Off the top of my head, there are two direct ways of giving back to the community. There are definitely more but these are the two I thought of:
Giveaway. Pick a platform and host a giveaway. Maybe make it a contest or some sort of random drawing, either way. The prize can be modest or rather handsome, but it’s the thought that counts. Perhaps a series of smaller ones or several small winners would be good to reach more people.
Project. There is always research to be done and information to be compiled. Today I saw a thread by a member on here linking to a website with price information for a lot of cards. Something like this is perfect. Obviously that idea is already taken.
I’m kinda new myself. Been playing for 20 years but just got back into collecting a few months ago. Smpratte is a really good guy to follow on youtube. He’s super knowledgable.
Only advice I can give is to not overleverage yourself. I kinda made the mistake of buying a little too much at once and got myself into a cash crunch once. Had no money for like two weeks haha. Aside from that, welcome to the community! Super glad to have you. I specialize in the gym challenge set so if you have any questions regarding that, let me know
I second Reina here, just taking some time out of your day to stop by the forums and contribute to discussion or answer questions is a great way to support the collectors and community here. I don’t really engage outside of E4 but you could apply the same strategy to other social media platforms like twitter, facebook groups, reddit, instagram etc. to support the overall pokemon community.
One thing I’ll note about youtube is unless you are watching their videos, subscriptions is only half of the battle. I see your intentions by subscribing but iirc it is the youtube watch times that generates better results into the algorithm? @smpratte can confirm. That being said, I like that idea!
Other ways to contribute to the hobby include supporting your small mom & pop shops over fly-by-night sellers. Yes you might get the card for $2 cheaper, but those mom and pop shops employ other people who enjoy the community, they help give back to the community with a place to play the game, trade, or even socialize with other collectors.
Welcome ex.
Since we’re a serious collectors site you can help us, as you travel the other outlets, by pointing like collectors to the fourum.
We have a thread for new members you should introduce yourself in.
Hi @executive , welcome to the E4 Forum!
When I read your two points I had something in my mind to write, but I see @anon92205803 beat me to it almost word for word (although shorter than I probably would have; I tend to write a wall of text pretty quickly ).
Being enthusiastic about something and sharing this with others makes them more enthusiastic as well. The definition of a hobby is having fun doing something you like to do, and being passioned about it.
Sharing knowledge is part of this as well. I personally joined this forum about two years ago. At the time I just started collecting Pikachus, and had about 250. I joined this forum thanks to @justinator 's collection thread and website. When I had just 250, he had over 550 unique Pikachu cards already, of which some I had never even seen. Because he shared his collection here, I joined as well, and gained a lot of knowledge from him and expanded my checklist. I was also greatly inspired, and might not even have some as far with my collection if it wasn’t for him sharing his collection.
Now I have over 1,000 Pikachu cards myself and wrote some articles (Base Pikachu artwork variations; 1st edition stamp variations; Teach Sets (word-in-progress); etc.) to spread the knowledge I’ve gained over time. I’ve collecting things all my life, but what I like about collecting Pikachu cards is that it has a specific goal to work to, and that I can share with and learn from this awesome community along the way.
Also, what I really like about the community, and mainly E4 in particular, is that we all share this passion and knowledge I mentioned with each other one way or another. It can be in the form of (sometimes heated) discussions; it can be in the form of collection posts and sharing new cards/items you’ve added; it can be by answering questions someone asked; etc. etc.
All in all this already is an awesome community, and I’m happy to hear you are eager to be part of it. Again welcome, and enjoy your stay!
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