Let’s get to know each other a little better
And
Tell us something we don’t know.
Either:
Something about you personally AND a collectors tip.
Just something about you.
Just a collectors tip.
Make sure they’re something at least most of us don’t know.
Here’s mine.
Collectible Tip…
Non-Collectors (whether its parents, friends, or boy/girl friends or spouses) will never understand it so don’t waste you time. When they appear to be listening, their minds are elsewhere. Now money, that they get. Wrap you collectible comments in dollar signs and their ears will prop up;)
Personal Fact:
I was in a motorcycle club.
I quit riding when two of my friends, both pictured, died in motorcycle wrecks.
I’m the one in the middle with my headlight covered with a glove.
Collectors tip: don’t worry about other people’s collections. Yes admire them, but focus on your goals and you to can admire your own stuff.
Personal: played international rugby for England at U18 for clubs and schools and came 2nd in 100m sprint at all England championships with a pb of 10.8
Collector’s Tip: Focus your “for collection” money on your collection goals, try not to disperse, otherwise you will end up with a lot of things that you kinda wanted and less things that you really wanted and needed to fulfill your goals.
Personal: 8x National Champion in rowing in several boats, including 8+, 4-, 2+ and 2-, all when I was a Junior…now stopped due to life priorities
Be obsessed. To get the best value on a tight budget, you don’t have to be rich. You just need the drive to research, source, and capture the pokemon card you want. Deals are always out there.
Cultivate your eyes and ears for great cards. It can be difficult to differentiate a card in great condition or that’s real, from a card that will grade poorly or is fake. The more time you spend researching and submerging yourself in the hobby, the easier it becomes to land on top. Similarly, listen to what other enthusiasts and collectors are saying. Cultivate relationships with the movers and shakers of the pokemon tcg world. Collectors, dealers, “flippers”, and knowledgeable experts offer invaluable perspectives as well as advice, opinions, and perhaps even insider information that will lead you to getting that card you always thought was out of your reach. Again, the deals and opportunity is always out there. You simply need to expose yourself to them.
Have a budget. It doesn’t matter if you make 6 figures or are on minimum wage. Find a budget that works for you and stick by it. Also, always keep a surplus of money saved in case an opportunity for a “grail” card arrives. You don’t want to get caught with your pants down wasting money on stuff you only kinda want or need that you could easily obtain later and not have cash for the unicorn that appears for your price point once in a blue moon.
Have fun. It’s like many people here on E4 have said, art isn’t meant for speculation. Sure, a lot of us want to collect stuff we appreciate/enjoy but also that we foresee as a financial “investment”. I’ve learned that some times, paying a few more bucks to win something I really want is worth more than the time it takes to find one for a deal or what the market dictates the value should be. We as collectors determine the value. If you collect without the intention of making money; you’re going to have a good time. If you don’t have the money to spend, be patient. Wait for the right opportunity as you continue to save your money.
Personal: It took me 6 years to get a 4 year degree in college because I was majoring in a degree I wasn’t interested in, but that my parents convinced me had better career opportunity. I squandered nearly another 5 years of my life working in an industry I didn’t give a shit about as a “backup plan” in case my dream job wasn’t a reality. When I finally came to my senses and started doing what I wanted to do, it only took a year and a half to get established. Do what makes you happy and what you’re passionate about. Don’t waste time trying to impress your friends or parents. If your heart isn’t in something; it’s just not going to be worth it. I’m also a believer in “fake it until you make it”. Never tell a boss or client you don’t know how to do something. We live in an age where information and knowledge is at our fingertips. Learn what you need to learn to make what you want to make. You determine your own value. Be assertive and stick up for yourself, always, especially when it comes to money. The difference between someone making 40K a year and 6 figures usually isn’t intelligence or expertise. It’s personality. Be assertive, be excellent to your coworkers, be social and network with everyone you can, and just like with pokemon cards, you’ll submerge yourself im opportunities for success.
collector’s tip: Collections are not judged by their monetary value, but by their sentimentality and by the stories they contain.
Personal stuff: I really hate running, but it is the only sport I’m okay at (4:49 mile, 2:11 800 meters, 17:55 5k). Also a lot of people like me have one thing that they go really hard in, and I just happened to be drawn to PKMN.
Collectible Tip: Patience is the key to collecting! Sometimes, being too eager to buy or sell an item is a mistake that can cause both financial and personal regret. As others have already suggested, it’s best to have a long-term plan along with short-term budgets. Also, if you are the type of person that buys cards or grades cards with the intention of making a profit, always assume the worst case-scenario; often condition is not truly discernible from online photos. Instead, I’d recommend just appreciating the cards, enjoying the hobby, and embracing the community; like any hobby, fun should be the priority–the rest will follow.
Something Personal: I’ve been an extreme sports junkie for a long time, primarily aggressive inline skating (a dying sport/industry). My friends and I actually run a regular YouTube Vlog about our adventures. Even though most of us are older (20’s-30’s), we try to keep it PG and be good role-models for the kids we encounter (there are a lot of negative stereotypes in the extreme sports community we are trying to eliminate). Feel free to check us out if you’re so inclined . . . this is my year-end montage from 2017:
Collector’s Tip: I’m going to have to echo @jakew1992 - GREAT ADVICE! Don’t overly-focus on what everyone else has; but appreciate what you have accomplished within your own collection! This is actually something that I’ve always struggled with myself. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the collection that I’ve been able to build-up in a relatively short-period. However, I sometimes regret not getting into the collecting-side of Pokemon back when I first started my eBay Business. This is especially true with Social Media being such a big-part of collecting nowadays - being able to see what some of the biggest collectors have accumulated over-time makes me feel like my collection just isn’t as impressive.
Personal Fact: Being within the Maritime Industry, there are a few “big” mile-stones - sailing around the world being one of the biggest. Funnily Enough, I actually accomplished this on my first ship after graduating from college! We started-out with a full-load of military-cargo in Houston, TX; sailed across the Atlantic Ocean; through the Mediterranean Sea; through the Suez Canal; through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (Pirate Waters); up into the Persian Gulf (discharged our cargo in Kuwait); back down the Persian Gulf; across the Indian Ocean - stopping in China, South Korea, and Japan to load new cargo; across the Pacific Ocean; through the Panama Canal; across the Gulf of Mexico; and up the East Coast of the U.S. to Baltimore, MD - this whole voyage took about three-months with a few stops along the way.
Being that I travel A LOT with my job, my parents actually bought me a giant world-map for my college graduation - when I get home from working, I’ll place a pin into each new country that I’ve visited. Since 2015, I’ve traveled to 28 DIFFERENT Countries around the Globe and have been on 6 of the 7 Continents (Missing Antarctica).
Best Job in the World!
We were supposed to be in-and-out of Livorno, Italy (12-18 Hr. Dock-Side). However, after docking, we learned that there was a longshoremen (dock-worker) strike - ended-up spending 3-4 Days in Livorno. You really can’t complain when you’re getting a paid-vacation to visit the Leaning Tower! Haha
WORST Job in the World!
Traveling from Gdansk, Poland to Grand Anse, Canada with 150x 40’ Containers of Dynamite (Yikes)! That’s not even the worst-part, this was Late-Jan. / Early-Feb. - and for those that aren’t familiar, this is not the time of year to spend in the North Atlantic (Very Cold and Rough). And the closer to Canada / Gulf of St. Lawrence we got, the colder it got! The Engine Dept. had an awful time just trying to keep the Engine Temp. high enough - and on top of that, the water-pipes were constantly freezing-up! Just an FYI; salt-water will not freeze at 32 / 0 Degrees - it’s got to be much colder than that for salt-water to freeze.
Tip: Always have all your bills paid and emergency fund funded before going in heavy to your hobby
Personal: Been ballin big time for years. Made 400K in first quarter this year trading options, could make 7 figures by year end prob wont though too busy flying around to Hong Kong, Dubai, NY, etc and CRUSHING it building business deals so one day I’ll be a billionaire, then retire and get blitzed errday, oh wait already do lol yolo
Just kidding, I’m an accountant who drives a civic.
Sometimes you gotta jump the gun, but that’s usually only the case for very rare cards.
For me, in order to reach my goals I will have to manage my money well because I only have a part time job and im still in school so my spending spool isn’t that big if I don’t buy smart. For trophy cards and such I agree, you should not hesitate if you have the option and want it.
Meanwhile with my 12 hours per week in a grocery store I managed to acquire lot’s of amazing cards last 2 years because I always considered my options well. I’ve owned basically each crystal, 1st and gold stars (with the exception of torchic and rayquaza) in PSA 10 and my collection I would value now over 6 figures (While my annual wage is maybe like 13k because yeah… only part time as im still in school). This was only because I was patient, always made smart purchases or tried getting cards for good deals. Otherwise my collection would never have came this far.
So me trying to buy cards as a smart investment only means 1 thing for me, that I can expand my collection more
Collector’s tip: Don’t be afraid to ask experts for help, but also ask and remember how they did it so you can learn from it and do so yourself in the future. I’ve learned a lot after I joined this forum, and would never have thought I’d be the one to write articles like my Base Pikachu Variations article, 1st edition stamps article, or lists of all Pokémon variations, etc. Thanks to what I learned here, and discovered for myself while collecting, I’ve been able to do this (and it’s why I now have over 1,000 Pikachus, something I also would have laughed at if someone said I would have when I started with those 150 ).
Something personal: I played soccer for one year when I was 7 years old. Won the 1st price with my team, and never played it again. I don’t like soccer… After that I played Judo till I had the brown band at the age of 14 (although never won anything ironically). But since you had to be 16 years or older to be able to get the first black band, I quit at that point.
Since then I played badminton just like my little brother and dad, and still enjoy it. I play on Mondays, and when we have a competition match at another club on their playing evening (usually Wednesday or Thursday). Since I gained some weight after I bought my car almost a year ago (I used to cycle every day before, but haven’t touched my bike in halve a year now…) I’ve been thinking about playing badminton on two evenings (Monday and Wednesday) next season after the Summer vacation, at two different badminton clubs like my little brother does. (Oh, and luckily I have won some prices with badminton in the past, all three places at least once. )
Wow. Can I identify with this. The advice is spot on. About 45 years ago my parents put me through college because they wanted me to be a scientist. I majored in Biological Chemistry with a minor in my true love, journalism. I wrote and co edited the UCLA Daily Bruin. Some of my articles were on The Marijuana Research Clinic, smoking, the school morgue, and maxillo facial prothsetics. I absolutely loved the research and writing. Unfortunately a degree in the sciences, especially for one not motivated, is a very difficult task.
To this day I regret not following my true love and that says a lot considering how many years I have had to reflect on it.
So as Chris said, if it comes down to a choice follow your heart.
It wasn’t that many memories ago that I had that choice to make and it changed the course of my entire life…as everything does.
Collecting tip : I recommend only buying cards you actually want, and only when you feel like it. You don’t HAVE to buy a card you do not actually want just because it appears to be underpriced or undervalued. Doing so can hamper your ability to buy cards you actually do want. Is something actually going to go up in price? You do not know, and speculating always carries risk. Collect cards you do want, and don’t ‘invest’ in cards you don’t actually want.
Personal : My name is Anthony, I am 29 years old, I have a degree in History, and Art History from the University of Minnesota, and I have been the Best Man in three of my friends weddings over the past three years. I also play a lot of chess.
Tip: Don’t worry what other people think about the cards and keep the valuable stuff in a water proof safe. You never think about flooding till it happens to you.
Personal: I teach physics and advise the anime club for my school. I also love to play super smash bros competitively,
Collector Tip: Don’t focus too much on the money. Focus on your own values in life and the hobby and eventually opportunities(or money) will find you. Also, a sugarmama can be helpful. I startet collecting what I like and enjoy looking at. I started engaging in communities in Norway, building relations and earning friends along with collecting what I like and sharing my collection with my friends and family. Most of them will never understand but as @garyis2000 mentioned, they understand the numbers. I also create short videoes when I receive packages with cards and call the “Pokénings” that I share with my brothers because they understand my humour. I have punched in every card with some kind of value in Excel from day 1 and I now have more than I ever thought I would have and I have actually earned money doing it. Still not focusing on the money, but it’s nice to see that by limiting my own collection and selling everything I don’t want, I can avoid going bancrupt as a student
Something Personal: I have the Base set artwork tattoed on my calf. My little brother has Machop and my big brother has Machamp. I lift weights because I was tired of being bullied for being a 195cm stick, weighing 70kg.(Sorry for not using feet and Lbs). Allthough now people think I look like a tall and shredded douchebag with a tattoo of someone flexing on my leg
But seriously, I study health, nutrition and sports. I enjoy working out because I know how much it has done for me and my own quality of life, and I want to share this and help others. Currently writing my bachelors degree about Health related quality of life and the link between activity levels and HRQL.
Funfact: I have helped 2 new collector-friends getting into training, not only weights, to improve their life and mental health Working out in any form is such a great way to improve your life. Its’s like therapy! Just like spending my saturday evening sorting my cards and enjoying artworks while everyone is out getting wasted
After that I played Judo till I had the brown band at the age of 14 (although never won anything ironically). But since you had to be 16 years or older to be able to get the first black band, I quit at that point.
I startet collecting what I like and enjoy looking at. I started engaging in communities in Norway, building relations and earning friends along with collecting what I like and sharing my collection with my friends and family. Most of them will never understand but as 
