How have you been affected by collecting indecision?
I am indecisive when cards exceed my price expectations in auction or when BINs are just out of reach. However, when I think back, I have more regrets from cards that I didn’t buy than from cards that I overpaid for.
I also run into indecision when completing a large collection milestone. There is so much going on in Pokemon collecting and it can be easy to feel pushed/pulled in many directions.
I have some regrets on a few cards i thought were too expensive at the time. Looking back I wish i had just grabbed them because i definitely dont regret the ones i overpaid for lol.
I’m not exactly known for being indecisive but buying sealed 1st ed Gym Challenge was a major brainfart on my part. Gym Challenge was climbing at the time, what I wanted most was an Expedition box, which was more expensive but doable. Only had to wait a few weeks/months until one came up and pay $200-$300 more, easy stuff. Went with the Gym box because I felt like I had to get that out of my system first, which didn’t make any sense considering how I truly felt.
Wondered if you were going to post this. 
Referring back to my FoMO topic, is our hesitation warranted, or just emotional? I generally look fondly on missed opportunities, because it’s motivation and exp to be quicker next time. But there are certainly choices I COULD have made more differently and faster, and saved myself some thought effort.
Missed a legit once-in-a-lifetime deal right before Covid because 1.5K was a lot of money to me then, and I really had to think… Estate sale find with dozens of solid gradable potential, but even if not, hundreds of WotC cards. It was a steal of a steal, like the seller should be locked up for it! On the Other Hand I generally get burned when I don’t take my time. So I took … too much.
It’s important to consider the difference between deliberation, and indecision. It’s important to deliberate, as long as you’re not just going around in circles. Still, it’s tough to not think too much, sometimes.
Something I remind myself of often is from Nietzsche, we can do nothing but make a choice, but in the end, we could have chosen nothing else. As with most of Nietzsche, that might not tell us anything… But it might say everything. 
I feel like I have the opposite problem. There is so much to collect I end up wanting a lot of different things and probably end up deciding to buy too much
I’m not sure, at least I know what I want and how I want it. X promo for under $40 = I will wait until someone lists a promo (in acceptable condition) at the price I want. Then again, most of what I want is not mega stonks or in most people’s crosshairs so I can just wait for the right one. But for anything that’s highly desired or pricey I usually look at my shelf of ramen and determine if I buy a card based off of if I REALLY am okay eating instant ramen for a hot minute, and I don’t like instant ramen so it’s the real decider, not if I have enough money.
To add on, theres only like one chase card for me. 2008 Battle Road Cynthia’s Feelings Holo 
Typically, I’m not swayed by what’s mega popular or anything, I don’t feel pushed and pulled (except when it comes to price, but again, I’m an amoeba going after nothing) and I will buy almost anything if I like it enough.
Being indecisive is normal, a lot of people change their collection goals or buy stuff towards a collection that they end up pivoting away from for different goals. I am pretty indecisive right now in the English vs JP route as I’m unsure what to commit to in terms of collection goals
Regret not buying stuff in hindsight is easy when things got very expenisve, I sometimes have this too. On the other hand, there are so many cards I bought at that time I’m so happy to own right now. Yes that complete PSA 10 Japanese shining set including Fan Club Magikarp for 10K that got away was sad, but I have so many other things I enjoy.
I have quite a few projects I’m finishing but I have no hard deadlines for myself. Keep adjusting, keep beeing realistic and keep enjoying it. If you are not enjoying it so much anymore, take a step back (touch gras).
Same. Once you have it, you have it.
If you don’t get it the first time it haunts you until you get it.
Damn same here. A lot of promos I could get in 2018 I didn’t buy at the time cause I thought “maybe 20€ on 15 cards is too much”.
I wish I can say the same now.
Another thing that bothers me is e-series.
I want to buy them? Yes.
I want to spend a lot of Money for them? Hell no.
So i keep waiting until they exit from my mind.
They say that everyone, at every moment, is rightly doing what they think is best for themselves, what is to their advantage. In my personal collection journey and probably in life, I have made choices in the past whose outcomes were less than satisfactory in retrospect. Those choices were made because I felt that they would lead me to happiness. I probably had an insufficient foresight or insufficient wisdom at the time when I made those choices, if I had sufficient foresight and wisdom I would have chosen differently.
So rest assure that as much as I hate the decision I made, it was a decision that I chose to make which seemed right at the time. The only way for regrets to not exist is to somehow have the power to see the future. I can only apply the lessons learnt in the past to make sure I don’t repeat my mistakes again.
These two things must be cut away: fear of the future, and the memory of past sufferings. The latter no longer concerns me, and the future does not concern me yet. ~Seneca
Cheers!
For me i get obsessed with indecision.
So i try to force myself into some rules to help
Items less then 500 if i cant make the choice to buy within 2 days i pass on it.
Items 500 + ill make myself earn 3-4x the price before buying so i don’t tie up to much into pc items. By that time if i still want it and can afford it i do so.
If i were to point at any part that is indecisive of my collecting habits, it would be about selling cards i dont currently need from what ive gathered. The indeciciveness is because I enjoy hoarding cards even though i dont necessarily need them because I dont have a problem holding them forever unless its worthwile to sell. Selling cards i wouldnt buy again is tough for me to put the effort into doing when the amount returned is just a drop in the bucket compared to having to rebuy them in case I decide to collect those specific cards again later. Cards of significant value are a but easier for me to justify the effort and loss that goes into selling.
I definitely have this issue. Pokémon has so many thing that I want from it that I have to optimize and be decisive in what I buy now as opposed to just buying whatever I feel like at the time. If I’m not I could miss out on a card forever. I think we’re at a point some optimizing is necessary for all of us in collecting so you have to decide where you want to do it, which can be frustrating at times, but to me its all part of the journey in the hobby.
I’ve definitely been challenged with this as well. At times, I’ve definitely spread myself thin, and so it’s taken way longer to finish collecting goals at times as a result. It’s very easy to get swayed into new cards that you want to add to your collection, because there’s just so many good ones out there the more time you spend looking around and become engaged with it all. I think though there’s a few big lessons I’ve taken from it all:
This has helped keep me on track the most in making decisions as I collect.
Ive regretted indecision through auctions, when the end price would be just above my own - i wish i went an extra bit higher.
On the flip side, when an auction ends way higher than expected i have zero regret for some odd reason
I get that. I think its because when its so close to your price its easier to see and even know you had the means to go the extra mile when bidding. Whereas when it goes way above your expectations/price you can take solace in the fact that the item was just out of your reach this time.
Precisely, and when you have a card that the market values more than you do, its much easier to sell - kind of helps explain why there isnt regret in missing those auctions
And if you really want the card you can just strive to get to the price you didn’t think it was, gaining motivation out of the situation.
I definitely get indecision, especially in the form of option fatigue. Theres too many cards I want and I cant decide what to buy when! Should i buy slabs? Binder cards? Build a deck? Sealed? English or JP? Vintage or modern? It just goes on and on lol! I usually end up going for a healthy mixture of my most wanted items from each option, where possible