Money, money, money…
Profit-driven or Financial Focus?
hehe
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The reason it seems like this is magnified 10x is because before grading was main stream there wasn’t really much room to profit within Pokemon cards. This thriving market is still relatively new because the concept of grading pokemon cards for profit is still relatively new to most people. There are definitely some people just in it for the money though I don’t think it is the majority.
I started with base stopped at Neo but got back into it as I grew into an adult I was active playing and collecting from 2007-2017 never missed a sets release until I took a bit of a break (just wasn’t feeling sun and moon) came back into it early 2020. I just discovered grading was actually a thing and highly profitable in 2020 (I wish I found out sooner but since I wasn’t even thinking about money the last few years I never bothered to look into profiting I just assumed pokemon cards was a bit of a money pit), prior to that I never once graded a card and I think a ton of other people are in the same boat, there was a huge lack of exposure with grading it was super niche.
I sold cards (mostly competitive staples, Lv X and Prime singles from tins, collections I bought) from 2007-2013 off and on and the market was super dead, I mainly did it to fuel my competitive play and my collections I can tell you it took months to sell some cards to the point where I just decided trying to play the market in pokemon just isn’t worth the time and effort and I just sunk money into it without worrying about values.
2013-2017 I collected not caring what cards were worth but I honestly think that it was least enjoyable stint because I felt like my money was sort of going to waste.
I think I prefer the way it is now, I love the grading scene its challenging and rewarding to grade cards, and the fact that I can make somewhat of a living and have a collection building that I know isn’t just be wasting money feels a lot more gratifying. The fact you can profit from a game you love to collect more isn’t a bad thing as a matter of fact many of us use it to fuel our collection wants and needs. Its almost a necessity to be market savvy if you want to collect now in todays world too.
TLDR huge profits in Pokemon is fairly new to a lot of collectors, so its taking center stage. Also I do think there’s a psychology element to it where putting a money value on Pokemon cards makes it feel more accepted as an adult.
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“Can’t believe you like money too”
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Logan is in it for pure profit.
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I see someone here is still salty.
As mentioned by others, the more expensive things get the more you really have to learn the financial aspects to navigate the hobby.
This is not really something that should be surprising. If you get into video game design because you have a passion for the industry, you will probably spend a lot of time learning to program. If you want to do art you may spend a chunk of time trying to understand anatomy. If you want to be a vocal advocate for something that you’re really passionate about, you might be forced to learn things about law. Likewise, if you’re trying to operate in the collectibles space, you might spend more time than you want to talking about markets and economics.
I don’t see the money talk being representative of some general detachment from the essence of collecting. I see it as just an unfortunately necessary thing you need to learn to play in the higher end of this market.
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I get equally as excited placing an order for a $100 vintage PSA card or buying $0.99 modern singles. If you make it all about the money it will become that way. Just collect what you like and adjust your budget accordingly
Scalpers are ruining the hobby by buying and selling sealed products for money. LGS and supermarkets are also scalpers ruining the hobby by selling cards at a profit, so are distributors who only care about profit and are ruining the hobby.
Collectors are also ruining the hobby by collecting, so true collectors can’t get ahold of any cards anymore because collectors refuse to sell them for money so the reduced supply is pushing the price up and pricing out true collectors.
Pokemon is ruining the hobby by printing the cards in the first, place then selling them at a profit!? It’s ridiculous and they should stop making them since they are only in it for the money, they have ruined the hobby and priced everyone out
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You’re going to see more of that now that it’s too expensive to grade
I just ignore complaints like what the OP is complaining about and I think everyone else should as well.
Here is why: Everyone in the community gets to ultimately decide what they decide to collect. If you decide you want to collect trophy cards then you damn well should know you’re chasing after some of the rarest cards in the hobby and should know that there are more people who want those cards compared to how many exist. So be prepared to pay up hefty if those are the cards you want. On the other side of the story, there are cards that are lower tier that are still very accessible to collect. Sets like crimson invasion, steam siege and so on still have cards that are cheap…so if you want to collect cheap cards, then have at it. The same thing can be said about PSA 10 vs lower PSA grades. If you insist on collecting PSA 10, then be prepared to pay up. It is just the reality. The problem I have is most people INSIST on collecting the top-tier stuff then complain when those super rare cards are expensive. Give me a break.
To top it off, these people who constantly complain about prices also tend to slander literally anyone and everyone in the community, constantly. Meanwhile, they fail to realize the bigger picture of the individual collectors in the community. The people in the community who have the largest/most valuable collections have also been collecting for decades, often from the very beginning of the hobby. They have spent tons of time, energy and money to acquire the cards that they have in the first place. At the end of the day, it is their card and they can do as they please with it.
Also as far as the modern sealed prices goes, everyone knows that this is a short-term blip due to millions of people collecting while COVID causing unpresented supply disruptions. This issue will be resolved eventually but there is absolutely no reason to go and slander literally every single person in the community who has vintage cards or a decent collection.
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Agree. People let negative thoughts related to scalpers, inflated prices, the “focus on money” live rent-free in their heads. It just seems like most people would rather join the mob to complain about something then take time to figure out how to simply enjoy their Pokémon cards.
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Of course things are driven by profits. Pokemon wouldn’t keep designing and printing new cards if it wasn’t profitable. The fact that this trickles downstream to things like collecting Pokemon cards and the “influencers” in the space shouldn’t be a surprise.
As has been said in this thread by multiple people, just don’t let it influence how you enjoy the hobby. Sure, you get priced out of things, but for every person buying up Skyridge holos to grade and flip, there’s someone else just buying it for their collection before prices get too unreasonable.
At the end of the day, if your collection dropped to $0 in value, would you regret purchasing them? If yes, you’ve let profit-driven mentality take over too much of your enjoyment. If not, then you’re still enjoying the hobby for collecting’s sake.
Thanks for the laugh.
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I think OP is ready to hear others thoughts on the matter. It seems a bit harsh to conclude they are complaining and being negative.
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Yikes. Lol. Wait till she’s my age:eyes:
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Me at my local Walmart.
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I just like pokemon cards… If they cost more… I have to save more. Anywhere in the world that there is money to be made, even at the smallest margins, someone will start selling. Humans fucking sell water…
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