Thanks for giving your perspective. I understand how the new wave can make you feel like you’re alone with your point of view, especially since you’re viewed as competition a priori. It’s something that I’ve also felt when attending card shows or engaging in the collecting sphere of social media.
But I still believe there are plenty of good people in the hobby who are friendly with fellow collectors who want to enjoy the company of people who are like minded - people who have an appreciation for the cards themselves.
I think who you interact with and the communities you frequent have a major impact on your perception of the hobby.
I feel that here, the perception is largely positive, with years worth of involvement and insight from dedicated collectors (and investors). Contrast this with reddit, where many posts hinge on rage and copypasta level rants about seemingly insignificant points and arguments. The amount of drama and “anti this poketuber” comments/posts are endless.
I still think the best thing people can do is buy (or enjoy) what they like. If you don’t enjoy SV, thats fine, but I think complaining about not liking it doesn’t really serve any higher purpose other than making you like collecting less.
There’s also no real need to give in to drama and involve yourself with groups that are looking to complain for the sake of complaining. I get no personal enjoyment by talking about all the negatives of SV era, or the negative impacts of scalpers, or the influx of clout accounts, or the lack of hype chase cards, so I don’t talk about them! I’m trying to enjoy my time collecting. I don’t want to analyze every little issue. There’s like a million things to enjoy about the hobby, yet people get so focused on the negatives.
Easier said than done, but if collecting isn’t “fun”, I would definitely take a look at who you are interacting with.
This is a topic that’s been on my mind for some time but haven’t felt there has been a good time to express my thoughts without sounding negative. I did not watch the video but over the last year I have found myself having less and less fun with the hobby.
One of the main reasons has been the rise of card prices (Vintage or Modern) relative to my income. Maybe I’m stuck in the past, but I had the most fun when prices were much more reasonable prior to the COVID boom and it was a buyers market. Seeing items retain a price floor multiples higher than when I originally purchased them has been great for my collections retained value, but has made picking up new items tougher to swallow, especially as my priorities have changed as I get older. It is tough to enjoy a hobby when making your next purchase means spending the equivalent of a week’s grocery bill on it.
A second reason is that the increased focus on stonking, flipping, and scalping has made the overall culture of the hobby less enjoyable if you are also not engaging with those activities. I think the Van Gough Pikachu is a great example. The videos of people attending the event at the mueseum, fighting over the displayed product, or sketchily/threateningly trying to buy cards from people to flip online kills any interest in that part of the hobby. Additionally, watching every limited release get botted out to flip online has also killed a lot of enjoyment for me in trying to participate in new releases. I understand that I am not entitled to receive, purchase, or participate in any of these scenarios
It’s easy to have this view as a casual observer but at a certain point of being “known”, you are the topic of discussion in different places even if you choose not to visit them. And even if you choose not to view these discussions about you, you still see them because they are shared.
I am barely a “known” figure in this hobby but not completely anonymous. I’ve experienced this multiple times and it probably happens to @smpratte and jluv daily (ex. this thread). I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to be leonhart or pokerev.
Anyway, my point is that even if you try to be as positive as possible, you will still be dragged into the negativity and drama if you even have a modicum of recognizability
It honestly just kind of seems like a lot these people don’t actually like Pokemon and are mainly interested in it as a vehicle for money. The sentiment of ‘the cards are under a certain price, therefore this sucks’ kinda makes me wanna bang my head off a wall. There is a negative correlation between prices and my enjoyment in Pokemon, which seems pretty obvious. Things would be so much easier if this stuff was worthless because then I could just buy all my favourite cards and enjoy them without having to worry about all the monetary nonsense.
Also, talking about the ‘hunt’ and chase providing you with dopamine hit kinda sounds like a gambling addiction. Not to mention, claiming vintage is too far out of reach while spending thousands of dollars on modern doesn’t make any sense. Modern is not about your stonking and getting your dopamine hit.
I am not trying to sound whiny, but I do find all this to be very frustrating. The irony of this is that a lot of the burnout and dissatisfaction I’ve experienced in this hobby has been directly opposite of the points expressed in this video. In fact, it’s that mentality specifically that makes me feel negative.
P.S. I’m not necessarily saying JLuv specifically has all these opinions and I am angry at him or something, I am moreso talking about the perspectives he talks about in the video.
It’s safe to say that JLUV and smpratte aren’t “average” collectors. I’m not trying to alienate you, but most people who collect aren’t known to any meaningful capacity.
very true, it wasnt as dramatic as some videos are. I do think a LOT of the very upper level of the pokemon hobby is “new money” they dont care about pokemon at all its just an investment vehicle. And these people are buying more not less with prices dropping. Obviously I cant name names but its happening. I dont think it will go back to what it was before. Be thankful you have what you have cause if youre a kid now and really care about pokemon, you simply wont be able to get into the real scarce stuff unless you win the lotto which is why you see so many new passionate collectors fight tooth and nail to compare their alt arts to gold stars. They deserve to have nice things too but we all know they missed the boat. I cant imagine what it would be like to seriously start collecing the higher end stuff from scratch right now without significant money.
*edit: I dont wanna say its too late because pokemon is still very young as an IP and investment vehicle. Just that the “new” people at the top are used to older investment markets and know what happens with age. They see opportunity in pokemon just like we do. There will be a time when its literally impossible to obtain old rare pokemon cards without 4-5 figures minimum per card, but we are still a ways off
Star Wars, dragonball, magic, Yugioh. Every franchise complains about something. There is no winning. Whether it be figures, cards or comics. It’s exhausting
It’s a good video, there were a few other factors I thought of while watching. Decision paralysis is a huge problem with these enormous sets, you gave no idea where to start. And if you try to collect them all, you can get burned (for example, I was collecting all the Japanese special arts until eevee heroes and had to give up due to prices). The giant sets also make it harder to appreciate the gorgeous art of original cards
I don’t think collecting isn’t fun anymore, I just think for people who entered during the hype of 2020/21, they’re used to constant excitement, drama, etc and also were stuck at home with nothing to do
So what to old collectors feels like a return to normalcy, for them it feels like game over
Another issue with so many ultra rares is you can be straight up disappointed by pulling one if you had hoped it was something else, so you don’t even get excited about pulling a gold item card, you simply wish it had been the Charizard or whatnot
I think the biggest mistake of 151 was bringing back cosmos holo for the basic energies but not the rare holos. That would’ve pushed the nostalgia into overdrive
That and Wigglytuff ex instead of chansey ex
We know they can now so I wonder why not. People love the players packs it makes pulling regular holos fun again
I agree with a lot of takes already stated in this thread. I believe this video is a case of burnout. I’m a big believer in interacting with the hobby in a way that is sustainable and healthy for each person. For some (and I would wager most) people, that interaction is picking up a checklane blister every now and again from Target and seeing if you pull anything cool. For others, that interaction is keeping up with all of the leaks, new sets, vintage prices, modern prices, scarce cards, and multiple auction platforms. If you look at those two interactions, which person do you think will burn out of the hobby first? I think we all know the answer.
As stated above, there has been a fundamental shift with how some view Pokemon since this boom. The biggest change I have seen is the amount of people viewing cards as investments or being extremely concerned about the present and future value of the cards. I believe this view creates an abnormal amount of anxiety around a hobby that should be enjoyable.
If someone is experiencing these feelings when interacting with the hobby, I believe they should be introspective and try to reframe how they view their cards and interaction with the hobby.
We all win from more people being here and enjoying Pokemon. I wish I saw more videos about that topic…
Personally, modern took a dive for me when they flooded us with regular art rares. Too much of a good thing if you ask me. I really liked that at first these were only in the “half/premium”-sets. In combination with the Japanese market for modern being in absolute disarray at the start of SV (I’m not about to pay $100+ for a regular booster box), has turned me off from purchasing really any modern sealed product in the SV-era. I’m also completely fine with that, I can focus on vintage and mid-era.
If it’s not fun. Leave.
I’ll gladly buy cards at lower prices.
In society today, What I find (and this is a general statement, but a large trend and pattern that I’ve noticed among people and their attitudes/moods) is that people are frustrated. People are not frustrated with just PkMn. They’re frustrated with many things, INCLUDING themselves. Comparing themselves to their failed goals or the achievements of others. (ie: people cracking chase cards on streams.)
But if you are looking at the hobby for yourself, and not for its value returned to you, or momentary thrills, then it’s certainly not boring.
If you are one of those that TRULY thinks PkMn TCG collecting is “not fun anymore”, then I say, either you never really enjoyed it for the cards, but instead for the money, or
Grow up!
Life can’t be fun all the time. So it’s important not to lose perspective and balance. When a hobby starts to feel disappointing or frustrating, reflect and step away. Don’t blame the hobby. Don’t blame scalpers and the market. Blame yourself.
If I find something is too hard to find, I will shift my focus to a more rewarding hunt. There are COUNTLESS options in this hobby. Crazy.
Also… why is he using Donkey Kong music in the intro? Just seemed odd choice edit: One More Thing: The only people who could be complaining about PkMn not being fun (or any hobby) right now are those whose livelihood depend on it. Scott, Rusty, etc.
A Lot has already been said . This is not a simple topic and I believe that though the video has some points that may be on target, it is oversimplifying a hobby that has become more layered and complicated than ever. It also is explicitly basing assumptions on the view of this character of new modern adult Pokemon collectors. The package says AGES 6+. The complexity of the hobby it’s collectors, players and investors is what makes it a world wide phenomenon. Each of these groups are layered with complexity. Collectors range from OG to the 9 year olds at the Pokemon League to the adults at the local show trying to haggle for the next “big money” card to Wafu hunters. Then as mentioned in this thread and the video, Pokemon is now an investment for some. They don’t care about the card other than value. Do you think the owner of Honus Wagner is a Pirate’s fan? Might be, but most likely not. This is a new plateau for the Hobby where now not only are Pokemon fans part of the hobby there’s all the stuff that comes with it being seen as an investment. For me it’s a Hobby, because I truly enjoy the cards, the game and the other like minded people I meet in the hobby. Nothing makes me smile as much as talking to new Pokemon fans and seeing them get excited about their favorite cards. They have no idea about those big money high end cards and they don’t care. There’s a lot going on in this hobby. It is evolving. I as a simple collector can choose to participate in the aspects of the Hobby that bring me joy. And yes, there are cards I wish I could own that are out of my reach, but that has always been true. There may be some that are bored or frustrated. So be it. Move on.
The Pokémon illustrative arts are fantastic. I don’t want to take away from the detailed drawings we continue to get spoiled with.
The Pokémon for this block are hella boring. I can’t get behind this era so far.
How many Charizards does it take to carry a set? It really gets overplayed.
Every generation has had some breakthrough Pokémon designs that end up being big fan favorites. The designs are not eye grabbing like previous generations.
I hope my mind changes as we get further into Scarlet and Violet
Yeah at least the regulars here. Most of them have specific collecting goals and it has nothing to do with price. Completely disproportionate to any other community I’ve seen.
