Just as a reminder … Species Collecting is subjective … There are no 100% established rules because it varies depending the person …
I know several Species Collectors that collects every variant in every language + Cameos + Alt. Species (Evolution Family/Regional Forms) (they even consider Misc. TCG, bootleg and other stuff), but there are other Species Collectors that only collects English/Japanese, 1 card per artwork, etc … Even, there are some people who skip cameos, tournament variants, Art contests, etc.
Each person has their own rules and priorities for collecting …
You can be a Kubfu Species Collector and be happy with 2 English cards: Non-Holo & Reverse Holo …
It’s only expensive if you lack curiosity. A hobby just has to be an enjoyable way to pass time. Reading forums, watching videos, going to card shops/shows and talking to other collectors is pretty low cost and makes up a lot more of the hobby than simply owning objects.
Whilst I agree there are categories of the market that are absolutely still affordable and within a casual collector’s means, that doesn’t you can casually collect just anything still. It’s semantics really-- everyone will define it differently.
I think a lot of people answering no are projecting their own philosophies-- that they’re happy making steep concessions on grades, or changing what era or set is being collected. Or rather, they already collect what is and has been attainable.
The pool of cards that lies within a casual collector’s means is shrinking. Vintage cards, both raw and graded, are going up. I have competing bids on my auctions for non-holo set cards exceeding 10,000 yen each. The holos can easily exceed 100,000 yen each.
I do appreciate the art in modern, but I’m not completing sets of modern or doing anything with intent. I’ll buy a one-off copy to have on a whim. I don’t view that as collecting.
Whilst I wouldn’t call myself a casual collector, even if I were-- I’m still not shifting my vintage goals to modern just because I’m priced out. My goals are my goals. I’m not going to buy something I don’t want just because I can’t afford what I do want-- I’ll just take my money elsewhere.
Seconded on giving up on sealed. In my case it would have been to open and just have fun with but I also just couldn’t be bothered anymore once it became about tracking/predicting drop times, and hoping you could get in before everything sold out. Previously if I had a bit of spare money I might browse the PC for an ETB just to open for fun but these days every product is just marked as Sold Out and there’s nothing to buy.
Recently somebody at work was telling me about how they are getting into buying modern but it’s difficult for me to relate when they have a wealthy background and keep casually dropping hundreds of pounds at a time on a single booster box and £10 per booster on Ascended Heroes. That last one shocked me…£10 for single booster. I thought it was a joke until I checked the prices on ebay and they were indeed £10-£12 per single pack.
I mean, they’re enjoying it so fair play to them. And it’s good to have someone in the workplace that I can actually speak to about Pokemon cards but man, I couldn’t afford to burning that much cash on box after box. Buying a single semi-expensive vintage holo every few weeks is where I’m at right now lol
Obviously it’s all relevant to disposable income but I don’t think it’s possible for just anyone to say that they want to get in on it too when general prices for packs and boxes are the initial determining factor.
There are some good suggestions here though about doing things differently and doing species collecting for example. I just wish anybody could go and buy a pack or two without shortages or massively inflated prices. I know I keep banging the WOTC days drum but even during the tcg playground craze of that time, I don’t remember ever having trouble buying packs…they were always available and the price remained the same all the way into the ex era.
Some things are overvalued. Some things are not. It’s a rough market for anyone who doesn’t have expendable income to use on a hobby. I’m very adamant about having more than one hobby, and I collect art, pottery, and glass. No hobby is safe though. There are a couple artists I like, such as Tom Whalen, and their drops are super competitive and will often sell out fast and then hit the secondary market at 3-5x.
I’ve been collecting for a while so I’ve learned to be patient and understand this is a journey, not a race. If I don’t 10/10 complete something, I’m ok with that. If I have to wait 5 years to get something, I’m also ok with that.