What are your unpopular opinions in Pokemon?

[qwachansey]

@c0ll3ct0r

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.

I raise you these

[anyon]

@bk2021

The hobby is filled with plastic. With Japan’s reliance on oil from the Middle East, surely it affects their packaging etc which leads to the prices of cards (already going up even pre-war with Abyss Eye).

This must be a minor cost compared to the increased shipping expenses of moving all the product around…

Looking around the internet seems to suggest raw plastic material costs are less than $1/pound.

[bigtechbill]

Plastic pricing typically lags behind oil though. So resin manufacturers have likely not yet passed along their increased costs.

[bk2021]

@camrok37

This would only affect one aspect of the market. People who are transacting raw cards or slabs that were encapsulated previously likely wouldn’t see any effect from new packaging costs. If you’re buying brand new items I could see there being small cost shifts, but we have already seen MSRP rise on most sealed items the past few years and demand has done nothing but grow.

@anyon

This must be a minor cost compared to the increased shipping expenses of moving all the product around…

Looking around the internet seems to suggest raw plastic material costs are less than $1/pound.

I only included that at first to suggest that sealed products would be affected but it’s minor compared to everything else. Basically, I don’t see how the impending cost of living crisis will not affect this bull market. It is the worst oil crisis ever according to the IEA. You could argue that the ones buying at these record prices are in an income bracket that is unlikely to be touched too greatly but all these modern sealed, slabs and raw cards are presumably dominated by a wider group of collectors/investors/vendors who will be affected 100%.

[xileets]

Those who didn’t collect from 2005-2019ish may feel locked-out due to prices now, BUT I also remember not being able to find some niche cards during that time, literally seeing One Copy every 6 months, while now, there are several listed at any time. It’s a trade-off in many ways, but in a way,

I feel less interested due to that lack of challenge.
_MHO.

Now, the challenge is affordability, instead of availability. It’s just not as attractive…

[Paulkemon]

Companies have savings accounts for these kinds of global situations so they basically eat the cost until it settles. Or they have a sliding scale of how profit is giving to those getting higher wages and they too have savings accounts for these types of situations. I don’t imagine the Iran conflict to last much longer so it’ll settle and they’ll figure out next steps when they get there. I don’t know if the worlds biggest IP can be swayed much by gas prices lol

[dodge_44]

Reminds me of the EX dragon torchic

[Miss_Frizzle]

They are not card collectors

[banks]

It’s possible to like cards and money at the same time.

[xileets]

If you collect graded, and you think you’re completing your PSA mint collection and it’s not, I can see that being upsetting.

[swoleking]

It’s okay to use energy cards as motors to make your bike go vroom

[packyman]

If you don’t have 40+ unique variants from Base set, you can’t claim you have a full species collection or set collection. People show 4 cards and want a pat on the back, it’s 40+ cards for Base set alone. Everyone is faking it right now and NOBODY has a complete collection.

[Dyl]

@packyman

If you don’t have 40+ unique variants from Base set, you can’t claim you have a full species collection or set collection.

Not everyone cares about minute printer differences that you need a magnifying glass to see, and that shouldn’t nullify the completeness of their collection. The beauty about Pokemon collecting is that you choose how deep to go down the rabbit hole, and hopefully, your fellow collectors aren’t criticizing you for your choice.

[manta444]

Whatnot is the worst thing to happen to the hobby.

Takes product away from everyone else. Also, what happens to all the bulk?! Do they throw it away?? I love going through bulk and finding good copies of my favourite artwork.

[manta444]

I find it wild how expensive these are! I’m grateful I don’t like them

[LM23]

[bk2021]

People are so up in arms about scalpers but then follow rip and shippers who are basically the scalpers’ exit strategy. Ultimately, the whole problem comes down to the buyers themselves.

If you don’t want to pay more, why the hell are you paying more for someone else to open packs for you? How pathetic and lonely can you get that you find community in a bunch of gamblers and a nobody who is ripping you off?

[swoleking]

Guys, guys, it is an unpopular opinion. @packyman is just following the prompt!

[anyon]

[packyman]

So, would you say that I have an unpopular opinion?

It’s not minor print differences, it’s unique printers across the world and the rarest cards in existence. Some are significantly more rare than 1st edition. We have 36 packs or so, at least get one from each pack before claiming to be complete.