Sorry, I just went to find it as it’s on PSAs pop report and it’s a mislabel, my mistake.
5 Likes
Yeah, if the PSA POP has one or two copies for the UED e1s then its a mislabel. Including the 2001 Starter Decks
3 Likes
Gold Star Rayquaza for me. I don’t know how cheap this card was at its absolute bottom years ago but when even a PSA 1 is thousands last time I looked, then forget it.
When I was originally buying EX era packs when they were the current sets, I didn’t even know Gold Stars were a thing. By the time I’d caught up years later in my second phase of collecting, it was already too late for the majority of them.
4 Likes
There’s only one card I want that would require constant vigilance for years and a five-figure nest egg earmarked for that purpose. I consider it unreachable.
Then there’s a handful of lesser cards pushing $10K that I also consider unreachable because there’s no scenario where I’m paying that kind of money for them even if it was halfway feasible to do so.
6 Likes
jp versions regularly go for around the 1k mark. with a 20% buyee coupon, you can get one for a reasonable price that is far better than a psa 1
if you mean english, then yeah idk
4 Likes
i would say the play umby and espy for me. if they were more realistic (or if there is a reprint of espeon in a hypothetical 30th anniversary set, then i would go ahead and complete the rest of the 
7 Likes
Unlimited E1 pops up in the most random places.
I got both of mine off of facebook.
One in a trade and one in a large lot purchase.
Cost basis on both is <$50. Just got to persevere.
2 Likes
I read a book a while ago called Rich Dad Poor Dad and in one chapter he explains that people often say, “I can’t afford that” when they should say, “How can I afford that?”.
When you say ‘can’t’ the process comes to a halt. But if you say ‘how’ then you start to exercise and improve the skill of managing your money.
I remember thinking I’d never own the Trade Please! Venusaur/Charizard/Blastoise cards because they were out of my price range, but now I own all 3, PSA graded. It just took some time and money management but I got them!
10 Likes
You can add me to the Snap Gyarados stack 
7 Likes
Tropical Mega Battle “Hawaii” Lucky Stadium. I was watching the recent auction on Goldin and had some bids in and thought I maybe had a chance, followed by the card selling for like $10k more than I’m currently willing to pay. Maybe one day 
7 Likes
As of right now, it’s TBD. I haven’t gotten a career yet, so until that happens I’ll have a clearer view on what’s realistic of owning and what’s a dream.
Will be an interesting thread to return to in 1 or 1.5 years. Then I can hopefully have a better answer.
If everything works out, I anticipate the challenge will be tracking the card rather than the price of the card. If everything works against me, most cards will be unreachable.
4 Likes
The usual suspects of PLAY Espeon and Umbreon for me but they’ve been out of reach for so long im okay with it. Anything else if i save i can get but likely in lower grades than 10s. Grades were something at the start that I wasnt willing to compromise on but realising i wanted the actual cards so much more than the grades made collecting a much less stressful experience for me.
5 Likes
SNAP cards seem to always exist precisely 200% more expensive than the level of my interest in them hahaha. It’s like every time I raise my baseline of what I’m comfortable casually acquiring a cool item for, they jump to the next tier of pricing. Maddening.
14 Likes
I think most cards that I want are achievable with enough time. Whether it’s in the condition that I would prefer is another story. 
4 Likes
TMB/SSB
3 Likes
I think one of my grails is the televi kun pichu card. I think eventually I could make a sizeable offer to aquire it but I also hope that more get released from the winner in time. That will make it much easier to achieve
5 Likes
Basically this, but with SNAP Pikachu. I knew the SNAP Pikachu would be an almost impossible to get card when I started collecting Pikachu cards nine years ago. Still, when all of the SNAP cards except for Magikarp and Pikachu were being sold for 8k-20k USD over the course of a couple years (2017-2020), I figured I could one day after being financially stable still afford it perhaps. After I would have my own house; a car; and enough spare money for repairs if necessary, kid’s education if I’d ever marry and get kids, and of course other cards. But alas.
Currently, I do have my own house (no car nor wife/kids yet, though 
), but a SNAP Pikachu finally sold mid-2023, for 270k USD… 
Unless I win the lottery (which I don’t enter…), I’ve accepted I’ll never have the money AND willingness to spend that amount of money, for the SNAP Pikachu card.
So for now, I’ll start saving for the English Art Academy Pikachu from Ashley, the only English Pikachu card I’m still missing (after I’ve bought a car, which I’ll probably get this Summer - not that I’d really need one tbh, but it’s a nice QOL I guess 
).
Greetz,
Quuador
18 Likes
The thing that made it possible for me to obtain more valuable cards over time was the value of my collection increasing year over year. Periodically I would liquidate, downsize, and refocus around fewer more expensive cards. But I think I’ve reached the end of the road. I am out of cards to downsize. The values of the cards will never increase fast enough proportionately to unobtained cards. The only way I would obtain these top-tier cards with costs that exceed my means is a drastic increase in personal wealth.
I have not purchased a new card since September. I don’t know when I’ll be able to afford the next card on my list. I have a modest goal of obtaining any two cards of said list by end of year. I hope I do.
9 Likes
11 Likes