u had hundreds or thousands of doctors, lawyers, and investment bankers turning 40 every year since 2020 and back then u didnt need a million dollar salary to buy up the good pokemans maybe not even 200k 
The point isn’t about the fact that doctors/lawyers/high net worth people are buying Pokemon cards, the point is about the specific life experience of the people who are now reaching that stage of life, and how it interacts with the market.
Let’s say you were born in the late 80s. In 1998 when Red and Blue came out you’re 10 years old. 1999 Base Set comes out and you’re 11. You’re hooked, because so is everyone else. It’s peak Pokemania. As is normal for kids, you enjoy the fad for a year or two and then it all goes away. Maybe you hear about Pokemon cards here and there over the years but it doesn’t stick because you’ve got your head absolutely buried in school, you’re up to your knees in debt, or you’re grinding 60-hour weeks as a new doctor hire or law firm associate. 2026 comes around and you’re 38. After years of grinding you’ve paid off your debt and your salary is now quite high. You rediscover Pokemon cards, but this time you actually have money. Prices are higher, sure, but now you have real money and want to do something with it. You always strived to be the best, so you aren’t taking a measly “PSA 9” for your new collection.
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those ppl are the same ones who were turning 30 or 35 in 2020 and even tho they would be making way less (lets say 200k in this example) all the pokeman prices were way less so they coulda got the same psa 10s at a fraction of their salary 
you could make this same argument for any year so why they suddenly want all the pokes when the prices of psa 10s are 20x
i am mostly just agreeing that there are prolly individuals in this circumstance who are buying at these prices but the vast majority of buyers are just gonna be crypto bros/degen gamblers you can see this by watching vendor povs where these dudes just invent stuff to gamble on and i dont see anyone that looks like a lawyer or doctor to me. also the crazy profits that mystery slab companies make off these degens that they literally just hire buyers to go clear out booths at 85% to put the slabs in their garbage products
I don’t understand what you’re saying. Maybe I need to translate my post into a language more comprehensible for you:
those ppl in 2020 were mad dead bro they had no pokeyman anywhere in their crazy ahh heads, maybe they making 200k but 180k of that going to student debt 
who cares about 10x, 20x pokeyman prices when your 0 cash goes to 1.5m salary
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only doctors and lawyers would be dumb enough to go into that much debt that they arent breakeven until they are 40 thats a tiny subset of professional services. there are plenty of 200k jobs when you are <30 that you would have little/no debt think software engineers/investment bankers etc and these ppl greatly outnumber doctors and lawyers and would be in the same demographic for buying psa 10 pokemans
Also I would like to point out my completely anecdotal evidence by both my time in EMS and my studies toward a clinical mental health masters, that most doctors and lawyers are workaholics, and not because they enjoy helping people, but because it’s an illness. They care mostly about themselves and would only buy these things as a means of status. I would be willing to bet that as soon as the hype dies down they would get rid of any card they bought because the status doesn’t mean anything anymore.
I’d say 90% of doctors I’ve known and interacted with are not these noble people wanting to help, but are actually really unwell people who are self-seeking and greedy. They’ve all been brilliant in their work, but definitely not some nostalgia driven people by any sense. There are some out there who are very kind, and very tough, and are very self-sacrificing, but that’s absolutely not the majority. So I’d be willing to bet that as soon as the status has worn off these cards they’ll be back on the market again.
Just my thoughts.
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A lot of eyes are on Pokémon with renewed interest in cards (nostalgia/pokopia/assumption that card prices will continue to rise), with many holding on to/buying up collections, equaling less in circulation. Curious to see what will happen after the 30th anniversary, if people will lose interest, or if ultra modern cards will no longer be viewed as easy money.
The rational side of me feels that a 5x growth in the span of a month would be a fantastic time to sell, and that I should avoid trying to time the top. Then there’s the other side of me that likes this stuff way too much and believes that it’s undervalued regardless of the current price.
To echo others it is possible that either diamond hand collectors got FOMO and wanted to purchase what they could before they were really outpriced, or individuals with good paying jobs and money that want the highest grade and that there is not a big supply coming, since that supply came after covid, coupled with investors speculating as they do.
Or there’s a big correction coming. Either way looking forward to revisiting this thread later in the year 
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Specific professions are beside the point. As a whole the Gen 1 cohort has moved deeper into their prime earning years since the last boom. They have had 5 years of income growth, and they are also approaching midlife, which is precisely when nostalgic and youth-chasing purchases tend to ramp up.
I am part of that cohort, and my financial situation now is drastically different from 2020. During the last boom I was still finishing my PhD. I had very little income. 90% of my net worth was tied up in my childhood collection.
Now I have an actual career, own a house, and can participate in the market on a different level. I think my experience is not unique.
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what % of these supposed high income earners are in the same position or followed the same trajectory as you tho? the vast majority of ppl that the person is referencing who are making $1M now wouldve been making 200k or more 5 years ago why would they suddenly care about purchasing a corocoro mew at 30k now when they couldve easily afforded it when it was stagnant $3-4k when they were making less? would you personally care about buying something that costs 30k now having the knowledge that it only cost 1/10th 2 years ago
the person is likely a doctor or lawyer but even if they had to take on vast amounts of debt for those professions you dont suddenly start making 1M when ur debt-free
This has been my experience as well, both on and off the internet.
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It’s hard to generalize since everyone’s situation is unique, but in response to your last question: It’s not surprising for people to make those purchases, even if they have that price memory.
Because it’s actually a lot easier to ignore price memory when you are just rolling your profits into new things.
I think there’s been a lot of that over the last year. People have used the boom to liquidate things they don’t value much anymore, and they use the money to buy other things (yes, even cards that are up 10x).
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i would expect the people who are rolling profits are a different demographic tho (more of the vendory or long term collector type who maybe wanna switch the selection of cards they are invested in)
this brings back the original point of the “omg im earning a million bux a year while finally out of debt and i suddenly have a midlife crisis for psa 10 pokemans” ppl are few and far between
you also have to exclude of those ppl the ones who weren’t making a significant enough salary while still having pokenostalgia over the past 5 years where prices were alot cheaper
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Im coming from a similar place to you. During the last boom, I rediscovered my cards and learned how to get them graded, but I didnt have the $$$ to buy cards i wanted. The past few years I’ve been able to add to my collection!
My first experience after discovering my cards were worth something was witnessing the crash at the end of that boom. I could not care less, since I was still shocked they had value. So, after surviving that, it really feels like house money no matter what happens from here.
I know others with a similar thought process. They aren’t quite into it enough to join e4 but they might in the future!
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On topic….
Any still looking at Buyee. Are prices or inventory any lower? Ever since the tariffs tbh I have from buying from Japan nonstop to nothing for almost a year.
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these niche demographics buying at 20x prices that werent around/interested in pokemans before the boom boom for whatever reason are certainly much harder to wrap ur head around rather than just realizing that the majority of these transactions are just going to crypto/gamble bros that have decided that pokemans is just another thing where they can gamble/”invest”
im certain these doctors/lawyers/whatever non-gamble bro buyer are not nostalgic for one piece/whatever other rando tcg they decided to come out with in the past couple years that are also up ungodly amounts
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This. Most of the people buying vintage slabs are high income collectors. The crypto/memestock degens are mostly buying modern sealed.
This has not been my experience selling high-end vintage slabs. Most of my buyers during this boom are WhatNot dealers, IG dealers, or cryptobros, not high income collectors. I would say this demographic shift was made during the boom, because I did sell to more collectors and fewer dealers before.
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For vintage PSA10s, this is probably the case.
For modern, I really hope this is not the case. I have not once paid “market” for in-print sets since the start of the boom, and I refuse to ever do so. Not just because of price - but also out of principle - I know what the Whatnot and Insta dealers are like - bullies who refer to regular middle class people as “poors”/”broke losers”. People who talk like that are truly evil. I refuse to reward those pieces of human garbage with my hard-earned money. I finally unistalled Instagram and Whatnot from my phone this week just so I don’t even have to LOOK at these sociopaths - best decision I’ve made all year.
My personal feelings aside, I do genuinely think it’s very possible that this could just be the new norm, and we could very well see the hobby becoming a gated community for millionaires by 2030 at this rate. And that’s really hard to swallow.
I’m a doctor lol (low income one), while I agree that it’s a reality I think it’s less than 90%…real proportion of that profile in the 30% maybe 
Not trying to defend any corporation to be clear 
@tidaldreams again it’s just a matter of proportion. It doesn’t take that much high income individuals to dry up the vintage market. The different realities described do not contradict each others
I think by now, most of my social circle have heard at one point or another that pokemon cards can have monetary value. But I don’t know anyone apart from me who bought cards or collect seriously. There are a lot of steps and barriers to entry between having heard of expensive 1st edition charizard in the attic and buying pokemon cards for yourself.
It’s a stepped process to consider putting serious money into childish cardboard.
Im the late 80s generation described and completely skipped pokemon collecting until 2024, even though I heard here and there and from time to time that it may have value. So we have to remember that we are heavily biased in our perceptions of the importance of this hobby, and I am myself becoming more and more biased also since pokemon represents a higher percentage of my mental allocation, and have to be reminded that pokemon collecting is still niche and in its infancy. Lets say early childhood stage. Again, nobody from my primary social circle is collecting cards, except childrens, and their binders are disorganized and not very impressive 
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