Pokemon is defying the stock and collectibles market.

[miltankherder]

@chavycat

@miltankherder

I think it is mimicking the actual market. People are/were in a buying frenzy for the past month or so. There has been a noticeable increase in Pokemon prices, but people do have: stimulus money, more free time to get into hobbies, etc. I think this jump will be temporary, and when things are “back to normal” you will see card prices go “back to normal.” But then again, I could be completely wrong…and the new prices now will be the new floor prices going forward.

I feel like the buying frenzy in the stock market is because most stocks took a huge hit and you could get great companies on sale.
Idk why the pokemarket is like this right now but I’m seeing new record prices every. Single. Day!

I mean, if you’re looking to sell off some cards now is seemingly a great time to do so !

[teamrocketop]

@mcorey777

@teamrocketop

I know my brother in Australia is getting 1600 every two weeks for the next 6 months and deferred mortgage payment. But you know, we got one check, so all good.

One check is not enough for the average American. Think about all the people that worked at simple low paying jobs and lived check to check. People are about to be homeless because they don’t exactly send out rent vouchers too. Not to mention anywhere on the east coast is $1200-$2000 plus a month just for rest before bills

I was totally exaggerating in my response lol, im just smacking my brother right now

[mcorey777]

O you’re fine and I was off topic haha I’m random like that sometimes. But one check isn’t enough. But on topic at least Pokemon is thriving and i happen to have a very nice collection but I have no interest in selling so cash flow has definitely been rough for me and almost everyone I know

[starkbait]

@pokeaddict84

Literally my only long-term pokemon card investment at this point is my PSA crystal set I was planning to hold onto for years. Seeing some of the cards like Lugia almost double in price has made it really hard for me to not cash in at this point. Personally I don’t feel comfortable buying into this market, but again I only buy 1-2 cards a year I need to right now since most of my needs don’t come up very often I buy them regardless of what the overall market is like.

it’s taking every ounce of my body not to cash in on my PSA 10 Crystal Lugia

[mcorey777]

@starkbait

@pokeaddict84

Literally my only long-term pokemon card investment at this point is my PSA crystal set I was planning to hold onto for years. Seeing some of the cards like Lugia almost double in price has made it really hard for me to not cash in at this point. Personally I don’t feel comfortable buying into this market, but again I only buy 1-2 cards a year I need to right now since most of my needs don’t come up very often I buy them regardless of what the overall market is like.

it’s taking every ounce of my body not to cash in on my PSA 10 Crystal Lugia

Don’t do it unless necessary I’m sure if you wait longer you will make much more. But who knows great card and epic to have as a PSa 10 congrats

[sacari]

Here are all the factors I can think of that are contributing to this.

1. PSA isn’t or is slowly grading cards.
2. People bored stuck at home buying what they love because they have nothing else to do (this was me).
3. Stimulus money.
4. The things increasing in price already had somewhat of a scarcity element to them. I think everyone is forgetting this one. Did everyone think raw 1st ed WOTC cards and sealed packs would always stay the same price? Also I don’t really see any increase in any modern product. Good condition old product is becoming harder and harder to come by.
5. This was going to happen anyway. I was seeing pretty significant increases in prices before covid was really a thing, covid just sped this up.

I truly believe #4 and #5 are the biggest reasons. Covid and stimulus cheques couldn’t do this alone without a driving force behind them.

[pokeaddict84]

@sacari

@pokeaddict84

“I only buy 1-2 cards a year”

Damn that takes a lot of restraint. You must be really dedicated to your goals.

It’s not restraint I’ll buy more if I could but what I need only shows up very rarely

[fresco]

@sacari

Here are all the factors I can think of that are contributing to this.

1. PSA isn’t or is slowly grading cards.
2. People bored stuck at home buying what they love because they have nothing else to do (this was me).
3. Stimulus money.
4. The things increasing in price already had somewhat of a scarcity element to them. I think everyone is forgetting this one. Did everyone think raw 1st ed WOTC cards and sealed packs would always stay the same price? Also I don’t really see any increase in any modern product. Good condition old product is becoming harder and harder to come by.
5. This was going to happen anyway. I was seeing pretty significant increases in prices before covid was really a thing, covid just sped this up.

I truly believe #4 and #5 are the biggest reasons. Covid and stimulus cheques couldn’t do this alone without a driving force behind them.

Modern singles got a hefty reduction ranging from 10 to 60%. Most of the biggest reductions came from competitive cards since the meta is kinda a big (?). Still some earlier stuff from black and white era has dipped as well.

So the increase of course, is only in old sets. Nothing new

[PokemonRadar]

it is interesting to see. I sold a good chunk of stuff in prep for a decline, but vintage pokemon is not just holding, its doing well! If this continues throughout and time allows the market to stabilize and unemployment to turn around, vintage pokemon could easily see more of the quick growth we have all been experiencing the past few years.

[pokemonargentina]

@randox

Pokémon market will get hit hard if this recession lasts a while. Currently everyone In the states is using their 1.5k stimulus on online shopping and Pokémon cards. Once the stimulus dries up we should see some falls. My opinion only.

this

[EnlightenedBulbasaur]

Again, the idea that the boom in the Pokemon market is primarily related to stimulus checks really doesn’t make any sense given that the boom in the vintage Pokemon market was already taking place well before the US government sent out stimulus checks.

To some extent, prices were already increasing naturally pre-COVID, but I think the acceleration of prices is related to people spending all their time at home and needing to find things to do.

[zubat]

Since we are all participants of this market, we can share our own experience about how our spending habits have changed.

I had an increase in buying set cards during the lockdown. Still employed. Spare time, spare money.

I financed a card a few months ago, so my stimulus will pay off debt.

If it wasn’t paying of debt, you better bet I’d use it to by a PSA 8 1st edition Charizard. Better yet, I’d buy the Charizard ahead of time on a credit card, so I can get it at the current price. Because of this, I don’t think timing is necessary for us to attribute increases to stimulus checks. Most have means to get the cash flow early.

Pokemon set cards have sat for two years, so we were due for a price increase. But these unusual circumstances make me skeptical. Printing money leads to inflation. If the government is handing out free money, I’d raise my prices. There are unintended consequences surrounding us waiting to reveal themselves.

[randox]

Yes good point above. Lots of money printing happening. No one saying there wasn’t increases occurring before COVID but prices have literally gone exponential over the last month. And yes, the stimulus cheque does add incremental buying pressure. It’s not the only factor… one other big factor is more people joining in on the “bubble”. Various people I have talked to believe these prices will never go down again and they must buy now. Clear signs of FOMO in this market… It is healthy to expect corrections after such big movements like we are seeing, thats all i’m saying.

[yz2428]

folks, i think everyone missed a very obvious contributor: girls. most pokemon collectors are in the prime of dating still. girls are expensive. now with social distancing, guys no longer have to spend money on girls.

on a serious note, i think it’s just that the hobby is hitting critical mass. there is a larger pool of collectors/investors and there is more interest in pokemon as an asset pool. it doesn’t take many new buyers to enter the market to notice serious price spikes. most of the desirable cards on eBay only have a handful copies at best. i mean look at the pop report. there’s not that much supply!

[chok]

For those who were in the hobby when the ‘Pokemon Go Explosion’ occurred from March to November of 2017, this looks and feels the exact same.

Is this the ‘Stimulus Check Explosion’?

Not that my opinion is worth anything, but I personally think Pokemon is and will be THE collectible especially for our generation (±1), I collect YGO too but I personally think Pokemon has a stronger name and a more global reach. Vintage Baseball cards had this kind of explosion in the 80s and it was THE collectible for people born in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

I do feel that one of the reasons why most Pokemon cards are experiencing a surge in prices these past few months is due to many people cashing out from the stock market and/or other traditional investments hence have some cash in hand. Us humans being irrational creatures will spend more if they have more accessible cash also FOMO.

If this is anything like 2017, expect higher record prices because the market is deeper than ever right now due to the accessible cash available.

[smpratte]

I like how in one thread we have videos from 1999 talking about pokemon being a fad/bubble, and here is the current version of that same discussion.

[randox]

@smpratte

I like how in one thread we have videos from 1999 talking about pokemon being a fad/bubble, and here is the current version of that same discussion.

I can’t recall anyone saying that Pokémon was a fad here? A bubble in the Pokémon card collectible market is a different statement altogether. Do you disagree that we are seeing a speculative bubble forming here? The human emotions of fear and greed and prevalent in every kind of market… Pokémon cards are not an exception.

[uncledad]

nothing goes up forever without eventually falling. pokemon is interesting in that its essentially tulip bulbs + nostalgia. you have crazy fomo tied to crazy emotion. i believe it will eventually do what magic has in terms of a drop or crash, but its how far you go up before you come down that matters. what boggles my mind is how much some modern cards go for given how many are available.

[smpratte]

@randox

@smpratte

I like how in one thread we have videos from 1999 talking about pokemon being a fad/bubble, and here is the current version of that same discussion.

I can’t recall anyone saying that Pokémon was a fad here? A bubble in the Pokémon card collectible market is a different statement altogether. Do you disagree that we are seeing a speculative bubble forming here?

I honestly don’t care. If people think everything is a bubble, cool, make sure you highlight which bubble:

1999 Fad Bubble
2009-10 youtube Bubble
2011-12 instgram/social media Bubble
2014 Gold star Bubble
2016 pokemon go Bubble
2020 Stimulus Check Bubble
2022??? Bubble
2024 Profit?.. Bubble

[KingPokemon]

@uncledad

nothing goes up forever without eventually falling…

I can speak from experience here. Some things did use to stay up for longer though,