What was y’alls Gateway card into serious collecting. That one single card or sealed product that made you realize you just spent that much on cardboard.
my credit card
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The first card that I spent a lot of money on that I really wanted was a psa 10 1st edition light dragonite. The reason was because all the light Dragonites in my collection came back as 9’s and I really wanted the 10. I didn’t want to spend the big bucks getting one, but that card is one of my favorite designs of my all-time favorite Pokémon…so I sucked it up and paid the money. Now if I find a very rare card that I love (namely a Dragonite) I will try to buy it regardless of price, as I am very glad that I have a growing Dragonite collection worth a lot of money…and chocked full of nostalgia!
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Marijuana Gold Star
great story, hope to see this Dragonite collection of yours on the form someday.
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When I first got back into Pokémon, I purchased a PSA 9 unlimited Charizard. Shortly after, I got the Venusaur and Blastoise to go with it. These cards are what really sparked that Pokémon flame 
up again in my heart. I have been consistently collecting ever since.
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corocoro shining mew
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that was my second big purchase card after my gateway card. Psa 10 corocoro mew
A full art tauros gx from sun and moon. First graded card I purchased.
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A plasma storm secret rare charizard was the first card I spent more than $100 on that to me was where i justified to myself it was ok to start collecting seriously a month later i upped it to buying my first 1st edition charizard only a PSA 5 but even that was not cheap! and then recently a trophy card. So these 3 moments/gateway cards were pivotal points of where i think I’ve grown into a more serious collector 
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ahah yeah
I can’t really remember which one specifically but something from 1st edition jungle for sure!
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Mine was probably Base 2000 Ninetales, only costed $3 but what made me realize that I was in this for the long haul is when I proceeded to tell the person at the counter all about this card and how they should sort there inventory better to help people find cards like this without having to individually handle every card. The guy looked at me like I was crazy, but it showed me that this hobby isn’t going away anytime soon.
Mjisaacs
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At first it was my in progess binder collection of the first 151 pokemon rookie cards. Easily dropped a couple hundred on that. My first serious purchase was my bgs all 9.5 sub grade unlimited charizard. As a child I never had one and always wish I did.
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Raichu Base - $12 - card shop
Birthday Pikachu - $35 - card shop
Shadowless Zapdos - $45 - Ebay
Shining Mew - $70 - Ebay
Shadowless Charizard - $195 - Ebay
These purchases started me off collecting again.
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Probably would date back to the first english Pokemon box I got.
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I’m not sure what card it was but it still happens, the bar keeps changing and I think ‘wow did I just spend that much on a piece of cardboard?’
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TR unlimited box. I bought it on vacation while visiting my brother up in Wisconsin. $159.99 on ebay
I can remember when I sold a PSA Ninetales 1st edition for $90 and thinking, if I could make a sale of this size once a day, I could earn a living. It was far from the reality of how much you do need to sell and support a family, but that sale kick-started my selling which also led me into more serious collecting.
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Bought a two pack Jungle blister off letgo in February 2017, then got a cheap deal on first ed rocket and fossil boxes. Starting off with a good deal and being able to make 3x profit on a $375 purchase helped with expanding my collection. Scott’s youtube videos and E4 have sustained my interest
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