If they are not supportive and conducive to your collection aspirations or plan, that’s extra energy :shrug:
interest in my hobby among the family has just been on a contiunual upward path, but the more clefairy stuff I get the more confused they are
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quite a pessimistic view to think 99% of people that entered the hobby in the lsat 2 years only did it to make money
Why are you spending so much money on paper is the default question I get from most people
I think the fear of missing out on the money was just as prevalent as any concise plan to actually make any money but I’m sure there is a case to be made for a miniscule degree of passing fancies and cabin fever-induced nostalgia as well.
Whether that is pessimistic or optimistic is a matter of perspective though…fewer plebs and less volatility once they leave, hardly what I’d call a negative outcome.
They laugh about it or ignore it.
Last Year was cool since Logan was a reason they asked Questions.
Had the Chance to look through their “loved” cards.
Found a Skyridge Crystal Nidoking behind 11 Other cards in a Binder and i legit died in that Moment XDDD
No Sleeve or anything just threw it in like a Fire Energy ^^
I tried to explain why protection is Key, but iam pretty sure he dont understood why and the Nidoking has to share his Binderslot with 10+ cards still
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Real recognizes real
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My wife thought it was silly for a long time. Then I sold a bunch of stuff in 2020 for a nice amount and she immediately started taking it seriously haha. Now she tells me to buy 2 or 3 of whatever Pokemon card related things I pick up and hold the extras for “just a couple years and we’ll see what happens.”
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Whenever we’re sorting cards together, my wife takes a genuine interest in the artwork of the cards and I couldn’t be more happy about it. 
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Nearly every friend I’ve kept long-term relationships with are from Pokemon, so they’re into it. My entire family hopped on board starting in 07 and have nearly all individually received a staff invitation to a big Pokemon event for various positions. If you’ve been to Worlds and seen the Pikachu costume walking around, that was most likely one of my sisters!
The only person close to me that I’ve met outside of Pokemon is my girlfriend, who I met in college. I was heavily collecting/playing, and I was paying for school with Pokemon scholarship money, so she knew going into it that it’s a major facet of my life, and she loves going to the big events (once they start again!) and opening packs.
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They care about the money and ‘how much have you made?’, the only way they’ll have any interest is when I tell them how much I bought it for vs what its worth now.
I love showing people the art and telling them about the cool history of a card I’m excited about getting, but that is usually just met with disinterest so I kind of just don’t bother now tbh, pretty sad, but if people aren’t interested that’s fine too, I collect for me, not for what other people think about my cards
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They call it Pokeman.
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My parents were big supporters when I was a kid. They bought me many Pokemon games and cards and they drove me to a LGS for Pokemon league every weekend. However, they personally were never into the hobby.
That all changed in the last couple years! I was living with them at the start of the pandemic and lockdowns. Naturally without much else to do they started watching Pokemon videos with me. Pretty soon they started getting some of their own packs. My dad started working on a couple binder sets and my mom started picking up graded cards and sealed product.
It escalated pretty quickly from there. Let’s just say they have me beat in terms of most valuable card.
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Most of the time when I mention I have an adult collection of something they remember fondly from their youth it’s cool for them too. Some ask to see it and some just ask questions about what collecting is like. Nobody has made a disparaging comment since I was a kid. I got a lot of disparaging comments as a kid.
My only problem is that whenever people ask what I want for my birthday or for Christmas, I say eBay gift cards so I can buy Pokémon. This has been my answer for 12 years. Please give me eBay gift cards so I can buy Pokémon. But people won’t do it. Not even my best friends, who know me well. They still get me something else. Stop getting me something else. There is only one thing I want and it’s more Pokémon. Please follow my instructions.
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My friends dont care at all even with the upswing from the pandemic and that’s fine with me cause I’ve collected for 10 years without them anyways. My family is extremely supportive cause they know that I’m happy and that I know what I’m doing. I don’t blow loads of money on this hobby nor on things that would be a bad purchase.
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Pokemon are my friends
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This is exactly how it is for me so i end up not talking about it with anyone unless i have to which is pretty sad.
When i have to it’s usually from my partner asking about the expensive new card i bought, then i feel obligated to pretend i’m a super stonk investor so she does not have me sectioned. It’s working so far but i have not sold anything in years so i wonder how long the ruse will last lmao
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The 6 other guys in my core friend group all grew up playing Pokemon and collecting cards to some degree. I met a couple of them in middle school and the rest in high school and we are all pretty much the only people from high school we’ve each kept in contact with through college. Only one other guy still collects with me, but not to my extent. He was a TCG player back in the day and has fond memories using different competitive decks back in the BW and early XY era. Every time the group is together, we usually tend towards talking about SOMETHING Pokemon, almost without fail. The other guys respect this hobby and like to see the new cards that come out, as well as some of the cards I pick up. Throughout 2020 they would inquire about wanting to see my entire collection, but at this point I simply have too much to show them everything haha. I send pictures of some of my cooler pickups or additions I make. They also acknowledge the money side of the hobby and honestly aren’t too shocked by it.
My parents always bought me cards as gifts but only began to question the hobby once I started to buy cards myself. To them it was just worthless cardboard. They would ask what I got in different packages and how much I paid, and after telling them they would laugh and tell me I am wasting money. That lasted until I started selling cards. Then the questions were “how much did you sell them for?” and “how much did they cost you?” Once they realized I could make money, they were much more ‘accepting’ of my collection. Part of what changed their minds was in May 2020 when I told them to buy a PSA 10 1st Ed Charizard for $55,000 and it would “probably” go up - they laughed in my face and reiterated their belief that cardboard couldn’t be worth anything. Obviously I didn’t know when it would increase or by how much, but in November 2020 when the card went to $365,000 I of course played it off like I knew all along what would happen and they shouldn’t have laughed at me. That kind of legitimized things for them.
My grandma on the other hand, completely respects my endeavors in the hobby. She doesn’t know much about Pokemon per se, but she recognizes the value of a hobby in the collectibles sphere and loves to hear stories about things I pick up for good prices, money I’ve made or valuable pieces I acquire. My grandma wants to see me succeed in this hobby because it’s obviously a significant facet of my life.
My brother collects and he is usually the first person to see my collection additions. We almost always open our packs next to each other - Pokemon (TCG and video games) have been a major way we connect and share memories. He’s younger than me so his collection is only what he’s pulled from packs, and he doesn’t care about anything other than the good hits. But from our conversations he’s learned the nuances and intricacies of different eras of the hobby and can recognize the value and significance of the cards I add to my collection. And - get this - his favorite set is BW Emerging Powers.
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@davie , I am the only collector in my family. I was stoked on the boom last year as I made a few deals with people that became friendships who I talk to frequently now.
My friends prior don’t think anything of it. A few tried to hop in to make money earlier this year but it was short-lived. I have a few guys at work who are fellow collectors so it is always enjoyable to talk about cards for 5-10 minutes with my coffee every morning. " So, what did you buy?" is my typical, “Good morning”, haha!
My family is cool and thinks I am a dork, but they’re all for it. They do not understand why people pay large amounts of money for cardboard, haha. I just state I love it and it keeps my inner kid alive and kicking
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@enigma, Super cool to hear how your grandma understands it and how you and your bro can bond over it! I’m over here trying to impress my fiance with my recent buys, and she is concerned about a wedding. pfft, she clearly doesn’t get it, haha!
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