Welcome to the next Question of the Day! Once we get a few more, Im sure an archive thread will be made and linked. Helpful Considerations may or may not help some people focus their answer, these are blurred to not bother those who have their own ideas.
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The Question of the Day is my way to facilitate community discussion to help members ponder the unanswered questions of the world that are somehow relating to the hobby. Questions are many times open ended and up to interpretation. Feel free to post your thoughts in as much or as little detail as you’d like.
Today’s Question: When is it too much?
Helpful considerations: Is it a price? Is it a quantity? Spacially? Is it developing addictive behavior? Could it be never?
Reddit today was filled with posts of people buying 151 in massive quantities from costco so Ive wondered this. I cant really put an exact number on it since Im sure it varies person to person and situation to situation but maybe not everyone needs master sets or every product. Maybe $50/week should be a good general dollar amount goal and if you are going beyond that you should really be evaluating what you are doing and why. That translates to $2600 per year, thats equivalent to a lot of cards for most people. Or maybe having at least one room in a house dedicated to a collection is over the limit already.
I find it very difficult to answer this question. I think the best i can say is when it is effecting other things in peoples life then i think it is too much, whether thats because you bought out a store and others cant get any or if your kids cant run around because they might bump into cards/displays.
There’s the obvious - are your bills paid and financial future plans being taken care of?
Then there’s more of a - do you need this right now?
I don’t struggle with the first. Everyone should have a retirement plan even if you are 18 and starting work. Get a pension, savings, etc. The way the world is going people under 50 today could be working in to their 70’s if they don’t save (at least in the UK).
Cards go up and down and up again. Yeah it may cost more later to pass on a card now but debt can really spiral. Just make sure that it adds to your collection and that it isn’t on credit or at the expense of other important things. This hobby can consume you if you let it.
I probably struggle with the second part more. Low pop raichu cards, competitiveness. Feeling I should pounce now rather than wait for a sale or a price drop. Affordable but a waste of money over being patient sometimes. I have bought a pop 6 rare card only to have another pop up a month later for cheaper.
While I am lucky to get to retire in my early 50’s , as long as my investments don’t crash, I could certainly be more effective with my cash than buying raichu graded cards and go even earlier. Still a few years away anyway.
But on the flip side of that. My dad has now retired but is incredibly bored. By having hobbies (even expensive ones like pokemon!) I’ll have things to do when I hit the age I can hang up my working boots.
Thanks for starting this thread. I would be asking myself what my financial and emotional situation would be like if all my cards went to zero and I lost my source of income, and whether I spend too much time thinking about the Pokemon cards to the point I neglect my job, family and friends.
That’s a topic that always interested me. I definitely agree with previous answers:
-when it starts feeling like a burden or an intrusive thought, an obsession or something that “you HAVE to” since you’re committed/is a good deal/you’re losing the train… then, probably is better to take a pause.
-when family or dear ones start being concerned for you or the situation, please listen to them. Yeah, sometimes people don’t understand niche hobbies and true passion but, more often than not, they can see when an individual is blinded and taking a downward spiral.
-if you aren’t in those cases but still, you feel nothing when acquiring a card you once were dreaming about. If you have no joy, or just you’re not in the mood for pokemon cards: don’t buy it. If you start loving another hobby or have other expenses that get the priority, then it’s honestly healthy and perfectly fine to take a pause.
Also, I’m of the boring idea that a hobby should be enjoyed with a fraction of your income/net worth (unless you’re one of the very few, very responsible individuals knowing perfectly what they’re doing).
The % is debatable for sure and I’m curious to listen other thoughts about that.
It’s just that you can’t see what the future is preparing for you: things are always changing, what’s important for us and what we need aren’t fixed in time.
Overspending on shiny beautiful cardboard would definitely reduce your options in time of urgent needs or when real life-changing opportunities arise.
It’s too much when you realize what you are gaining doesn’t bring you the same happiness it used to, and you stop appreciating the things you already have, or you don’t appreciate enough the new things you are bringing in.
This can apply to this hobby, collecting in general, or really any purchase. For me, my personal time and space is really valuable so once I feel like something is more of a burden, I may look to declutter, reorganize, or reinvest my time and resources into something that feels more valuable or makes me happy.
It’s basically echoing the posts above but for me the main rule is that when it leads into unreasonable sadness it’s too much. It’s ok and sometimes part of the hobby to be sad when you lose an auction or sell an item in auction for a loss when it doesn’t fetch enough interest. But i’s not okay to be sad since you are living in poverty because of too much purchases, it’s not okay to be sad because your spouse is spwnding everything and dedicating life for collecting and neglecting everything else, or it’s not okay to go with your kids to buy pokemon cards and be left empty handed seeing grown up people fighting for products in front of you.