This post is a bit more for me than most. While it does have some new parts of my collection I want to share, it’s also going to be bit of a life update for me, if that’s OK. I kind of like using this forum as a journal in a way. It’s nice to have a time stamped progress of my collection, and seeing it grow these past few months has really been something! I also want to thank this community for being so wonderful and informative! I’ve learned so much about the TCG since I’ve been a member here. I love waking up every morning and checking the newest threads to see what everyone is talking about. I usually just lurk, but it’s exciting to see everyone’s passion. IDK, I’m just feeling all sentimental today. 
I’m done with finals, so that’s probably it! I feel so relieved and stress free! It’s like a new me!
So, with this post, I’m going to give you, and myself, a bit of a collection goals update, a scanner test, and what’s to come for anyone following this thread. (For those who have been, thank you!)
So, here’s the collection bit of the post so you don’t have to scroll through my collection/future rambles if you don’t want to!
I had some empty pack wrappers in one of my binders (all packs opened by me!) and thought it would be fun to share some high quality images of them. The packs were scanned in, and made transparent in Photoshop. I haven’t done any other editing to the images since it was a small test, so they’re a little messy/off center. Feel free to use these in any edits you want to make, just please credit me! I tried to go for older artwork with these scans. If anyone needs any more edits on these, let me know! I can also try and send you the original file if you need it!
Also, I wanted to test the scanner on some of my cards. Here are some of my favorite pieces in my collection, my beautiful NM ungraded crystal cards! Love these guys so much! Still missing Celebi and Charizard. Going to try and track those two down this summer! Also, summer Pokesoap is a much more aggressive collector than school Pokesoap, so expect lots of updates, new stuff.
So, now for the life, collection update portion of this post.
My collection goals are the following, still very similar to the original post, in this order.
-Collect every English main series set in standard print
-Collect every English main series MASTER set.
-Note! My definition of a master set is as follows, and this is my personal opinion! For me, a master set must contain all known variations of a card in a set, excluding cards that are one off errors or cards that are incredibly over my price point at the moment/rare. The variations I’m looking for are well known recurring errors as well as well known repeated variations. I want to make my collection as beautiful and insane as possible, and I’m excited to do so!
-Collect every English promo and subset w/ the same MASTER set goals as the English main series sets.
-Collect Japanese exclusive sets and Japanese exclusive non-trophy promo cards.
-Maybe go for trophy cards??? We’ll see where I stand at this point in my life!
Stretch goals when collecting gets much more specific/wants become a lot harder to find.
-PSA9s of every holo, Ultra Rare, and Secret rare. (English) A crazy goal, but a fun one. Might dabble into 10s, but I prefer the price and character of the minor imperfections found in 9s.
-Ultimate Pokedex! 3 of every variation of every Pokemon ever printed! Excluding non-set cards priced over $500. Spaces will be left for these cards, but I understand that achieving this with some cards is very very difficult.
So, that’s it for the long term stuff, going to go into the short term stuff now!
-I want to try and get to Target and or Walmart this weekend to start loading up on new binders! Going to go for Avery 1/2" and 1" D ring for now. Going to eventually transfer to Premium Ultra Pro in the future when money allows, but I am going to get Ultra Pros for the following sets, 'cause they DESERVE IT BABY.
-Expedition
-Aquapolis
-Skyridge
-EX Dragon (working towards a master set of this set currently, and I want it to have a special binder! )
-Going to update sleeves and buy PILES of penny sleeves for the uncommons/commons that need it. The Holos will be upgraded to Ultra Pro sleeves.
-Going to get new binder pages for everything.
-Going to make a pass through my collection and update condition! Going to take a close look at each card in my collection, and decide if it’s going to stay or not. E4 has made me a lot pickier about condition, and I want my collection to look as nice and beautiful as it can be!
Thank you for reading if you got this far! I admit this post was more for me to write down my thoughts, but I also wanted to share some random pieces lying around in my collection.
Expect some cool stuff in the future, mainly pictures of new binders/sleeves. And expect a buy thread soon with cards that need an update! I want to aim towards NM with these cards. I’ll be coming to E4 first, 'cause I know you guys have some fine stock. Card you wanted to grade has an unexpected nick in it that bumps it down? Give it here! I’ll pay extra if the card is NM+.
Once again, thank for for taking the time out of your day to read my rambles! Pokesoap out, and feeling refreshed!
-Madison S.
? You know Pam?
What happened?
