1 Like
I love the terms smart collecting and investing. Great write up, thank you.
4 Likes
The way I âinvestâ is if I see a card I really want in my collection and I also think it may have some good investment potential then I will buy an extra copy or two. I donât have a single card that I have invested in that I donât already have an extra copy in my personal collection, E.g. cards I will never sell for any price ever.
I sleep perfectly fine at night owning 2-3 of something I love even if the price never goes up 20 years later.
Also if you have to ask other people what pokemon cards to invest in, than you donât have the required knowledge to be investing in pokemon cards to begin with.
TLDR: Buy what you like.
1 Like
On a separate note branching off from this, could we have a dedicated thread titled âWhatâs it worth?â or the like? First post would have a basic guide as to look up current prices (ebay listings, etc.) So instead of having a ton of threads flooding this forum we have an area where people can ask basic questions related about current prices.
I donât know about anyone else but I could go without the recent flood of new threads asking about pricing these last few months. Just my two cents.
7 Likes
And one for financial/investment questions, possibly under a new section called âBoring Financialsâ
I actually really like this idea and would second the notion. Theres been a few cards i wanted to find prices to and have came up short, but i myself didnt want to flood the board with it, so i think this would be a great option for a guide and asking space
See, but thatâs where the original post in this thread kind of goes off the rails, because it didnât seem to be talking about making easy money rather than just saying that you have to put X amount of money into something to be called a true investor and that certain items in this hobby arenât investable.
It is 100 percent correct that trophies, promos and sealed product are, by far, the best investments in this hobby. They have the demand. They have the rarity. They have the scarcity. It is the perfect storm.
But there is a difference between saying that those are easily the best investments and saying âyou canât invest in set cards,â because that is patently false.
What if someone bought 10 PSA 9 Typhlosion 17s five years ago when they were going for $75 and under? What if someone bought a couple of PSA 10 1st Edition Base Set Charizards when the price was 10-15k? What if someone nabbed a bunch of cards like Fossil Dragonite, Jungle Jolteon, Dark Charizard, etc. over the last several years and watched the prices skyrocket from $40-70 to $200+?
Now, if a person just buys ONE card and sits on it, yeah; big deal. Their returns will be negligible. But if a person put a TON of capital into these cards when the prices were low and sat on them, then they did pretty well for themselves.
So much of the information being spread in this thread is false. The idea that set cards havenât increased is not backed up by any sort of fact whatsoever, and all it takes is a quick search on Pokemonprice.com to see the ascension.
Have all of them boomed? No. Of course not. You can still pick up some PSA 10 1st Edition WOTC holos for under $200. Some of the 9s are still sitting under $40. But while there some Jumpluffs and Venomoths and Muks, there are also heavy hitters like I mentioned earlier, and I canât comprehend why people are actively choosing to ignore such a blatant fact.
Again, set cards are far from the best investment in this hobby, and I can probably say that MOST people (key word: most) are merely buying them out of nostalgia and genuine interest. I collect set cards because that is what I had when I was a kid. I have a passion for them like nothing else in this hobby. I donât buy them to invest in them. I buy them because I love them.
Raw, PSA graded, complete sets, holos, non-holos, whatever. It doesnât matter. I canât get enough of them. But I will say that I am also very well aware of the value of the cards I own, and I know for a fact that a lot of them have increased and that I could easily make thousands of dollars in profit if I sell them. The difference is that I have not sold any of them and I donât plan on doing so any time soon.
TL;DR: Investing in ONLY one of anything is never a good thing. You should always diversify. So while it would not be advisable to ONLY invest in set cards, itâs equally silly to sit and pretend like they have no value and that they canât at least be something you put some money into along with higher-end items. I mean, there is data to prove it. Unless you bought at ridiculously high prices for some reason and/or foolishly overextended yourself and had to sell/flip almost immediately, you arenât going to âlose a negligible amount of moneyâ on these cards. The only exception would be a recession, but that was not a qualifier here.
Also, the idea that you have to invest X amount of money to âtruly investâ is entirely subjective. There is no âset amountâ that you have to invest in anything in order to be considered a âtrue investor,â whether it be Pokemon, the stock market, real estate, whatever. If you put money into something, you are investing. Period. Whether or not itâs a dumb investment or a rather fruitless one entirely depends on the individual and the situation.
Donât get me wrong; fourthstar clearly knows what he is talking about and made some very salient points, as have plenty of the other people in this thread. But there is also some stuff in here that is completely false and blatantly inaccurate.
1 Like
Money is great and all and ya values have increased blah blah blah how about the beauty of some of these cards. All cards have their own beauty in the right eyes. Everyone has made excellent points and i love this thread itâs made for a great read and discussion but Iâm definitely getting the sense that peopleâs cards arenât truly being appreciated for their true beauty and historic value. Just be happy with what you have. Not mad about what you donât have 
by the way this isnât directed at any one person its just my view donât mind little old Pikachu :&) Scott Iâve loved your auto avatars so I rather not change them haha
2 Likes
Iâm for sure an investor. I think about the cards that make me happy, and invest in my happiness! Also yes, if you never sell you never take a loss! 
2 Likes
Garyâs Patreon for free:
We shouldnât talk politics here so Iâll simply give the numbers and you all can decide what part politics plays in it and what could happen in the future.
Gold is nearly 1650.00 an ozâŠa 7 year high
The dollar index is nearing 100.00
Both the above are safe and great places to be invested.
Amazingly, the stock market is up and stable at the same time.
Pokémon blows all the above out of the water because people have more expendable income.
Instead of challenging each other letâs simply sit back, light up a cigar and put a brew to work. In other words, letâs keep it going and enjoy the ride.
8 Likes
It doesnât really matter how smart do you think you are with collecting because there is always someone who thinks itâs stupid to spend money on cardboard
4 Likes
Donât forget the feathered fedoraâs!
2 Likes
Iâm right there with you Gary thatâs what Iâve been trying to say. Simply just enjoy what we have this isnât a collection competition be proud of what you built
1 Like
OMG like so cringe! 
Kidding 
Pokemon cards are not a sound investment. Why not just invest in index funds and collect pokemon cards for fun?
3 Likes
Pokémon cards are an amazing investment. Lol.
2 Likes
âBECAUSE THE MARKET ON POKEMON CARDS HAS SO OUT PERFORMED THE MARKET THE LAST FEW YEARS EVEN ON GOOD YEARSSSSS CANT U SEEEEEEEEE? NOTHING HAS EVER SAW TRIPLE POTENTIALLLLL IN 2 YEARZZZZZ PAL!!! EVER SINCE I STARTED MY POKEMON BUSINESS IN 2017 NOTHING HAS BEAT IT!!! BLLLLLLARRRRGGGGGâ.
Great post
1 Like
Quality thread.
2 Likes
I retract this post 
3 Likes