Are you looking to sell cards? plushies? pokemon merchandise in general? It all really depends on what you are trying to sell. Also, upon your graduation, are you not looking to get a career in the degree you majored in? Not that you have to, I am just being nosey 
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My tip is not to do it. Lets say you do the ābuy from china, sell hereā deal. You need to think of shippingprices, taxes, (ebay fees if you sell there) shipping to the costumer, saturation in the marked with pricedrops on cards, no cards that have a value in the set and so on. It is almost impossible to make money on this hobby. Ofc it is possible but then you need to have it all togheter and be ready to lose some money for a long time and when you start to make money it will not even be a lot of profit with the prices for booster boxes and everything else i mentiones. You are not the only one trying to make money of this hobby. Now is the time to try since pokemon is in the wind again, but I would recomend not doing it IMO
āIt is almost impossible to make money on this hobbyā
That is absolutely, positively untrue. I just started in this business recently and I can attest to this, and I know a lot of guys on this forum who know a heck of a lot more than I do can, too.
If you take it seriously, devote time to it, learn to understand the market and how to spot good deals, you can make money in this hobby, both short term and long term.
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Iām going for my bachelor degree in business management and finance. I plan on having my youtube account and ebay account bounce off of each other to bring in traffic.
both accounts will be pokemon related. But i am open minded to do business outside pokemon.
I figure pokemon is best since i never left not even in 2003 when others jumped ship after ruby/sapphire. I have 18+ years experience in pokemon since way back when during the first of everything pokemon.
Some things i have considered is the pokemon hack videogames. you know action replay pokemon either it be singles or full game content.
Maybe made in china video games but only the ones that will last and cooperate with the player. ie as good as authentic. Because lets face it we have technology now that mirrors the authentic.
Not sure if ill get pokemon fake games/fan made games but itās an option Iām considering.
Anything made in china i will test myself and see if Iām happy with it.
As far as made in china items i would guess either toys or stuffed animals maybe my own t shirt designs or my own pokemon content.
I am not doing made in china cards or jewelry or bootleg videos.
The kind of made in china no one is gonna care they are made in china.
Not everyone thinks china=fake.
Everyone thinks China=cheap. Most think China=fake. These are not unfounded sentiments. There is no concept of intellectual property in China, especially with pokemon. To be quite frank, the increasing amount of fake cards from China are cancer. Right now it is stage 1, but the real effects will compound in the next few years.
Your best bet at making money Andrew is selling your spare sheets. Any sheet you have multiple examples, this is the time to sell. That will provide capital that you can re-invest. Also, since you were first to market with the sheets, they will yield the highest return. Outside of that, you are entering a competitive market that no one can hand feed you the quick answer, because there isnāt one. The answer is constant work, research, and commitment; you learn what works and what doesnāt from experience.
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<==== Youāve got an eager buyer here if you start selling any sheets that the market hasnāt seen yet.
On the whole Chinese Pokemon thingā¦ not really a grand idea as it is illegal and copyright infringement. Sure you can say tons do it on eBay and everything, but I for one would not want to stake my livelihood on something illegal and IMO just downright slimy.
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And donāt forget about me;)
Well i was not looking for a hand feed of the quick answer.
I was trying to focus on more about bulk/lot.
If im buying alot in china for pennies and selling them for $1-2 each Im still making money.
I donāt plan on sticking to one idea but more looking at all the ideas.
With youtube becoming more successful it will help me sell both on youtube and ebay.
I guess what Iām really asking is-
what will lure people in to increase on my youtube and ebay numbers.
I have like 10,000 ideas Iām trying to sort my head out. But all ideas rely on the numbers of people i can attract to my sites.
Making money on ebay/youtube is not a concern for me as long as I have a big enough audience. Iām more concerned with the number of people than the number of dollars. Once the people come the money will come naturally.
I donāt plan on competing with anyone Iām just doing my own thing. If i can guarantee everything will sell then i count that as success in my book.
raising the numbers of feedback/subscribers on ebay/youtube is how Iām trying to start.
It may take a couple years to make profit to live on but at least i know Iām having fun experimenting with something i known most of my life.
Perhaps i can use china items to do āgive awaysā to promote my sites. or just for the sake of making a video.
Iām also minded on playing games for twitch and youtube.
As far as sheets is concerned no Iām not selling because i just canāt see that. Also i been in worse situations and still did not sell.
Iām more focused on building myself in other aspects of pokemon to be more well rounded.
If profit was my start to finish goal i would invest in old wotc boxes.
Anyway i was just looking for some ideas of what items in china wont likely piss off consumers around the world.
Get China out of your head Andrew, that is not a viable avenue in Pokemon.
Everything you are describing takes years of work to achieve.
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Put on your adult pants and get ready to read some of my points as you seem to be all over the place and you seem to want to live the Pewdiepie or streamer life, which isnāt something simple.
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You have experience in a hobby/genre that many other people do as well, you arenāt special. I mean no offense, but Pokemon audience for the most part on youtube, donāt care. Example being unlistedleaf. Another example being Scott, who knows next to nothing and his youtube is only growing because of his shirts. (obviously his youtube gets following from usually more intelligent adults, not just children)
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You need a MAIN IDEA for whatever it is you want to do. You mentioned Pokemon and china, two things combined which will not get you much reputation and you could be in for legal trouble (most likely not, but possible).
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After you figure out your idea, focus your time and energy in figuring out what can set you apart (I know you asked that, but that is not for us to tell you, its YOUR idea).
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You can NEVER guarantee everything will sell, always assume 50%-75% depending on the product over a period of 1+ year, its not quick. (if you were going the route of buying certain items from china and reselling on ebay).
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Donāt expect to make a living off this in the near future, it takes time.
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IF you are going to make a run at it, its all or nothing and you need to invest in yourself. People donāt want free chinese pikachu figures from a giveaway, and that reflects on your content, so you need to think that through.
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People have many, āhow to buy cheap in china and make huge profits in the US!!!ā. Its not that easy and the people that do make a comfortable living doing it, have massive experience.
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Fees and costs associated with buying and selling from china include import charges, shipping charges, packing materials, inventory space, selling fees. Opportunity cost is also a huge factor.
Thatās my basic information, sit down and go back to the drawing board and come up with an actual plan and model. Donāt think about the muli-platform and expanding until you have something to expand. As anything in life, if it was as simple as everyone believed or made it out to be, everyone would be doing it.
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I had to say something about getting product from China. I may not be a heavy seller, but I am a very heavy buyer.
Whenever I go to a Japanese/Chinese hobby store, and I see fake plush and figures from China (Ol Factory and the $1 miscolored mini figures), I am always completely turned off. I usually walk into those stores with the attitude Iām going to buy something, but as soon as I see something I know is not legit, Iām untrustworthy of the store and will very very VERY rarely spend money at that location.
Thatās just my two cents about that specific topic.
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You are not alone, most buyers share that same sentiment!
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Congrats on the bachelors in business management.
Itās a good start, however it is not the degree that determines success, it is the person behind it. No one here can tell you exactly what you need to do, that is up to you to figure out on your own. If you have the drive and motivation to keep pushing you may find it. You will probably fail many times, but eventually you will find something that works for youā¦if you keep pushing. A few tips I would suggest after reading your posts.
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Stay laser focused on one main idea and find a niche that has not been over flooded/saturated with competition and paper thin margins. Anything with china involved will most likely lead to non existent profit. The only way china may work is if you brand your own products. Getting in on generic products will be short lived.
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Donāt do the counterfeit pokemon games. Just donāt. Youāll be shutdown before you get your first shipment in. In general anything counterfeit/replica is asking for a short lived career.
Good luck above all donāt give up.
ha that reminds me of my adventure to buy a full set of eeveelutions plushes, couldnāt see the trees through the forest anymore so many fakes, it was quite the struggle. in the end i won though 
Again like i said Iām not using china to make profit. If anything Iām just building up a sale score for ebay/youtube subscribers if anything. Building up people/reputation not cash.
If the people are happy they will leave a positive feedback score.
Iām trying to look into the simple markets of pokemon.
Again like i said i have 10,000+ ideas for youtube videos none of which have anything to do with china. However those ideas could get more views if i use giveaways or sell cheap merch.
if im not making profit then at least Iām building up my channel now so i can get into the profit ideas later.
I was thinking of partnering up with youtube and twitch to make content. Hoping the content will make me money. (The original ideas i have, not the merch)
If anything the merch is just to get people in the door to build up an audience.
I also said about testing the quality of whatever Iām investing in to see how it holds up.
I also suggested custom made items ie items made on behalf of me made through china
example if i was gonna design a shirt to have made. Alot of people do this make their own items and people who show support buy them.
I did suggest doing my own made items to sell.
again to joe like i said my goal is not to make profit right now but if anything build an audience.
I can focus on profits later once i have enough traffic.
There are some toys/stuff animals that are better quality than others. These are the two i suggested in buying because there is a market for them and most people i come across dont care as itās for entertainment purpose not collecting purpose. My question is how long will that candle burn until i move on to the next idea?
Another question is the numbers if and when i do decide i can use something to build up.
Thanks to pokemon go there is still an audience that will buy anything pokemon. Iām just trying to think of what is basic.
Just to be clear im not targeting the collecting audience. (BTW i mean serious collectors here) This is why i said im not getting cards from china. However i did ask opinions on videogames as this target audience has mix opinions.
Iām just trying to get ideas and have an open discussion. This thread had nothing to do with my collection or selling my collection.
Iām writing ideas down and thinking. Iām not making any moves until maybe 2018 at the earliest. Iām trying to give myself at least 1 year to look at the market, listen to suggestions to get an idea what to do.
Listen to people for at least a year before deciding. Iām not rushing into anything. Like i said Iām asking a year early just for peace of mind.
Iām just trying to find my voice as a business man.
Also wondering what technology should i invest in to make my own items
example a printer/ 3d printer to make my own art? if so what kind and how much.
Itās really open minded open ears with me.
Some of you need to relax I have no intentions on doing wrong. Itās just open talk. If i was gonna do something wrong I wouldent ask advice on how to do right.
You know this is the first time Iām thinking serious on bringing in buyers. Iām usually the buyer not the seller.
So we all gotta begin somewhere. Iām just trying to sort through alot of ideas. Not all of them are good for profit but Iām sure alot of little goals can build up to be be bigger later on.
I know with youtube this can be very successful in cross promotion if done right.
Not everything MIC is crap.
Here in NY we have more than one china town.
Some of their stuff is pricey over here.
I figure this would be easy considering where Iām at.
Should i just ask on an item to item basis before doing anything? Have you guys vote what you think āif this item is worth it or notā
Hate to say it but there is a pokemon audience outside of this website. Not everything is about serious collecting. Sometimes people like to get pokemon just for the hell of it.
For all I know this can be a short time thing.
I still dont know what numbers Iām dealing with. Iām just throwing ideas around.
just trying to get the ball rolling.
Never intended to make profit going this route. However if i can break even and spare the customer weeks of waiting time by having it on hand this will help with the cross promotion.
FCBM is getting bigger with youtube. Just thinking out loud what other markets to do the same just like fcbm.
Should i just ask peoples opinion on an item to item basis?
Or how about answer me this. If i design my own pokemon item should i have it made in china or have it made here in the US? example shirt, posters, sneakers etc? my own designs.
If we can have an open discussion without your own personal emotions that would help me better.
Just to be clear any profit I intend on making will be authentic items.
Iām more focused on building traffic numbers first.
Well Iām not done yet. I still got some time to finish. Iām expecting 2018 to be done with school.
About videogames what is your opinion on the hack pokemon? ie single shiny iv/ev pokemon or full game content. example action replay/gameshark etc pokemon games.
Those games are authentic but hacked.
There is alot of them listed online and do sell.
Some of others post I dont see right away. Some people make post as Iām in mid writing my own post.
So there is some delay in knowing when someone else posted.
Again not selling sheets.
This has nothing to do with my collection.
This thread is about other interest in pokemon to be more more well rounded, have fun, and make friends.
Hi Andrew,
Iām a fellow business major over here and I have a few suggestions for you (building traffic, selling, etc).
First and foremost, when you are building your audience, take all the information youāve learned from your marketing classes, consumer interests & behaviours etc. You want to have a product that āspeaksā to its audience. That is ā you want something that people canāt live without, nor can they find in the discount bin at a store. Look at your PESTLE analysis. What are people interested in right now? You said yourself that you saw a lot of people jump ship in 2003. I was one of those people too. Will people be jumping ship in the future?
Next, in regards to selling. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not sell bootleg items. Regardless of whoās selling, bootlegs only hurt the industry. Most people when they find out that they have accidentally bought a bootleg, are not only upset, they might be turned off from purchasing all together. Find something that is interesting to sell and do it. For instance, I know you said you werenāt selling your uncut sheets, however you have INCREDIBLE knowledge of these sheets, so Iām sure if anyone can network and find more sheets it is you. That is a niche item that people WANT and are willing to PAY.
Find yourself a profit pool in a blue ocean. In this āindustryā of pokemon, there is practically everything under the sun. I might suggest looking elsewhere if you arenāt interested in working hard and trying your best at finding something that fits your skills.
We have everything under the sun from wholesale distributors to smallscale individuals looking to make a quick buck.
Michael
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Youāre looking at this the wrong way.
You want to make money but you donāt have a store or brand to promoteā¦ you have nothing to sell to people.
The brand comes first, selling stuff comes second. We canāt tell you what you could buy because if you canāt talk about it, become an authority about it yourself or start your own thing and sustain it then you wonāt get anywhere.
E.g.: a guy with abs selling his own supplements on instagram, a musician promoting music on youtube, a sneakerhead selling advertising or promoting stores on snapchat/youtube.
The best example of pokemon would have to be DeriumsCCG. Theyāre a small card store and just opened a ton of product on youtube because people love box openings. They were buying it anyway. They gained 200.000 subs in a few months because their production quality was relatively decent and they produced content every day.
But you canāt do that because youāre not established like they are and you donāt have the same market conditions as them. They cashed in on the pokemon Go hype. They also appealed to the lowest common denominator. This wasnāt an instant success though, they had another channel for a few years that couldnāt even break 50k subs.