The previous unpopular opinion thread reached the maxmium amount of posts (10,000). Here is the new unpopular opinion megathread, feel free to continue conversation here!
The current low pop price drive is artificial, the pops are low because no one previously cared enough to grade the card. (With regards to commons and uncommons)
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Stamps as the default reverse holo should come back. D/P thru SWSH reverse holos are unanimously mediocre or terrible. if I didn’t need them for my Cradily collection I would never bother.
S/V’s new reverse pattern is pretty good, as are the Pokeball variants everyone seems to hate for no reason
Conversely; Late EX era reverse holos are cool, I don’t know if they’re 30$ a single cool. But like many things in this hobby, a lot of millennials are terrible with money or have way too much of it, so prices will continue to steadily go up forever. I don’t think EX will ever see a “correction”.
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A properly designed screw down/magnetic holder made of crystal clear plastic, beveled or unbeveled with razor sharp corners and edges is still by far the aesthetically superior way to display those extra special cards. It oozes gravitas.
Similarly, adding art to the frame is a mortal sin and only takes away from the card.
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The less the obstruction between you and the card, the better!
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The unpopular opinions thread cap of 10,000 posts is too damn low.
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Opening packs isn’t fun anymore.
When a modern, in-print pack costs $8-12 and everyone’s super bullish that it’s gonna go up exponentially in a very short period of time, opening packs leaves a bad taste in my mouth. All these Instagram reels with people talking about institutional money and how cards are becoming mainstream assets now makes me super uncomfortable and drives me insane, to the point where the hobby no longer feels enjoyable to me.
Anyone else? Or am I just crazy?
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All of these people are trying to sell you something, but yes it’s uncomfortable and ruins the fun of the hobby to at least some degree
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Getting your cards graded and then getting upset if your card doesn’t receive a 10, Seems like lots of collectors only care about the number and price now a days and it’s a toxic mindset.
Feels like lots of new collectors only care about the value and investment and not the art
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Worst part is, as uncomfortable as it makes me, it really feels like they’re right and this is just the way the hobby is now, and it makes me feel like not buying this modern product at 2x MSRP is a disservice to myself and family’s financial future.
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I’m actually excited to see the aftermath of this “institutional money”.
If its not collectors buying cards and it ends up being a bunch of companies eventually it’ll be the companies vs companies raising the prices and the last company to cash out is left holding the bag of cards that no average person can afford. A game of chicken.
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I doubt it unfortunately. Feels like it’s just gonna be another alternative asset (i.e; money laundering tool) for the wealthy, and that’s just the new normal at this point. Even Perfect Order boxes being well above MSRP is telling. And if you so much as question the prices on social media you get mocked and labeled as a “broke Timmy”.
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I like all reverse holos from all eras because it gives commons and uncommons a chance to shine!
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Don’t think I should like, 'cause I think this op is gaining popularity. And I do agree with it.
I have some modern product sitting on my desk, and honestly, I’d rather open the near-modern or nostalgic stuff… But I cannot justify opening my vintage or near-vintage, so…
I feel like PkMn Pocket satisfied, then broke my habit of wanting to crack packs… Crazy? That an Unpopular Opinion?
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TBF, collecting for a grade may be the level up of collecting, but it is still collecting. By nature, they’re both equally frivolous, IMO…
Yeah. Vintage product being expensive makes sense; most people back then opened their packs, hence why they’re rare today. Sure there were people who bought them as investments even back then, but it was a small minority.
Now, there are millions of people buying sealed product as investments, with each of them thinking they’re a financial genius. Anyone who questions the current state of the market gets mocked online and labeled as a “broke Timmy”. Institutional money (primarily from crypto) as well as celebs are investing heavily. And everyone on social media is super bullish, with everyone saying the market can only go up from here.
It really is wild to see for these heavily hoarded modern boxes being treated as financial instruments. I see this going one of two ways - either cards become an ultra-luxury product in the vein of fine arts and Rolex watches, or this ends up being remembered as one of the most insane speculative manias in history in the vein of Beanie Babies and Bored Apes.
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If nobody opened packs, you wouldn’t have singles to buy. 
Honestly where I am in South East Asia, we use English cards for the TCG which means that our prices follow the English market despite the exchange rate being 1:4. How the TCG hasn’t died here already, I have no idea. It’s so cost prohibitive to open any packs and the pull rates as we all know are shit. And because every set is now so expensive, people outside the hobby have also been hoarding, scalping, reselling etc.
I really don’t know how it hasn’t cratered and died yet.
You forgot one - stealing.
Which brings me to my other hot take - the only way to actually stop the card shop theft epidemic is for prices (of in-print product) to come down to reasonable levels. I’ve heard some influencers suggesting card shops get armed guards, which may be one of the most unhinged things I’ve ever heard. That would be an awful experience for the average player/collector, and no matter what people on YouTube and Instagram will have you believe, cards are NOT like fine arts or Rolex watches - it’s a hobby meant to be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds and marketed primarily at children, not an exclusive millionaires’ club.
That’s why theft has become such a problem: because the asking prices/artificial (investor) demand has risen so far above organic demand. And yet some people would rather CARD SHOPS HIRE ARMED GUARDS than charge fair prices for product. Disgusting.
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