"Girlfriend or Charizard?" and other impossible decisions

Really enjoyed reading this and getting an insight into what it was like for you both. Very encapsulating of our experience, especially about the importance of communication and I picked up some connotations in what you said about finding a balance between having money to enjoy life together and having money to collect and share interests.

In the spirit of dramatic effect I think I made our collecting journey out to be a “rocky, toxic experience” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. However, what I think I was getting at (and you touched on this too so that’s why I’m saying this here and not in a separate post) is that there is real potential in relationships which don’t have healthy characteristics like your’s and mine, for there to be toxicity.

This hobby has elements to it which are so so addictive, and I would not be surprised AT ALL if there are partners of collectors out there who feel like they’re losing their loved one to it and feel lonely in that. I’ve witnessed the POTENTIAL of that happening under certain conditions like you mentioned. So I guess the purpose of this was for me to reach out to collectors who might feel their hobby is damaging their relationships in the hope they might let their loved ones know that I’m available for a chat.

I completely understand and when I said it, I wasn’t trying to make it sound negative. Nothing wrong with having your cards gain value and sell down the line. You are right, “low value/high value” have strong connotations towards investment but maybe not seen as much then the blatant word such as investment. I think Pokemon is a great hobby but I feel through my time in the hobby, I have seen a lot of interest for flipping and investment in the hobby for the wrong reasons, but then again, you can say that for about anything. I think it is great that Pokemon and other TCGs are getting attention since it was just overlooked and now card grading and other companies see the potential in Pokemon.

There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy a hobby. People get upset at the idea of their collection being an investment vehicle because they feel that cards they enjoy are going to people who don’t enjoy them for profit. Even if it were true, and in some cases it is, they’re not entitled to own something that’s not theirs and it shows more to their emotional immaturity than anything.

Use whatever words you want and enjoy whatever aspect you want. I know when I talk about my cards to significant others, and they don’t have an interest in the hobby, I always talk about the financial aspect. The reason being, it’s easier for people to understand what they know and finances are pretty close to a universal language. Sometimes I get a girl that doesn’t care for the cards or finances, in which case I bust out the childhood memories, but my go to is always financial.

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Good point here. I think my wife understood more when I was able to put down $3k on our credit card lol

Yeah, that rings true for me because every girlfriend who I have told or shown Pokémon cards immediately thinks that it is just a waste of time and money, not to mention the undertone of “Omg you are so immature!” I tell them of the nostalgia and even some had collected/played in the past, but they are skeptical of the financial aspect seeing as how select cards are worth thousands of dollars and this fact is just unbelievable to some people outside the hobby. This doesn’t bother me though, as I want a partner who respects me and preferably shares my interests and doesn’t want to ‘change me for the(her) better.’

This topic was a very nice read and your story gives me hope in finding a supportive partner of my own to further enjoy the hobby with!