What are your unpopular opinions in pokemon?

[Vertemes]

@ddk

Look, Vert. You’re a huge fan of Skibidi Toilet and nobody here keeps asking you to justify why you collect memorabilia of a man’s head emerging from a toilet bowl. No need to play the moral high ground by trying to find a “valid argument” when plenty of users have already given personal reasons as to why they enjoy collecting sealed boxes. How are their reasons any less valid than your reasons for liking something?

I understand there’s a lot of frustration surrounding modern sealed collecting with supply shortages and scalping but nobody should ever feel the need to justify why they collect what they do (provided it isn’t illegal).

I just said it’s the worst kind of collecting in the TCG, not because of shortages or scalpers, it’s because I don’t exactly see a reason to do it and it fills up too much space. Nothing is wrong with doing it, and I don’t care about it in terms of a financial standpoint (other than how the lines are super duper blurred.)

If you also keep reading, you’ll notice that I barely even mention the market surrounding it, and just about how it takes up space and stuff. I even rescinded some of my argument when I had found a super valid argument as for why there is a valid use for it.

@Vertemes

1st off: Amazing point! Significant milestones rather than nostalgia is quite a valid reason to keep some items sealed. Having a reminder or a keepsake of important memories by using sealed collections is a unique idea, and I can honestly see this as a reason for collecting! Well done!

@Vertemes

I enjoy the product because it protects the cards, If I wanted to get nostalgia from a set, I would just either A. Get the cards B. If they’re too expensive, save up. Also every single card I get goes in my “childhood” collection (3 binders so far!) That I REGUARLY look through.

@Vertemes

@RabidSquirtle

Let me ask you this question, if you got a pristine blister of ex deoxys what would you do? Would you treasure the cards as much as the pack or regret opening a set that I’m assuming is one of your favorites just to get a non holo rare?

I would ABSOULTELY LOVE to open a EX Deoxys pack. The thrill of potentially pulling the rayquaza outweighs the risk not weighing one. I will come out happy no matter the outcome.

@lamplamp

There comes a point after you’ve completed collecting all of the cards in a set where moving on to sealed packs/booster box becomes the logical next step.

No not really. There will always be new cards and new sets that release, and because of that I’ll always stay collecting. I also don’t like having to increase space for booster boxes and packs if I don’t have to.

[ddk]

Are you taking a debate class this semester? I really don’t understand what you’re trying to prove to this community by finding ways to argue against people’s personal anecdotes and experiences.

[Vertemes]

The experiences was the main reason I rescinded some of my argument:

@voltagic

I really like you sharing this opinion and the discussions and different perspectives that followed

For me personally, I partially get your perspective, especially when I see people share their “sealed collections” on the Pokemon Investment subreddit for example.

However, I have some sealed items in my own collection that make a lot of sense to me. For me they are the celebration of a historic moment that helped shape my childhood, with which I connect a lot of nostalgia as well. The packages themselves ARE nostalgic to me, not only the content. As a collector, I am interested in owning something with RARITY, which not everyone else owns or can easily get their hands on. Some of these old items are definitely starting to become rarer in sealed condition.

I own the following sealed objects, despite not being a sealed collector (not limited to TCG):

• Base Set Booster Box: I have very strong memories of seeing these boxes behind the counter in the toy stores.
• Pokemon Red & Pokemon Blue: If it wasn’t for the video games, none of us would be here collecting the cards. These games were so impactful on my childhood.
• Pokemon Celebrations UPC: It was near impossible to find this for MSRP. It reminds me of the small victory I had when actually finding it at a local store. I intended to open this for the Metal Cards, but ended up falling in love with how it looks displayed next to my base box, the one that started it all.

I guess in short my opinion would be: collecting sealed items can definitely make sense and there are a wide variety of reasons why someone would want to have a sealed item in their collection.

@Vertemes

1st off: Amazing point! Significant milestones rather than nostalgia is quite a valid reason to keep some items sealed. Having a reminder or a keepsake of important memories by using sealed collections is a unique idea, and I can honestly see this as a reason for collecting! Well done!

Trust me, the last thing I would want to do is dunk on a person’s personal experiences. It also facilitated a good discussion about it, and that was my main purpose of posting the opinion.

[Quuador]

You do realize this is the ‘unpopular opinions’ thread, right? Tbh, I can see what Vert is coming from, as I mentioned above:

@Quuador

In general I do agree with your opinion, though. Why collect the sealed booster packs and boxes, when you can have both the cards inside it AND still have the empty booster packs and boxes for display purposes. Especially with how expensive sealed products, especially vintage booster boxes, can be.

I do also agree with what you mentioned here:

@ddk

nobody should ever feel the need to justify why they collect what they do (provided it isn’t illegal).

But it’s just a different opinion. Vert never mentioned people shouldn’t collect sealed product. He himself simply doesn’t understand why people would collect sealed products, when you can have those same unsealed products AND its contents at the same time as alternative, which is a pretty valid point tbh.

Greetz,
Quuador

[ddk]

@Vertemes

So far no one has given me a valid argument, and I can consistently bring up facts and information without moving the goalpost

I was not a fan of his earlier dismissive attitude. I don’t think a single person can be the judge of what is considered a “valid argument” in this context.

[Vertemes]

Ah, I can definetly see that being a problem. It was kinda harsh, Apologies!

[ddk]

Appreciate the maturity, king.

[smpratte]

This is a solid discussion topic! Sealed is the most tumultuous side of collecting. No other category was entirely removed from Fanatics. I have ptsd listing any valuable box on ebay due to reverse scams. An authentication option could resolve these issues. However it won’t remove the culture. No one is stampeding anyone for old back Japanese promos!

Storage is another inherent problem with sealed. I trip over boxes all the time in the grandma house. Numerous other people have asked me over the years how to not trip over boxes. Similar to something like Legos, you can fit hundreds of cards in a box. There might even be hundreds of cards already in the boxes!

Anyway this is a great topic as sealed presents many issues that just don’t exist in collecting the actual cards.

[Vertemes]

Thanks SMPratte!

[kromaticlanturn]

I am extremely underwhelmed by The Glory of Team Rocket. All modern just looks the same to me now.

[wisewailmer]

I didn’t wanna say it but… Yeah
Ho oh looks nice, and IRs look good (they always do)

Am I missing something obvious? This is the set we’re all freaking out about?

[Vertemes]

+1 to team rocket set

[smpratte]

Almost immediately after making my post about the issues with sealed, I get this message:

[thsigma]

Well, is it???

[Vertemes]

Yeah, The world needs to know!!!

[RabidSquirtle]

[kromaticlanturn]

Yeaahh… kinda disappointing really. I think I’ll just by singles of WOTC Team Rocket in 1st ed for the binder rather than get any of this new fangled stuff. Back in my day, Team Rocket was loaded with amazing and unique Himeno and Tanaka artwork..

[Vertemes]

Alright gramps lets get you to bed.

[koala]

@kromaticlanturn

All modern just looks the same to me now.

I believe this has been the goal for TPC, they don’t want you collecting just one type of set but every set forward while hooked onto the artwork regardless. It’s ultimately the same winning formula with slight tweaks in flavour to keep the revenue stream going, much like the Pokémon games

[kromaticlanturn]

Welp, they’ve absolutely lost me then. For me, sets were definitely more appealing when you could tell them apart for one reason or another. Shiny star V had that sort of appeal in a way, so maybe not all hope is lost I guess. But for the most part, I just stay away from modern if I’m honest.