Do I like IG? Yes I do. It’s cool to see just pictures of other collectors, share knowledge in the comments, ask questions about certain cards, and share pictures yourself others can react to. Only big disadvantage is that it’s crap to search and cannot be sorted. Posts without tags basically cannot be found at all, unless you go directly to someone’s profile.
Do I like it in terms of selling/buying/trading? No, not really. IG is a place where a lot of collectors like myself share their pictures. Most of the stuff is NFS unless stated otherwise. Sure, there are users that sell stuff on IG all the time, and I have bought a card from one of those sellers once, but those sellers usually spam posts, so I removed them from my follow list within a day or two since I couldn’t see a lot of the other posts anymore…
Also, from the four buys I did on Instagram thus far, two went great (one was from an Efour member btw), and two were scams (one I got my money back, the other not due to my own stupidity…) So no, for selling/buying/trading I prefer to stay with eBay, CardMarket, and actual Pokémon webshops, and occasionally the Efour forum, reddit, or Facebook group posts.
If you want to buy stuff on Instagram, just avoid raffles completely, always pay with PayPal G&S no matter how tiny the buy-price is, and ask for tracked shipment (perhaps even film the opening on arrival, just in case). Just my 2c.
My experience on IG may not apply to most because most of the Pokémon IGer’s know me. I’ll simply state how it is for me but take it with a grain of salt.
Now you’ll find several times in the past where I voiced that I was no fan of the concept of IG. Boy, was I wrong.
First off, I started only several months ago. I still don’t know the difference between Primary and General.
I’m sitting at over 4500 followers going up every hour including every big name in the business (except Scumbagpratte I think ?).
Many of my 160 posts have little to do with Pokémon.
Now the interesting part.
I’ve made over 500 sales in this short time, probably 50 were multi thousands.
I’ve had zero returns or requests for reductions.
Every single buy and trade has gone flawlessly. Some slow deliveries but that’s no problem for me especially during this virus.
Of those hundreds and hundreds of sales only 2 were goods/services and one of those was in error.
THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. So impressive. They make me proud to be a part of this community.
I can honestly say many are now friends who I’ve taken a great interest in.
So, that’s my experience. Again, not everyone is King Pokémon (thank God). But the sincerity from those people I talk to daily, can’t be faked. They love the hobby and sincerely seem to like me.
Today I can truly say, I am super grateful for Instagram.
Is there a way to keep instagram private? This is my private hobby, in no way linked to my public self. My concern with social media is the public nature if it. I would consider instagram if I could make an account solely related to my pokemon collecting. Not meaning for this to come off strange but I like to compartmentalize professional/social/hobbies although of course they blend sometimes. But I prefer that be my choice
You can easily make a pokemon collection account only. I just did: www.instagram.com/exdragonfrontiers/
Like you I also like to keep things seperate : )
Yeah, that’s been an issue for me as well. I wanted to join some facebook groups, but I don’t want to use my private account for that. But creating new account with no friends will look extremely fishy and probably will not allow me to join and even if it will, people won’t have much trust.
I have the same experience as Gary. Lots of new friends and connections. Heavy pokemon activity daily, and you will pick up most trends and whats happening. I bearly go onto Facebook anymore. Yes its hard to search, but you will get used to how it works. And to be private, just set up a separate pokemon dedicated account, so none of your «normal» friends can see your obscure hobby, lol. And all the dodgy waffers you do not need to follow.
I enjoy it. You can unfollow people if they start posting raffles and I get a chance to see collections that are not just PSA 10 Charizard (which of course I enjoy as well), but things like whole Pokemon collection rooms, people collecting Pokemon binders, stamps, Japanese exclusives, plushies. I also follow accounts that alter Pokemon art, make Pokemon sculptures, design fake Pokemon… it’s fun to scroll. I have the same eBay handle as my Instagram and it’s great for avoiding fees. I have done maybe thirty? transactions over the past 2-3 years and had no issues.
My Pokemon account is separate from my public and private personal accounts.
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