knowledge to buy cards like aquapolis or ex series. Maybe for items like base set and booster boxes that are easier for rookies.
130k views isn’t a huge deal, but this isn’t the first time he’s said it and his social medias either. And this is one guy, there’s plenty of other big influencers on IG getting back into pokemon for nostalgia and opening big boxes in front of a million+ followers. I’m sure there are lots of other “non-pokemon” accounts on social media doing the same thing. Even Justin Bieber was flaunting his newly bought PSA pokemon cards last year on his IG, for sure that made people want to go online and buy PSA cards as well just like he did
Obviously people spread the word in general is one of the big things that helps grow the collecting scene. I was just responding to the comment acting as if this particular video might be a major reason prices have increased recently - I think the impact of this one particular interview is negligible.
