Collect what you like, end of discussion. There is no need to pin collectors against each other because they enjoy different things.
The Pokemon TCG is diverse enough to cater to all interests. Imagine how boring this hobby would be if everyone collected the same thing.
I posted something similar in a different thread.. I had the unplanned opportunity to vend at a fairly large card show last weekend⊠so I laid out my vintage and few modern stuffâŠ. Needless to say my vintage 1st edition was largely ignored and no one was remotely interested unless they were holosâŠ. The crowds just seemed to really love Modern⊠but it was an amazing experience seeing everyone super excited about collecting⊠the oldest slab I was able to sell was from xy evolutions a FA dragoniteâŠ. I think probably in time as the hype dies down and the next modern becomes the next modern⊠people will probably mature in the hobby and appreciate things that came first like base set jungle fossil team rocket gym heroes etc⊠but yea I did feel like the old grandpa with my vintage slabs trying to hang out with the cool kids at a college party 
I need a color scheme here: red for all investment statements, green for pure collecting arguments.
Most normies in this market are sheep and have massive issues with fomo, itâs why the market is so easily manipulated.
Wifu manipulation = now everyone wants wifus
Autograph manipulation= people paying $3k+ for a shadowless authentic (PSA 5) arita sketch which is pop 1 million
MoonbreonâŠ
And recently Crystals & GS which arenât rare, just that people saw prices rising and therefore equated it with *value*
Funnily enough, the truly rare stuff is harder to manipulate as you cant really do âbuy outsâ on TCG player.
The market moves in ebbs and flows.
Some cards go up, others go down.
Itâs just how it works, but overtime most quality items go up.
Whatâs important? Time.
Whatâs nice about pokemon is ideally you buy stuff YOU LIKE and therefore you are able to ride out the ebbs and flows - liking something should make you hold onto it for the time necessary to make a gain.
My theory is we see vintage peak between 2040-2060 when my generation (I was 5 when pokemon base was released) have the most disposable income.
This is what happened with Marvel Comics. Boomers who had them as kids in the 60s bought them when they were in retirement age (when the largest amount of people become on paper millionaires $) and now want to buy back memories.
âModernâ will do fine too as the market is absolutely massive and demand is so high it eats up the supply.
My 6 year old and all his mates LOVE all cards, modern and vintage - he is my litmus test for how the IP is doing.
when is da jp old back trophies gonna be manipulated 
Yeah, agreed. They could actually keep rising after that, because of how rare they are. If Pokémon remains popular then new fans will keep coming in.
The good olâ âtime in the market versus timing the marketâ 
The majority of vintage grails are low pop in a 10. And plenty of the mid to WOTC era packs are becoming way too rare to find, money be damned, and they are way more liable to having issues that bring them down to the 7-9 range even if you manage to get one by ripping packs.
And I simply think that means it has a higher floor if the market crashes. They are a safer long term âinvestmentsâ.
Modern grails have way higher pop in a 10. The packs are also plentiful and ripping them has a strong chance of getting a 10 (set dependent kinda, but plenty are pretty solid chances)
And I simply think that means itâs floor is more volatile then vintage. If thereâs a sell off, there will be so many data points that could scare other holders to sell. And that doesnât include market manipulators/hoarders
However, when the market is strong, I think both will rise as weâve seen now. Not sure about what their respective ceilings would be though.
Are said millionaires not buying Pokémon today? Social media and successive booms have hyperoptimised the tcg market faster than comics back then so there is no longer a need to wait for anyone to reach retirement age, they are spending right now
Yes, but there will be more as those who grew up on pokemon enter their prime earning years and then retirement.
A very small % of people become millionaires in their 30s-50s.
Correct.
Most ânormy millinairesâ become so via the simple fact that they have existed and worked their whole lives - maybe they got some inheritance, or their homes have appreciated and are paid off, or their pensions have matured.
The concept of being a âmillionaireâ is so distorted by social media - apparrently if you arent flexing a lambo or a rolex on a bed of money, you havent âmade itâ.
Money talks, wealth whispers.
Nothing triggers me more than the pokemon flip-floppers posting their pokemon trades on a table of money, but who live at their moms house.
On another note, pokemon is an objectively bad investment. Yes it appreciates, but so do other assets.
I recently had a conversation with someone who said their ânet worth was 150kâ and are almost entirely in Pokemon - and that it outperformed most other assets.
A simple look on a chart proves that pokemon doesnât rise (on the whole) that much higher than traditional assets (it can yes in some cases, but there are trade offs).
If you bought most decent stocks in the bear market lows, they will have more or less the same level of appreciation as most TCG items that people are after.
Pokemon usually stays stagnant or declining then will see a sharp rise, similar to crypto actually. It feels good and gives an adrenaline rush in the moment.
But the key difference is that I can liquidate a stock position at market price and have the money in my pocket within 48hours.
This is not the case with collectibles.
You need to find a buyer, ship, take that risk of being scammed etc.
Yes you can send to auction but there is a risk it wonât hit market price, plus again shipping fees and risks.
The benefit of Pokemon is - itâs a collector item that you like, and this has a value. If it brings you joy and appreciates - then itâs a W.
For this reason, personally I donât think comparing modern and vintage in terms of investment appreciation is a worthy discussion to have - as it doesnât really matter, as both are bad investments.
Just buy the stuff you like, will hold 5+ years and ignore the noise.
Yeah true. I would argue that mid-era cards also have some issues, such as possibly falling into obscurity. That is a problem WotC doesnÂŽt have because it is a very distinct category.
This is now, and probably the next 10 years.
It doesnât make sense to buy vintage right now when you can buy a $5 pack and pull a $1k card and ETBs are sold for $500 after a year or so. Thatâs from an investors perspective at least.
From a collectors perspective vintage is infinitely more collectible.
I grew up with pokemon in the 90âs and am not technically in prime earning years yet. If prime earning years are late 30âs to 50âs, then I have a little ways to go. I will probably retire in 20-30 years.
So my timeline fits espanaâs prediction perfectly (2040-2060)
I think @charizardespana is right. A large portion of fans does not have the capital right now to compete with the prices that vintage cards demand already. If these people start earning more, they will want to jump in, making prices go up.
vintage vs modern is an erroneous debate. there are chases in each era and collectors will flow from one to another as their collecting journey matures.
The true debate is English vs Japanese. As more and more people enter the tcg collecting market (especially China) all around the world, the US share of the market will represent less and less (like the USD being the common currency for exchanges will change at one point). The only true common denominator that everyone can agree upon is Japanese : they are the original, culturally neutral cards. Quote me on this, although I donât know when or how this flippening will happen. Iâm chuckling internally, picturing the future when Eng collectors realize theyâve been collecting badly printed translations all this time 
I see what you mean, but I think there are two problems with Japanese, at least from my perspective. Firstly, I donÂŽt speak the language. This takes away a lot for me. With French, Dutch, Spanish cards, I can at least somewhat understand the text. This is not the case with Japanese. The second problem I have is that the sets that I bought (Eevee Heroes, for example) performed really poorly. It hasnÂŽt moved in years.
Donât you realize itâs better to listen to a foreign song when you donât understand the language ? the reason why, is because 99% of the time the lyrics are stupid and badly written, fake poetry, no depth, childish. As a french myself, i enjoy listening to english spoken music, because i can then imagine that what the singer says is something beautiful and profound. but in reality itâs not, thatâs why i probably enjoy the song more than an american, the same way a foreigner of french will appreciate a modern french lyrics song that i canât, because i can clearly hear how dull and unimaginative the writing is.
Pokemon cards text is the same : itâs ridiculous and uninteresting, expect for the players of the tcg. but that is a very small percentage. What the hobby is collecting is the art.
that got me to thinking about the success of the ARs. the text becoming less and less visible, making space for the illustrations. that must have something to do with the success of Modern right ?
English is the most common second language in the world, and it almost certainly will remain that way for the rest of this century. Thereâs way too much inertia behind that for it to change anytime soon.
Thatâs a very large force that would need to be overcome for English cards to lose their current position. I donât see it happening.