What's your best advice to new Pokémon collectors?

General
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If you entered the hobby today, what advice would you give to new/returning collectors?

My advice: avoid the noise at all costs

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I would recommend moderating your appetites. Here is a huge variety of cards, it’s very easy to buy yourself a lot of unnecessary stuff. Priorities and tastes take quite a long time to form.

And always buy singles.

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Buy some packs from each modern set at the stores at retail
Get to learn the cards whether it’s for play, new/old Pokémon or artworks
Look up other cards from the set of packs you opened up, and figure where to go from there

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Start slow. Cards won’t disappear overnight; take your time to learn and set priorities, and then have fun!

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I would recommend reading e4 articles and watching the public smpratte youtube videos, from there you can build a solid foundation and better understand your own interests

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Buy random moderate to low price lots from all eras. Learn what you like or dont like. Once you can learn what you want to collect you should buy when you can.
I do remind people to buy when they can if they can with the considerations of how much would you care if it went to 0gtgggg but tomorrow vs how much if cost doubled. If you dont mind the price halving but do mind the price doubling then buy sooner once your finances allow.

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My best piece of advice is to not take any of this too seriously. At the end of the day, we enjoy Pokemon cards. If you are losing sleep, swimming in debt, developing panic attacks, getting into Costco fights for the most recent set, writing aggravated posts on forums, ruining relationships with loved ones, etc. due to Pokemon cards, it’s time to step away and touch some grass.

As with anything in life, moderation is key.

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Choose a small and relatively inexpensive goal to complete at the start, it’s good to get a sense of achievement early.

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Start by buying things that are low-stakes and avoid being pulled toward the hottest thing in the current moment. Whatever you buy, be okay with it one day going to zero. You will make mistakes and your collection interests will evolve over time. It’s easier to correct mistakes and adapt when you pace yourself at the beginning with low risk purchases.

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Don’t worry too much when you first start about sticking with goals. Buy different things that catch your eye, and that’ll help you develop your interests and goals for the future.

Also recommend reading and researching a bit before jumping in with two feet. There’s a saying in numismatics “Buy the book before the coin”. I don’t think everyone needs a silver bible or anything before their first purchase, but the better educated you are in the hobby, the better off you’ll be.

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Have collection goals, not being focused leads to unnecessary spending and just overall less enjoyment of the hobby imo. Do some research beforehand to see what you’d like to collect : a certain artist ? a specific Pokémon ? a master set with a lot of good cards ? And if you really want a card always buy it, don’t open packs and gamble for it, 99% of the time you’ll spend more on packs trying to pull the card you want than it would have costed you to buy the card itself.

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  1. Play the actual game
  2. Lurk more
  3. get a case of 10,000 penny sleeves from cardboard gold for $60
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Never sell your first graded card purchase, as it will become a time portal for you to look back at where you started, years into the future.

It is a nostalgic collectible after all.

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The less you interact with the wider Pokemon card collecting community on Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, and any other social media. The more you will be able to enjoy collecting Pokemon cards.

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The worst thing by far about Pokemon are the people in it.

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Hell is other peoplemon collectors

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Heaven ain’t heaven if the hahbeeists are there

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This is a great piece of advice I have never considered! Or maybe a slight variant, never sell the first card you graded.

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These would be my top 5:

  1. Truly collect what you enjoy. It’s your unique collection in the end, and you should find joy with it at all times. Don’t worry too much about the financial/investing side starting off, just have fun until you get more experience/knowledge under your belt. Just like the games, we all start at Pallet Town (or whatever Gen you started with), until we can move up in this hobby.

  2. As tempting as it may be, don’t get caught up in hype/FOMO. It’s rarely worth it, unless it’s just part of your long-term collecting strategy where you don’t care about what price you’re paying now or in the future. Chances are you will get another chance to buy it for less.

  3. Be patient. Any card or part of the market can move in wide directions over time. You never know the exact future, but by taking your time with collecting, it can save you a lot in the long run.

  4. Set a budget. Collecting can be addictive or become impulsive at times for some, I think it’s well worth having a good budget for each week or month you’re collecting. Especially with regular set cards, there will almost always be another buying opportunity. So there’s almost never a reason to go in debt or impulse buy if you think you’ll miss out.

  1. Set realistic goals for yourself. Don’t think you have to own totally mint cards in all cases. Maybe starting off you can only collect low grade condition cards. You can always upgrade down the road. Don’t feel ashamed if you can only collect or build binders and not afford slabs. No matter what, you’re still ‘invested’ in Pokemon, regardless if it’s a slab or a binder copy. Don’t compare your collection to others, simply be happy you can afford or own what you can and take a slow marathon approach with it.

Hope this helps :slight_smile:

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  • if your unsure always ask for other opinions / references.

  • be very cautious around the likes of fb, ig, whatsapp, tiktok ect you’ll find there’s a lot of toxicity & money hungry scalpers rather then true collectors.

  • when buying online don’t use bank transfer or payid if you don’t know the person and you can’t verify they are a trusted seller safety is key.

  • if something seems too good to be true then it probably is always double and triple check before you jump the gun on something especially a bigger tier item.

  • don’t compare yourself or your collection to others as everyone’s collection is unique and great in some way shape or form be happy with what you have and always be willing to learn rather then willing to compare.

Could go on for ages with advice or tips to those coming into the community but here’s a few good ones off the top of my head.

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