Question: Where do you see your collection ending up as you get older?
I think about this question often and I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
Here are mine:
My personal collection has never been one that I foresee as being sold. With that being said however, since it is worth a considerable amount of money I always see it as a rainy day type of fund… In that case It would be unfortunate as I don’t think it’s super liquid… in which case I might have to take a cut on it’s market value if I was really strapped for cash.
Now hopefully that never is the case as my pokemon collection and the money that goes into it are invested in apart from let’s say the finances of my family (necesities, mortgage, etc.) I don’t plan on ever needing to liquidate my collection so my HOPE for my collection is as I get older that it eventually ends up in the hands of our new born son. I hope that he might find interest in a similar hobby as his pops and that the collection has other value to him other than just monetary. It would be legendary to have the collection passed down with each generation building on it, but that might be a bit of a stretch. Purely based off of the time put into collecting, it would be a bummer to see it sold. If my son wasn’t interested in the hobby and I was “too old” I don’t know what I would do? Would I try to find a protégé or a young Padawan to bring into the fold? Or just find a buyer and pay for my grandkids college… ( maybe just a year or two of it
Lastly, if no one in the family was interested, it would be great to put it in an storage attic ( we don’t even have one) so that somoene could discover it down the road and become very wealthy. Kind of like finding treasure Baseball Cards Found in an Attic: The Black Swamp Find - YouTube
What are your hopes and dreams with where your collection ends up?
This actually popped into my mind as well just the other day. I didn’t think about it too much, but I wondered if we’ll see some dips in prices once gen 1 Pokemon collectors hit retirement. People would sell because maybe they need the money, or they just don’t know what to do with their collection and don’t have someone they would want to give it to. Maybe people who saw it as a long term investment will want to finally cash out? I would think that they would just get reabsorbed into the collections of younger Pokemon collectors but it’ll be interesting to see what turns up at that time.
Depends how late in the future. In 20 years I’ll be in my late 30s so I’ll be still collecting most likely. If were talking about old age such as 50s or even later, if pokemon is still a thing I might still be collecting. I can’t see myself selling my cards.
As I consider my collection to be a relatively small collection, as long as Pokemon continues, I know I’ll still have a collection to maintain (Gyarados luckily is one of the more recognizeable Pokemon and is consistent enough to be reprinted). I honestly see three scenarios. I’ll always keep my first 5 cards that started my collection but the rest of my collection will do one of the following:
Continue to grow until I die
Sold
Traded/sold off to another Gyarados collector or children if I have them.
I just turned 30, don’t see myself outgrowing collecting anytime soon, but I would like to think my collection ends up with my niece as she gets older. She’s only 1 now so has a little ways to go before I can get her started as a Pokemon trainer
Passed down or sold by my future family I suppose lol. The thought has never really crossed my mind, and I dont forsee any reason to sell out. I’m 26 currently.
I’ll try amass such an amazing example of cards that it’ll be displayed somewhere, that would be awesome.
You might re-evaluate when the time comes and choose not to sell but life happens. Eventually I’m going to have to weigh having cool cardboard against the options the monetary value locked in my collection will afford me.
I’m holding on to my collection for another eight years. Then I’ll sell most of the cards and buy the 75th anniversary Corvette. I’ll be in my sixties by then. Perfect time to get my dream car.
This is going to sound real negative to some - and it’s not my intention to persuade anyone to think differently about what will come of their collection in the long-term - just offering my own personal opinion…
My Dad was BIG into collecting U.S. Coins! He started collecting as a child and continued throughout life - eventually fulfilling his life-long dream of opening and running his own retail coin shop; which he ran for 10+ Years! I was fortunate enough to work side-by-side with my Dad throughout that time - spending countless hours at the shop learning A LOT about business and collecting. I was quickly obsessed with collecting U.S. Coins - how couldn’t you become a collector when you work at a coin shop???
Sadly, my Dad passed-away last year and I was left with the remainder of the shop’s inventory - majority had already been sold-off - and his personal collection; including his pride-and-joy (High-Grade Indian Head Cent Collection). My initial thoughts regarding his collection being passed-down to me were: GREAT! I’m going to cherish this collection and continue the legacy in-order to remain close to him. However, I’ve since basically stopped collecting all-together. I haven’t purchased anything coin-related at-all since his passing. I haven’t stepped foot into a coin shop since his passing. I’ve only viewed the collection in its entirety once since his passing. Aside from that, the collection has just sat within my safe - right below my Pokemon Card Collection (so it’s not like it’s inaccessible or anything).
Why this Change? It’s not for a lack of interest within the hobby - I honestly LOVED the hobby growing-up! But, I’ve since realized that the biggest reason why I enjoyed the hobby so much was because it was something my Dad and I were able to do together! Now that my Dad is gone and I’m the only one collecting, it’s just not the same… In-fact, I’d flat-out say I really don’t enjoy collecting anymore… It just brings back SO MANY memories of spending time with my Dad - and while they’re all really good memories - it just makes me miss him and want him back even more! I’d NEVER sell the collection - as I know that would be something I’d instantly regret. However, I don’t know if I’ll ever get back into collecting and/or be able to enjoy the collection as I once did. Maybe it’s just too soon and I’ll be able to get back into the hobby as I once was - it’s tough to say right now though.
But, getting back into my Pokemon Card Collection… I’ve always viewed collecting Pokemon Cards as a really fun hobby! I truly enjoy collecting - building-up my collection, viewing my collection frequently… However, I’ve also always viewed my collection as an investment for the long-term future. I’ve always thought that when I really need it - whether that be retirement (30+ Years Away) or just moving onto something else in life, I’d slowly start selling-off my collection. I can’t see passing-down to anyone - who knows though!
I can totally understand this sentiment. I also lost my father but viewed the things that related to him a little differently. It gives me more chances to hang on to his memory. Even the worse memory’s of him are better than most things that happen in real life, so I treasure them all.
Most the time I’ll ask myself, what would he do or what would he like? It’s a funny thing. I always seem to have the answer to those two questions:) It seems to me that you would too brother.
I talk about this all the time. My dream is that I’ll have family who’ll have my passion that I could give to so that the collection stays in the family.
The next best scenario is finding a collector who i deem worthy of my collection. Like how if i was to suddenly die my game scripts would go to Last Gamer because I know he’d have the appreciation for them that I do.
Finally if none if the above are viable then I’ll construct a tomb where i can rest with my collection until either future archeologists uncover my tomb or the planet is destroyed by some cosmic force.
I have a verbal commitment to a fellow e4 member I trust 100% to sell my collection if something were to happen to me and I die. Otherwise my PC will probably stay with me until retirement days and even after that I will probably keep some of my favorite cards forever.
i dont really have any cards of significant value right now so i dont really see myself selling later in life unless pokemon skyrockets in value. they have a sentimental value to me as they are a great way to bond with my partners daughter. so they will probably go to her. she is four and already knows that you penny sleeve before you topload so i think they will be in safe hands haha.
Honestly my collection isn’t worth much from a financial aspect, so I probably wouldn’t leave it to family or anything like that. I’ll hold on to my favorites forever (because again, even if were in dire financial straights they aren’t worth much to anyone but me) and probably sell off the rest at some point in the next however many years. If, when I have kids, they get into it I’ll be happy to nurture their collections-- unless they want my favorite cards, in which case I’ll just by them their own.
I keep a small book that has a list of all my high dollar items, and what I paid for them. Along with another book, that I keep track of tending value through the years for said items. In case something happens to me my wife will have fair knowledge of what these cards should be sold for to support our family if ever need be. I see my personal collection with me forever. The prices are just to high to ever replace my collection if sold.
I haven’t really thought about it because I just want to enjoy it while I’m still around. I guess I’d see if my kids shared the same interest, and if not, I’d just make sure they understand the value so they can be fairly compensated if they want to sell.
