I recently read this post on Buyers Remorse.
This post doesn’t specifically pertain to Pokemon but collecting more generally.
This was a really interesting read for me. I saw the recent influx of Pokemon hype, and have always had a love of collecting. It was the exact kind of situation that would entice me down a rabbit hole. I was intrigued and spent a long time learning about the hobby.
I couldn’t get the exact things that I wanted, at least not at prices I was comfortable with. If sellers had been somewhat more flexible with their prices I am sure I would have ended up with (tens of) thousands of dollars worth of cards purely based on the hype. Reflecting on it now I think ‘investment’ was in the back of mind - I’d buy an expensive booster box and it would increase in value over time.
Some time passed, and I was able to think about things more. I did what I suspect many others have done - I invested in another (unnamed) card game. I didn’t collect this game as a child but I watched the program religiously (and loved it) as a kid.
I have invested $4,000 or so at this point, and only recently have I had that ‘wait… hang on a minute’ moment.
I have invested in a number of things in my life. This is not one of them. I have absolutely 0 thoughts or ideas that I am going to make money from collecting, and there is no expectation of returns. That said, I’d like it if my collection retained its value given the concerns outlined below.
I basically dabbled in a bit of everything - chase cards, good looking cards, sealed product etc and whilst I absolutely am enjoying the collecting part of things and can absolutely afford what I’ve spent, I do still find it incredibly difficult noting that it is just cardboard… and that some of my friends/family/colleagues would kill to have $4,000 of disposable income that they would spend on arguably much ‘better’ things.
The main thing that niggles me is that whilst I have that ‘collecting personality’, I hadn’t previously thought of collecting a card game in my adult life. The Pokemon hype has rubbed off on all collectibles, and everything is much more expensive than it was 6 months ago. As such my concerns are compounded - I see peoples collections who have been collecting for years (and were able to get things for much cheaper), want the same (and can afford it (within reason)), but then end up concerned and distressed about my spending.
The thread linked points out that you can just reassess your goals - collect cheaper things etc etc. I absolutely agree - I got 30 cards for $50 many of which I prefer to the ones that individually cost hundreds… but there is still an element of ego. I want to have a cool collection of things that I like, and be able to share it with people in the community who care. Obviously people are more excited about people sharing their collections of chase cards as shown by the storm kicked off by the guy with hundreds of unlimited Charizards recently.
With sealed product (especially in this game), the chances of rare cards are really low. Rare cards are per case so its possible to buy boxes where cases have already had their rare cards pulled. One assumes that these are the boxes likely being resold. So even more so than Pokemon the sealed product market is for a box that whilst it’ll never be opened, and whilst it looks super cool, quite likely has nothing great in it. I overthink things like this and it completely bemuses me.
There is no clear, or definitive question here. Just my mind ramblings, but I’d be very much interested to hear peoples views on the intertwine between finances, collecting goals, and ego.
Thanks
