I don’t connect to modern at all or with hype, I don’t like the mainstream Pokémon content on social media either. I don’t make a living out of Pokémon neither as an investment. These past years I found joy in the little things, going to local flea markets with friends to buy cheap or bootleg Pokémon stuff, maybe snag a raw card I’m missing on Ebay from time to time. But overall is that, take a step back, focus on the small things that made you love Pokémon in the first place and chill, fomo will die, bubbles will pop, markets will change, but life will not give you those miserable years back. It will require a change of mindset.
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Some days yeah
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Yes, getting really burned out. It’s getting harder to concentrate while worrying about the future especially with daily threats from the south.
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Vibe check - myself and others I talk to are pausing or scaling back their collection until this boom becomes a bust
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Considering many people including yourself have “potentially” become the victims of fraud by the actual co-creator of the TCG, this is not an unreasonable feeling at all. Particularly with you being the individual, the Print Forensics Master, who blew the lid off the whole thing. Combine that with this latest round of the 4-yearly hypehypehype grindhustleflipfuckery everyone-else-is-an-idiot-but-me atmosphere and yeah, it’s a totally a recipe for misery. Not to mention burn-out from the sheer hours of investigative work.
I’m lucky in that I’ve kind of gone the opposite way (not to be that guy I swear). The Prototype situation and the latest merry-go-round of brainrot entering the TCG space has given me a renewed sense of appreciation for the old, the scarce and the authentic, in a way it’s focused-in my goals and desire to curate a collection that reflects that. Just like last time, the atmosphere of hype for ultra-modern has taken attention away from much of the value to be had in vintage collecting, so I’m just quietly going about picking up purchases like below. That said, this is much easier for me because I’m so casual and my collection is so young compared to most of e4, so I have many large but realistic goals ahead of me still to attain…perhaps I’m not the best person to test with the Litmus paper on this!
Just like last time, this will all pass and the waters will eventually settle again. The difficulty in the short term I guess is deciding the best way to navigate the chop. Perhaps it’s not a bad idea to go back to basics, focus on the things we enjoy the most.
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Brought this up just today in the chat. Agree thoroughly. Not really having much fun anymore, sadly.
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From a lurker on the outside looking in I’d say yeah it’s getting difficult to find joy in Pokémon side of things.
Reading about people getting screwed over on the playtest cards, seeing adults fighting over cardboard in stores, hearing jackasses telling people to quit the hobby and go get a real job, stores getting robbed, the drama surrounding Pokémon cards just doesn’t seem to end and just increases as time goes on.
Everything just seems to be terrible at the moment and hopefully things improve soon.
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yeah, it’s definitely a rough period for collectors. I’m taking a break from YT/ebay for a while. also trying not to follow the insane fluctuations of modern. but I’m still getting a lot of joy from viewing / engaging with my collection. and I genuinely think things will improve when there is less “easy money” to be made; people who only care about Pokemon for that purpose will move onto something else.
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List of healthy things to do when collecting is not fun:
- delete saved ebay searches or scale it down to a select few key cards. Don’t do “eevee” for example. Do “eevee 123/456”
- delete Youtube app from your phone. This is so key to happiness. There are some awesome people and videos out there, but you need to drown out the “folks” of the world out there who are clueless.
- Scale back your collection or collection goals to what you enjoy. If a piece of your collection doesn’t add joy, sell it in this crazy market.
- Definately delete Reddit, that is just assumed already, but have to put it here.
- Stop looking for new sealed product at MSRP on Target, Walmart, etc. The time you spend trying to check out on these websites and just failing is not worth it
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I haven’t wanted to put the energy out there, and like you say “make it about me”. But i’ve discussed it in private. Others agree, that it seems like for anything going forward its not about appealing to the overall core fans of you know…pokemon. I’ve tried to hold my tongue because I’d be a broken record, but I have no local play group, but there are like 3 card stores in a 15 minute drive of me. And 5 in a 30 minute drive. The nearest place that I think might have players is further than that. I’ve wanted to play. And as far as collecting, I think there has been an overall unhealthy system thanks to pokemon company themselves. The idea that you would need to essentially open like 3000 packs at perfect odds to get a masterset isn’t fun. And then on top of that, because of how much they have to churn out cards, the quality control plummets. I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy things if the culture of people making a living or side hustles on paying for companies to encapsulate cards and stick a label with a number on them continues. Its the same card. But now I’m expected to pay $100 instead of $10…why? I have a stack of slabs to crack, and its honestly a burden in its own way too.
Essentially I already started to go revisit my other interests. I love photography. I never got THAT deep, but the fact that I was trying to figure out how to mod a 4x5 newspaper photographers camera to work with a custom back for instax wide film is probably deep enough. But what is great is that it got me out in the world, and I have gone places I never would have before. I’ve gotten some great photos I’m proud of, some that are truly special to me and evoke deep emotion. I ran out of easy to access good anime, but have been a huge fan since like 2007. So I’m going to hunt for that. And I got so sick of bad adaptations i’ve now started reading tons of manga. And that has been a joy, and for now, its not something that the annoying af “investors” are looking to hoard. I can see the horizon of “graded manga” ruining that soon, and I hate reading on screens if I don’t have to, so I fear that. But for now, its cozy. And I’m hitting the gym again. So I’m trying to once again get strong and become SolemnSwole. So, in a way, the aspect that is driving me out, is doing what the ruination of videogames did to me, made me live a better life. Going on walks/hikes. Taking pretty pictures, going new places. Reading books. Getting RIPPED!
What is holding me on, is my oddball collection goals, older sets, but really just cards that aren’t targets for being bought and resold instantly for a %5 mark up over and over. I’m enjoying documenting and giving info into the deep rabbit holes I’m interested in. Especially having fun looking for the reverse holo swirls for ex FR/LG and ex TRR. I’ll hopefully have an update for that thread soon too. I’m rather sentimental, so giving some sort of documentation of anything historical is important to me. And ultimately for me, its about people and experiences, not as much the cards themselves. I think anyone with a “private collection” is being rather pathetic. The fun of it is the collect things so that you CAN share them with everyone else and “oh-ah” over it together and be excited for each other and help each other. Unironically - maybe the thing we collect, is the friends we made along the way.
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I can honestly say yes BUT that’s because I’m lucky and getting to see the hobby through brand new eyes.
My girlfriend has gotten majorly into Pokemon cards the last couple of months. We open packs together, I showed her how to use eBay to buy cards, I just bought her a binder for Valentine’s Day 
It’s been super fun watching her just want cards because they are cute or have her favorite Pokemon in it. It’s been a blast going through my collection and explaining the cards and why they are special to me.
I haven’t bought many cards for myself but I love getting her stuff. I know I’m very lucky and I’m grateful to be having fun during these crazier times.
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Ha, Actually was talking to @smpratte about this quite recently!
Maybe Pokémon should just give up on running the unregulated gambling Casino and make their product worth buying again for the individual consumer instead of an engagement machine for the clout-farmer who pays for the gambling debt/product with the timespan of their audience. (they won’t this business model is very lucrative.)
I don’t know, It feels like things have reached late stage capitalism and the current state of modern has bled into every aspect of the hobby. Perhaps it’s also a little bit of a reflection of how the world is doing globally.
It has definitely been slower for me as it was in the past …But that may also be due to the fact I managed to acquire the things I wanted the most, - Prismatic Evolutions was the first set where I said to myself “this just isn’t worth it”…Realistically even if you bought that set at MSRP the pullrates are so abysmal it’s basically Pokémon Company taking a shit in your mouth.
Personally I don’t enjoy gambling at all so no, Modern is not fun for me.
Take me back to Pokekyun where every card is magical.
Those are my projections to your open question mr @pfm
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I frequently say “take me back to 2015” Collecting was more enjoyable, the hobby was more wholesome, the general public didn’t really care about Pokemon , it wasn’t worth loads of Money, everyone had goals which was actually attainable, and we tried to help each other as much as possible.
When a modern card out the gate is at $1500 raw says a lot about where the hobby is now at.
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Yup can relate…
What you could do is pick up another hobby and focus on that for the time being. For example I’ve been following sumo wrestling since November and it’s been a joy to learn about the sport (highly recommend it as well!). In fact, shout out to @milhouse for helping out as a new fan. 
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I second that.
We have all sorts of people with wildly different and vastly interesting and unique interests outside pokemon cards. I love this thread and encourage everyone to share in it. It should help lift the mood and expose people to the fact that life is rich and full of all sorts of things.
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My own relationship with Pokemon and collecting has evolved a lot over the years. I’m arguably the most engaged with Pokemon currently I’ve ever been and still very much enjoying it. At the same time also I am the least engaged with collecting Pokemon. The hobbies I consider myself a collector of I would consider myself mostly surface level.
As Swole mentioned the best times I’ve had in recent years with Pokemon have all been around attending regionals and worlds to meet up with friends and attending artist events. When in Japan for worlds I had near zero interest in picking through cards at shops.
I’ve battled burn out/build up a number of times over the years, I’ve consolidated my card collection to the few items I do truly like but even those I seldom appreciate. I think this is natural though, we all have stories of drifting to and from Pokemon and into/on to other things.
I think when you’re as deep in the weeds as you possibly can be its tough to be enthusiastic when you hit a wall.
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Tricky one. I suppose since I only got back in to the hobby 2.5 years ago I’ve not seen it change as much as others have.
The Good
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I’ve hit many of my goals, I’m well on the way to mastering every SV set and my Raichu collection in terms of graded copies at least is absolutely stellar. I’m very much enjoying the challenge of upgrading those cards now that I’ve gotten every TCG (bar one).
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Finding a forum like here has been really good for me. I’m nearly 40, I’m not exactly surrounded by people who collect and it’s nice to have a place where the conversations aren’t wiped out by investbros or people who think pokemon cards should be £1 maximum. Or those that drown threads with how grading is good/bad. I’m glad I come here for a look.
The Bad
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I can’t feasibly see a way (short of robbery or going beyond what I consider sane for a pokemon card) of ever finishing the Raichus. I had hoped a close to 20k offer would be more than enough to find a seller for the English Jasmine’s Raichu but I’m guessing the scarcity and possibly just a complete lack of understanding of values it just hasn’t landed. I think that means the 100% dream is likely over and I’ll need to have a think about what that means.
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I had originally intended to get EVERY card from each SV set but the release of odd winners cards in Singapore and those sort of limited releases like the two Professor Programme 151 voltorbs have killed that idea. Just mastering the set is enough though and I’m glad I didn’t keep pushing for those.
The Ugly
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The price that some cards have generated purely on hype is obscene. The umbreon from the latest set is not a £1,000+ card. This is some sort of organised scheme. Will I ever actually finish a set like that if I don’t pull the main card from the set? I’ve opened 100ish packs of Prismatic Evolutions and only had one ogrepon as a “big” hit. Statistically I’m insignificant but it’s significant for my wallet!
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The lack of product makes me very concerned for the hobby as a concept. If younger collectors can’t get anything except the trash products I think a lot of these investors are going to be in for a mighty shock in 10-20 years when no one is buying their sealed products.
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Gratuitous comment about it was better when it was cheaper. Still haven’t really come to terms with 2020 prices and where they’ve been since.
When I buy ANYTHING besides pokemon on ebay, there’s no sniping. There’s no explosion in price, and you can get deals still on any which thing. Never with pokemon.
For like 2 years at this point ive just been needing a handful of cards that completes my entire vintage collection at this point, and it grosses me out thinking how much.
Collecting during 2020 to 2022 was no different, even when I was buying more cause i was depressed about the state of my country during covid. Thankfully I had a bunch of stuff with doubles, sealed, etc, to fund a lot. But still, gross.
Always the gratuitous comment saying things were magical when I was able to buy a shadowless blastoise for $20, or a complete rocket set for $80. If during those days I wanted all the rest I came to want, it would have been awesome. But tastes change and hey I still like cards so I never stopped, just slowed down. Cards shouldn’t be worth so much man.
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I can’t get myself to buy that fucking 1st ed Venomoth. It’s a Venomoth, there’s 50 people on the planet that actually want one.
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For much of my collecting “career”, I collected cards in isolation and it was a very personal hobby. I’d buy cards and keep them to myself. It was all about the cards.
During COVID, I joined this community, and now 5 years later, I can confidently say it’s all about the people.
That’s what ends up bringing me joy now–experiencing events with friends from around the world, finding that one card that someone else has been chasing for years, and just talking with folks from different walks of life online.
Oh and I like digging through old Pokemon history too I guess 
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