How long has everyone been collecting for?

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I was looking through my facebook memories this morning, and found out today is my 2 year pokémon collecting anniverary! Its been a great 2 years (though it seems like longer), and i have learned so much about Pokémon collecting and the collecting community.

I really started getting back into pokémon because of pokémon go. I became a pokémon go addict who would literally jump up and run out the door is something popped up on the nearby no matter the time of day.
Then i saw some youtube videos of booster pack openings, and was instantly thrown into this place of nostalgia. I remembered having my pokémon cards as a kid and picking out packs of jungle and team rocket from my local video store. I remeber having a base set Charizard stolen from me in kindergarden- and im still mad bout it haha! Too bad many years ago i sold all of them for $15, not knowing I would be buying them all over again! If only i had known what i was doing!

I am so glad i got into this hobby and found place like here that are full of like minded enthusiasts. Over 200 packs opened (all from ebay mind you), thousands of transactions and dollars later, i think i have a pretty solid 2 year collection :blush:

The hard part now is gathering the funds to grade so many cards lol. I am not and have never been a PSA member, so whatever i grade i pay full price on service fees so i usually only do about 30 cards per order.

I have completed (not all graded) 1st Edition Jungle and Fossil, most of Team Rocket, Base 2, and am working on the Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge series now. I attatched pictures of most of my collection- all my important parts at least.

There something about collecting pokemon that has got me hooked! Whether it be the art work, or just the thrill of pulling an expensive card out of a pack, i just love collecting and wont stop until I “catch 'em all!”

Yes, the values of some are tempting to sell, but I just cant bring myself to let anything go, even cards i have doubles or multiple copies of. I have a never ending hunger for obtaining more cards!

My goals for collecting it to eventually have all the complete WOTC era sets in 1st edition. I’ve got quite a long way to go, but i am ready for the journey!

I wanna know when you guys got into collecting, what keeps you going, and what your collecting goals are!! :grin:

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@papadiegos happy 2 years for you! Glad to see youve been sticking with it and in this journey for that long which is a big accomplishment!

I myself have been back into collecting since last September, (you can find a small story I wrote about my journey here - www.elitefourum.com/t/e4-collector-stories-2020-post-here/26466/1) and I mainly got back into it all because I never lost my love for Pokemon even though I kept it kind of on the backburner for many years. Its not only just a hobby for me, for I find its also very therapeutic in a way which keeps myself busy in my free time in both collecting and playing, so im very grateful to have gotten back into it and to have found this community to indulge in.

As for goals, at this point im still trying to re-evaluate those haha. I started off getting deep into Hidden Fates (as that really cured the pack opening itch), but then shifted to my most favored set, Neo Genesis. After completing the holo set there in PSA 9 1st edition, i ran off into doing a lot of different Johto esq things from WOTC, and now im looking to expand that same concept into the Ninendo era once I dive deeper into them being that many of those cards I never dabbled in or even heard of while being away from this for so long.

Other than that, im pretty open to what the future might look like for my collecting and who knows, maybe ill one day go for some bigger price tag items. But for now, im really just glad to be in this more than anything and i feel my collection is currently more than i could have ever desired. Glad to see you here and to know that your collection has been growing just as well and i wish you the best with all your future endeavors!

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Came back to the hobby in 2016 after a 6 year break.

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@dizzle24 Thats awesome! I was only in pokémon during the WOTC era, first 2 generations really. So any of the new gens were hard for me to get used to lol. Pokémon Go definately has gotten me aquainted with the new ones, but my love for the 1st and 2nd generations i grew up with it much stronger. I have dabbled in hidden fates a bit as well- of course trying to pull that Charizard! Did you pull your neo holos yourself or did you purchase them? I try to pull all the cards myself- and i have had good luck doing it. When i first started I had a regular seller on eBay for 1st edition fossil packs. I was buying three packs a week for $130, and pulled holos out of two packs a week easily. Now I can’t even afford three packs LOL

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Started collecting again the day after thanksgiving in 2018 because I found all my old cards and needed more!

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10 years but not pokemon

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Started collecting again in November/December 2016.

The majority of my collecting is just buying what I like, but my goals are:

  1. 1st ed Base holo set PSA 10
  2. Champion Evolutions DCE set
  3. Build a respectable side hustle selling cards online.
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I came into the hobby of PSA graded cards after seen a PSA 10 FA Lillie 151 on eBay, which i bought and got scammed out of.

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I was drawn back in 2017 after a 16 year break. But I wasn’t so much collecting in 99 as much as I was chasing holos with pocket money from my parents.

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In general: since I was 5 years old, and I haven’t stopped since (I’m 28 now). I started collecting peddles and post stamps at that age, and I’ve collected LOADS of things in the past (and still do), like: minerals, gemstones and fossils; post stamps; Pokémon TCG cards; Yu-Gi-Oh TCG cards; collectibles from local supermarket (like Fox Kids cards; different type of stuffed animals; flippos/pogs; marbles; etc. etc.); twisty puzzles; coins and euro-coins; and even virtual collections, like one of each TF2 weapon (except for the extremely rare ones like Golden Frying Pan); Smite voice packs and skins; Overwatch cosmetics; FlyFF most OP possible twink lv 15 set; World of Warcraft pets; etc.

As for Pokémon TCG cards in particular: I started collecting them at the age of 7. Would receive a pack every now and then for my birthday, Christmas / Sint Nicholas; good grades at school; or would buy them myself after I received money from my grandparents. I stopped around the age of 14 or so. I’m not entirely sure anymore what I primarily was collecting between age 14 and 18, but at around age 18/19 I started playing and collecting Yu-Gi-Oh pretty actively again, and bought loads of cards that I had decks of at online games like DuelingNetwork (even though I only ever played the game irl with my little brother…) I remember primarily buying from GametimeCC back then, until I discovered TrollAndToad, which had a much wider stock available. I noticed they were also selling Pokémon cards, so I bought the cheapest Venusaur, Hitmonlee, and Nidoking I could find once, which were the last three Pokémon missing from the first 151 Pokémon from my collection as a kid.

And then at the start of 2016 I placed all cheap Pikachu cards TrollAndToad had in stock in my cart, and that’s how my Pikachu collection started. :blush: I started looking which Pikachu cards existed, and also started buying foreign Pikachu cards. Then in the Summer of 2016 I came across justinator’s thread here on the Efour forum, who had loads of Pikachu cards in his collection and wanted list I had never even seen before. That’s when I joined the forum, and I was really inspired by Justin’s collection. Near the end of 2017 I surpassed him in terms of largest Pikachu TCG collection in the world, at which point I had around 700 unique Pikach cards. I now have over 1300 unique Pikachu cards in my collection, and also loads of other Pokémon sub-collections (with over 11,000 unique and 9,000+ duplicated Pokémon cards right now) - I no longer have the largest Pikachu TCG collection worldwide anymore though, since a fellow collector and online friend of mine from Belgium surpassed me least year, who has around 30-50 more than me.

Right now I primarily collect Yu-Gi-Oh rarities (TCG, OCG, Korean, and misprints); Pokémon Full Art Supporters in English and Japanese exclusive; all languages Seviper cards; and the WotC #21 Moltres promo artwork in all variations (including sealed and PSA/BGS graded). My Pikachu collection is on a slightly lower priority now, since in 2019 alone more than 400 new Pikachu cards were released, so I need to get my bank account back up a bit first… :confused: I also collect (also on low prio right now): the full National Index including all forms and Shiny Pokémon; twisty puzzles; and euro coins. Post stamps and minerals/fossils I don’t really collect anymore, although I still have those collections.

Greetz,
Quuador

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I started collecting seriously in 2011. Started playing in tournaments in 2005, and was at league and someone had a Metagross Star in their binder which I traded for, and then decided to get the rest. Then I got all the shining and crystal cards, mostly from PokeGym trades.

I was satisfied with that until 2013 when I got a 1st Edition Charizard which prompted me to want to finish all of 1st Edition base, and then I decided I may as well go after every English card barring big trophies/promos. Still working on that but I’m nearly finished!

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I started collecting in 2015 ish (not counting the 90’s when I was a kid). I needed to find a hobby to fill a void and this is the perfect one for me!!

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Not to dereal the thread, but arnt you only missing the hardest of the hardest card? Does he really have so many more pikas then you? :thinking:

Back to the thread, me and my fiance came back in pokemon around 2015-16 when I saw some cards in a local gamestop and I was all like ”damn people still buy those?” Shy as I was I bought a Regirock teamdeck and said to the lady at the registrer that it was for my younger brother (cringe I know) and asked if it was a good purchase ”yes it is”. Little did I know that themedecks was full of energies and dups of cards since its ment to be played with! That was the start for me getting back in. The holo cracked ice Regirock was actually the first card I graded myself with PSA. Got a 9, and even tho it has literal 0 value in market dollars it stil has the best spot in my display at home cause its a reminder where I started and I value that card alot. Something I think back how little I knew going in and how much knowledge I have gained over just 5 years being constently engaged.

Ofc I was here from the begining with base set and the 151 OG’S, but I never did anything after base/jungle/fossile until recent years. I guess it was a 15 year break? Now both me and the fiance have been really engaged in collecting and the story around cards for 4-5 years

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Nah as you said, now most of the WOTC packs are way too high for my liking to have gotten them from there haha. I mean, maybe one day ill buy a few just for fun, but most of my cards i bought as singles that were already graded aside from some modern which is a different case entirely. Those ones I did pack pull which was a lot of fun when diving through that realm (which included not 1 but 4 of those hidden fates zards haha).

But yeah I too am in that boat with having a larger love for gen 1-2, as i did grow up with those as well. But in terms of modern-ish sets, i just look towards them now for pokemon i already love from those past days to get cards of them as opposed to anything from other gens. Regardless though theres just so much to tackle that i know ill be around doing this for some time to come!

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Well, looking at the Pikachu cards I still need, the main difference is that he has all Korean cards, while I’m still missing 8 right now; he has 4 more Spanish cards than me; 3 more Italian cards; 1 more German card; and 1 more French card. In terms of misprints we’re about equal most likely, but he has a lot more autographed Pikachus, which is where the difference is mainly coming from when I mentioned 30-50. But it’s mainly those Korean, Spanish, and Italian cards tbh. He’s better at making contacts around the world I guess (and he also primarily collects Pikachus, while I collect too much at once sometimes haha. So it’s easier for him to focus time/money on chasing certain Pikachu cards).

Anyway, we both have some cards the other one need, but he has slightly more Pikachu cards in total all combined (if I exclude my extended/altered Base Pikachus :wink: ).

Greetz,
Quuador

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Dang 4 zards! i opened like 300 HF packs and nothin so i gave up and sold my shinies lol. But i only bought 2 psa cards, 1st edition fossil psa 10 non holo hypno for $15, and a 1st edition jungle psa 9 mr mime holo for $45, i graded all the rest myself. But ive just been buying gym series right now but only 1 or 2 packs at a time.

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@quuador I also used to have stamp collections, rock collections, fossil collections, and i still have a small coin collection. But my pokemon collection definitely outshines all of those

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www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/showcase/album/5331

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That is a really nice collection!! I was about 10 when Pokemon was first released in the US and I remember being obsessed with it. I mean OBSESSED. Then life happened, I grew older, and all but forgot about it.

I started recollecting a little over a year ago and I can’t even remember why I felt the urge to start again, but I’m glad I did. I’ve found myself spending a lot of time (re)learning all the details of WOTC era sets (misprints, promos, etc). I’m currently working on completing the Base, Jungle, and Fossil holo graded sets which is my only real goal at the moment and I’m pretty close to being finished. I’ve also found myself drawn to both English and Japanese promo cards and how/why they were released (or not released) to the public. Anything with Sugimori art is A++ in my opinion

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Almost 20 years on and off :blush: I have diary entries from 2002 on the state of my collection when I was seven :grin:

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