Your certs are saved friends. Hopefully we will cross paths again someday. I imagine we will.
This is a bit of an untraditional collection update, but I said in post 1, I’m treating this thread like a diary to catalog my collection. In hopes that when I’m older and gray I can read back through my journey and revisit these memories. Here goes…
From 2020 – 2022 I was a “casual” collector. I’d go to shops/shows etc with no specific goals. I simply enjoyed looking for Pokemon cards and If I saw something I liked I would purchase it. Over those two years I realized that this is not the type of collecting for me. I was purchasing cards in in high quantity and soon lost track of what I even owned.
As my knowledge of cards grew, I decided to take a different approach. Pursue cards that I love, in the condition I feel offers the best value proposition. It might sound contradictory but I never considered myself a Pokemon investor, more so a realist. I decided If I’m going to be spending thousands of dollars per year on pieces of carboard, I wanted to spend that money on cards I not only love, but ones I was confident I could recoup at least some of my cost should life happen and I’m forced to sell. This approach resulted in me purchasing 10 cards from 2022 – 2024 that I am extremely proud of.
The plan was to hold them until my death. I never thought I would sell by choice, but as I said, I’m a realist. While I’m extremely bullish on Pokemon long term, it’s become increasingly difficult for me to justify the current market value of some of the items in my collection. It sounds strange but as the value of my collection increased, so did my anxiety.
I began having internal conversations about whether I should sell and caught myself thinking “but what if prices continue to rise and I’m leaving money on the table by selling now.” I took that as my signal that its time. I was no longer struggling with the thought of selling somethings that I love, I was struggling with the amount of money I would make off selling somethings that I love.
The most difficult part of this entire process was deciding which of these 10 cards would stay and which ones go. Only one was off the table. My BGS9 1st edition base set Mewtwo because of it’s sentimental value and the story behind how I was able to acquire it. For over week I went back and forth trying to decide which of the other ones I would sell but choosing was too difficult. Every time I thought I had made a decision, I would change my mind.
Just when I thought this decision was impossible to make something very corny entered my mind. Ash Ketchum. He goes to a new region, builds a new team of Pokemon and enjoys the time he spends with them. Once his time ends, he leaves them all behind except Pikachu and starts a new journey. For some reason thinking about that gave me comfort. I decided to just pull the band-aid off. Everyone goes except Mewtwo. If a 10 yr old can handle it so can I.
Of course, this has all been an emotional roller coaster but I’m oddly at peace with my decision. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve choked up more times than I care to admit, but not for the reasons I thought.
I thought I would feel like a sellout but I don’t.
I thought I would feel like less of a collector but I don’t.
I thought I would lose interest in Pokemon but I didn’t.
The opposite is actually true. Just like the video games or anime, the prospect of starting a new journey, in unfamiliar territory, and building a new team has left me excited. We’ll see where it goes.
This is all information that most don’t care about but I have to assume others are grappling with this same situation so I figured I would share.
Best of luck to everyone. Remember to have fun out in the tall grass.