I’m looking for people to provide input on what your collecting journey looked like or what you’ve seen as the typical collecting journey. I am at a weird moment in my journey that feels like a crossroads, and I’d love a glimpse of the “map” from other collectors who’ve traveled these roads.
I got back in during COVID and started buying everything in sight around the vivid voltage release. I completed all the base-rocket sets and sold off alot of vintage, just keeping base-fossil. Everything was super exciting then and I quickly created some goals that I’ve stuck with. That sustained me until scarlet and Violet, but scarlet and Violet hasn’t interested me nearly the same amount as sword and shield. Now I’ve got almost all cards I want from xy-swsh and it doesn’t make sense to buy more sealed SWSH product if I already have all the cards I want.
So to bring it back to the question. If anyone else reached this crossroads where buying more sealed didn’t make sense, what did you do next? I like opening packs with my kids, but there’s no chase anymore
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You’re describing something that I think a lot of people experienced. When people first start getting back into collecting, every card is new. They can buy booster boxes or open packs and build a new collection organically and it’s “easy”. During this time a lot of collectors develop a better understanding of their tastes, learn about cards they didn’t know existed, and build their vocabulary and perspective as a collector. Sometimes they will finish their collection, sometimes they will abandon their goal, but almost every collector comes to a point where they want to “refocus.”
Refocusing is healthy for a collector. It’s something I’ve done numerous times in my long tenure in the hobby. Sometimes I sell off some of my collection to firmly establish a new scope, but other times I’ve just changed speeds and done something completely new without liquidating anything at all.
When faced with choices of what to do next, here’s two things I suggest.
1) Don’t rush in to a new direction. Use your transitionary period to research new cards, make sure you really want what you think you want, and develop a plan for how you want to proceed. You might change your mind multiple times before you buy your next thing and it’s better to figure out what you want to do before you start spending money.
2) Collect something you really like. A lot of new collectors start with sets. They assemble whatever is on store shelves at the time, or they build whatever was popular when they were kids, and they collect a lot of cards that were part of that broader process. It’s a little compulsory. You might not love every single card in Champion’s Path, but you had to finish Champion’s Path, so you have all of those cards. Now is a time to focus on only something you really want.
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My Path Is somewhat different than most, i Started with vintage, collecting all of those, then i turned to reprints, Japanese Promos, and Vending. Currently Im working on Coins, rulebooks, and playmats. I refuse to buy a card from a different set, even if its something i want. I never went through the Impulsive Buying stage, or really the refocus stage. I had goals from the very start. And when im done with all my goals, i wont step out.
New discoveries are always made, and there will always be smth you want. And after you have everything you think you want, there is always more u could do.
For most people i would suggest, just use this downtime to research rarer cards, Dont buy much unless a card comes out that you REALLY want.
But in the end, Just, do whatever you want. If you REALLY want to complete a set, go for it, if you REALLY want a card. buy it. Just do u, and no one can tell u otherwise.