I think that’s stretching it. Theres a difference between liking some of the cooler chase cards that were mean’t to get you excited as a kid because they’re were worth maybe 20-30 dollars and someones who just wants to get a card that looks like nothing special wouldn’t stand out if it wasn’t for supposedly only 10 of them existing so you buy it for 5k and hope to keep it to sell it at a profit someday. I think we both have more innocent views on what collecting should be that isn’t on these forums much. Not saying our views are better or worse just different.
You’re getting it reversed; people don’t want gold stars because they’re worth lots of money. They’re worth lots of money because people want gold stars. People aren’t just buying them for ‘investment’ purposes; tons of people (such as myself) need them for completing EX-series sets. And many people, such as jonandek, have (or are working on) complete gold star sets. They’re basically the king of all non-WotC cards, and always will be. They’re a classic example of a low-supply, high demand card, and the prices just reflect that. It’s not just ‘investors’ who want these. Pretty much everyone wants them lol.
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I understand different viewpoints, but I find value discussion to be the same as appreciation discussions. I think it’s human condition to want things that are hard to obtain/exclusive. I know that the more desirable a card is to more people the higher the price tag goes. Supply/demand economics is the same conversation as valuing collectibles it’s just in money terms instead of undefined terms.
The intention might be different, but honestly I don’t care. I doesn’t bother me if someone buys a card to later resell for profit. The only way one one can do that is if they had interest in the hobby in the first place to have that knowledge. Maybe others wish people would collect purely for the sake of collecting, but if everyone did that then many of us would never have any cards we want.
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@modestmudkip, @jonandek, @zorloth - thanks for the science guys, lol, now I know. And yeah I totally agree, I just started collecting gold stars again a week back I should be almost done with all of them in a month’s time. It’s only because I’m almost done with my pokemon-ex set collection, and the natural move after that is gold stars. Also, they’re really not too, too expensive besides 1-2 of them, although I’m only collecting what can be pulled from a regular pack.
@cullers raised a really good point about demand, and how the value of something draws people to it. How many people really like yanma/typhlosion?
@justinpokemon2 and @pokeforever, I’ve had the opposite impression since I joined this forum, most people are much more collectors than investors. Maybe you’ve seen it differently than I have though but if anything I think people on efour have lamented the rising amounts of investing talk compared to the collecting aspect. There’s a lot of good stuff on this forum for a collector, the art threads and weekly set discussions are loads of fun and not at all about money.
@pokeforever, I’m not sure what cards you’re talking about being only 10 copies for 5k but I’d like to hear more. If you mean crystals/gold stars, those are special cards the same way a Gold Zacian V is special. They’re rarer, look appealing, collectible, etc. If you mean trophy cards, that’s another story but I don’t think it’s the right mindset to compare trophies to set cards.
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I think there are both parties involved with people who genuinely want them as a collecting aspect and people who just see it as potentially making money. I also would say gold stars aren’t the best example people wanting x thing just because its expensive. I would say better example would be more first edition stamps on the wotc cards. They go for multiple times the value of a reprint because an inconsequential stamp posted in the corner (besides base set I’ll give you that). I’m honestly not to bothered by it as I have little interest in the wotc stuff in general but saying people always just want it because of the card itself isn’t entirely true, people have some fixation on exclusivity and I’m sure not as many people would buy the first edition print of a card over a reprint if they don’t expect it to be worth more in the future. Not saying its bad if you like all this stuff, but for me who just wants the art of the card it can be a hard pill to swallow that my favourite sets are just the rarest and I don’t have a cheaper alternative like people who collect say base set or whatnot.
Thats good to hear, I’m new to the forum so I may get different impressions later on. And no I was just placing a generic example of people romanticizing like trophy cards. I can totally understand if people like rare chase cards in sets.
Are you joking or are you serious? Collecting all of them in a month is or two is pretty crazy.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
You’re very wrong about the 1st edition stamp. For WotC (besides e-Reader obviously), I only collect 1st edition. From my perspective, what’s the point of collecting a strictly inferior version? The stamp may seem inconsequential to you, but it’s a symbol of the fact that the card was part of a more exclusive print run of the set (of course, though, for some sets the 1st edition print run was massive – Team Rocket, namely). I don’t necessarily think 1st edition cards will appreciate at a faster rate than Unlimited cards – ‘investment’ potential has zero to do with my collecting 1st edition. I collect them for the same reason I collect reverse holo sets of the EX-series – I don’t care about collecting inferior versions of the same card. I like collecting the best version of each card (or both versions if neither version is strictly ‘better’ than the other – i.e., with holo rares in reverse holo). The focus on 1st edition in this hobby makes total sense to me, honestly. And it doesn’t have much to do with ‘investing.’
@thatblastoiseguy , Typhlosion is a pretty popular Pokemon, there was a survey about a year ago on reddit and Typhlosion placed #12, higher than Squirtle at #14.
Yanma was at 420 though so 
Edit: Link to the survey for those curious: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c16Wh4AawHGbTi3Eq1DGZQdM4FMUlJO1YwXJZ_ylRvg/edit#gid=557303698
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You could collect the Japanese unlimited versions if you just want the art, they’re much cheaper & arguably better looking. You’re kinda screwed with Umbreon and Espeon but at least you can get the other 25.
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The truth is the sets that Yanma and Typhlosion are in are very popular. To complete the set you need those cards. Some people realize they aren’t in the budget, others it doesn’t matter.
I will say Ty goes for more than Yan, so there are other factors at play, and popularity is a part of it, but I think the set the cards are in plays a bigger role.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter, the cards are where they are and it’s only because people are willing to pay those prices.
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Thats true I concede to your point. I think exclusivity and price gets mixed up a lot. Its hard to know whether people like the more exclusive product because its worth more or do they like the more exclusive product because its more exclusive. I think there are people who fall under both of these to be honest. Also just to add on I would say collecting the reverses of the ex series cards isn’t really the same as the stamp because the stamp adds nothing to the artwork of the card while the reverses in the ex series were cool where some of them basically made every card look like a normal holographic which enhances (or makes it worse depending who you talk to) the card that a stamp doesn’t do.
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@pokeforever hmm, I’ve been spending on cardboard practically all my life so maybe the price point bothers me a little less. Also, my ex/gold star collection is just for my viewing pleasure, so it’s all ungraded and in my binder. Lastly, my gold stars are all in Japanese so you should expect the total set to cost around USD 5,000+/-?
Although, I pretty much only spend on cardboard and my significant other - I’m fortunate to stay in a country in Southeast Asia which is super small so I don’t need a car as well.
I’m of the camp that the English cards are better looking but good point. I personally would rather have English as that’s what I remember as a kid but that definitely is an option for someone in my position.
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Nice! well hope you enjoy your gold cards 
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It’s an interesting time in the pokemon hobby where certain things can no longer be accessible to everyone.
That is a relatively new thing here but it’s prevalent in other hobbies. With my comment, I’m not trying to be the person on one side of the fence pointing and laughing. I collected comic books at various points of my life, including from age 26-28 or so. I liked vintage comic books the most. I wanted the old originals where it all started. I liked having something that was older than me. I was born in 1978 and I collected comics from the early 1960s. Pristine copies of these existed (and still do of course), but they were so far out of reach for me that I couldn’t have possibly considered them. I just really wanted to have the books. So I collected CGC (like PSA) 5-7 range copies. Man I loved those. I didn’t do it to invest at all. I loved having them. For me it’s the same with Pokemon now.
Of course, money and value are always things to take into consideration. Not just here but in life. If you can buy something for $5 one place or $10 at another, where would you go to buy it? If you’re spending a lot of money relative to your own situation on ANYTHING, I think it’s best to consider the value of what you’re buying. It’s a subtle distinction but very important.
Find something fun to collect that makes you happy and that you can afford. A gold star with a beat up back may look great in a binder. There are lots of ways to collect and get the things you want and to be happy with them. But you should always be thinking about the value of things you spend your hard-earned money on, IMO
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@arkhive, @cullers, guys, y’all are killing my sunday with that poll lol. But jokes aside, my point is that a PSA10 version for that particular Yanma and Typhlosion are in part driven by the value and rarity of the card, and difficulty to grade (I heard Typhlosion was actually playable?), in addition to factors like interest for the species. And yes, set interest and completion as well would drive the value even further.
@pokeforever, honestly, I procrastinated on gold stars but I think as some have pointed out in the thread, the price of gold stars haven’t really increased lately. I think the most important thing is to first decide on a goal and then work towards it. I know the price of Rayquaza gold star, for instance, could be way more than what you’re willing to spend on a single card. But if you know how much you’re willing to spend on cardboard per month, perhaps you can establish a rough timeframe to fund your goals.
Sure, the price might increase blah blah blah, but the more important thing is to spend responsibly and within your means.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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