Do you think the entrance to Pokémon as a new collector is too high?
Also do you think there is gatekeeping in pokemon?
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Entrance is low right now. Prices for illustration rares are cheap. Can easily fill a full binder with tons of cool cards for under $200.
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Its rough for some cards and eras, but i think its still fairly easy to collect most things.
I dont see a lot of gatekeeping, but im sure it happens.
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Based on social stigma, availability of items, diversity of cards, range of pricepoints, and options of collecting niches, it is easier to be a new collector today than at literally any other point in time.
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Also if you can make and use an ebay account then you have no argument for gatekeeping.
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Its only high if you care about the “hype” cards or whatever and most cards are super affordable.
There are cards for every budget.
And yes, there is gatekeeping. Even on here. But i feel like it’s that way with any hobby
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The biggest gatekeeper in pokemon and all collectibles is the competition for rare items. With that said, Pokemon is one of the easiest hobbies to enter and find success. On E4 alone I’ve seen hundreds of people start at 0 and grow larger with time.
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I would say now is one of the best times be a newcomer.
Literally there’s so many YouTube channels and other resources to look up specific cards, sets, upcoming releases, etc compared to when I first started to become interested in Pokémon.
The barrier to entry cost is very low since supplies is so plentiful. I would say if you wanted to get involved during 2019 - 2022, it would have been more of a hassle due to products not being readily available.
There are many ways to buy cool and unique cards online through eBay, Mercari, buyee, etc. and tutorial are available online to understand how to set up these accounts.
There is definitely gatekeeping in certain aspects with collecting Pokémon, but it’s with any hobby I believe.
Someone brand new to collecting doesn’t have to worry about any type of gatekeeping in my opinion as they are still learning what they like and discovering what their goals could be.
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If not having enough money is a form of gatekeeping, then the word is useless because nearly everything in life is therefore “gatekept” to some percentage of people.
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While I wouldnt classify it as gatekeeping per se, one’s geographic location can introduce additional hurdles to collecting. If you live in an area with a smaller active local market or a country that ro-…I mean, charges import tax, then it can make collecting far less accessible.
That said, online marketplaces and middlemen/proxy services can go a long way in helping a lot of people gain access to just about anything.
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What exactly is being gatekept in this hobby? Financial barriers are really the only hurdles. Sure, there will be exceptions for a very rare or niche card or two, but 99.99% of the cards in this hobby can be obtained with enough money + time.
To answer the OP’s question, yes I think Pokemon card collecting is incredibly accessible; it’s one of the most accessible TCGs out there. In terms of playability, Pokemon is one of the easiest to learn as well. MTG and Yu-Gi-Oh have significantly higher barriers to play, though collectability is still as easy in those TCGs too.
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No, I don’t think the entrance to collecting is too high for even brand-new folks. You can buy art rare singles for $1 and fill a binder with beautiful pocket-sized works of art. You can put together an artist collection for a handful of dollars depending on who you choose to focus on.
There is no gatekeeping, at least for folks brand new to the hobby. You can learn as much as you care to using this site and YouTube. It’s never been easier to be informed about the hobby. Financial barriers are not gatekeeping.
I suppose maybe if you were trying to buy the rarest of the rare, the <%1 of cards out there your biggest barrier would be getting in contact with the sellers. Still, that’s just me speculating and not an issue that is grounded in any brand new collectors real world experience they’re going to have.
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I definitely think the barrier to entry is accessible, depending of course on what exactly you want to collect. Obviously the more rare cards and certain vintage sets are much more difficult to collect in some cases. However, even as a newcomer you can make some compromises on card condition to still obtain most cards. This allows you to still collect whatever card(s) you want at at a lower price until you can eventually move up to better conditioned cards.
For modern cards/sets, a couple hundred dollars can go very far for the most part. You can build a very nice looking collection with this kind of money quite easily. With vintage you can always go for Unlimited prints as well.
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As a newcomer, my experience has been that this is a very easy hobby to enter. The wealth of information online makes it possible to grow knowledge base and marketplaces/apps are plentiful for buying. I’m not sure how welcoming other communities are, but I’ve found e4 to be an absolute delight and anytime I’ve messaged a member directly looking for some insights I’ve got an extremely helpful reply.
I would say it’s probably most difficult to find ‘deals’ for mid range cards, as your competing with a lot of resellers, however, the liquidity in the market is amazing and having daily auctions in multiple places means you’re likely able to find great deals constantly.
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