I wanted to ask a few things if you guys wouldn’t mind. 1st of all, I wanted to know investing wise, what would be the most wise cards/boxes to invest into? I was also wondering if the 25th anniversary golden box is better in English or Japanese, and if it’s worth it in the long run. I was also looking into a complete 102/102 base set collection.
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Pokemon Go
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The best investment you can make in Pokémon is the investment to your happiness for owning a Pokémon collection you enjoy
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Don’t. Do not invest in collectable cards. Too many people are looking to make a quick bit of change, and it won’t work. Early sealed products and WOTC or equivalent Japanese promotional cards will likely see some return in the next five to ten years. Every other product will require holding for at least the next ten years. If you need money this year or next, look into different markets.
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Solved
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Id be real curious to see the foot traffic on this thread if its possible lol.
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Absolutely uninformed.
Don’t invest in singles. Modern sealed is available $80-100 at release, combined with the fact that booster boxes cost ~$90 from distribution means you’re able to get in at the ground floor - the same level as all but the absolute largest stores.
WOTC sealed has already had its time in the sun and will most likely continue extremely minimal growth compared to much higher demand modern sets. Battle Styles and Vivid Voltage just went out of stock on the Pokemon Center website. Silver Tempest is the last alt art + trainer gallery set available for $143 MSRP from Pokemon center. I’d go with that if you had absolutely no idea.
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Don’t have any specific advice on cards, but I would strongly recommend you have an emergency fund set up, no high interest debt, and have traditional retirement accounts funded (at least to your employer match, if it’s offered) before looking to invest in Pokemon cards.
Investing in Pokemon cards is closer to speculating than investing, something to keep in mind. We are still at/near the peak of demand/interest, so the past few years may not be indicitive of future returns. But they may be, or cards may increase at faster rates than they have been, too!
Just be mindful of the risk, and don’t spend money you can’t afford to lose. Like Triple said, buying what you enjoy is a good hedge, so if things do tank, at least you’re left with cards you enjoy!
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This
If you have a source of sealed WOTC where you can make any money rn please lmk. With sealed WOTC you have to either already own it, or buy it at the high price it is and then break it at higher prices to gambling addicts. If you don’t know how to do the latter don’t buy it because it’s not moving anytime soon
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There’s really no easy answer to this. It’s really quite speculative for a lot of cards, and so about all you can do is continually acquire knowledge and learn the market trends better. Some cards are pretty ‘safe’ bets, for example any of the hobby staples like Charizard or Pikachu, Eevee, Gengar and pretty much any other popular Pokemon related cards all are highly in demand at all times. It’s likely these types of cards will hold or increase value over time, more often than not that has been the case for the longer term so far.
I think though starting off (i.e. first 5 years or so) you should focus solely on collecting what you actually like/enjoy and don’t worry so much about the financial/investment side. You can maybe hedge on the odd card or sealed box and see how it goes, but don’t expect quick or easy returns. Some stuff can take years to move up. Then other stuff will blow up in a short time at random. Even the big movement in SWSH singles/boxes recently was cumulation of factors and it took 3-4 years to reach this point of growth across a lot of the sets.
This might not be the answer you’re looking for, but all I can say is that it’s better to own things you truly enjoy then to be stuck with some heavy bags at some point. It’s best to take your time with it and learn the market better and to have fun with the hobby of collecting as much as you can.
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Youtubers have undoubtedly ruined the market of their open mouth repeated investment videos including but not limited to “buy this now before it’s too late” “you wont believe what is skyrocketing” and more. We have new collectors that are lead astray thinking they must invest everything they have into specific cards and sets and it is ruining them financially either due to FOMO or risking it all because they believe they made the right choice for their future.
I made the mistake when I re-entered back in 2019 buying speculative things not because I liked it, because I saw a future in it and I listened to what others were saying rather than thinking about what I wanted. I did this about the wrong way. I sold 95% of my collection and I started over and now I am much happier.
I’ve said this before and I will say it again; e4 is an ocean filled with knowledge from here all the way to Mecca. The best part is its free. As long as you’re having fun, making the right choices for your finances, and buying what you want and not because an influencer is telling you to, you will always be ahead.
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I wouldn’t say I am wholly uninformed. However, I know of others who know a lot about this, and by comparison, I know nothing.
Buying singles isn’t always bad; arguably, it is for the most part, but not in its entirety.
Modern isn’t appreciating into high figures overnight, nor is it selling out as quickly. Some modern products will, but, by and large, they will not see much growth in the next five years. Sure, WOTC has shone and will continue to, and there is a finite number of products remaining sealed, but we know it will always grow in price. Right now, I would argue that modern sets are aiming for a positive return, but the majority will fall short.
I don’t invest in my collectable cards. I buy what I want because I like it, and if it goes up or down, really, for me, that’s immaterial.
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I’ll have an update for this thread when Twilight Masquerade comes out this week Warren Buffett's Hedge Fund Challenge: Modern Sealed vs Vintage Singles
This 5 year time horizon you’re saying is quite arbitrary, but I’d be happy to take the other side of that bet. There is no reason to say we won’t be seeing $200+ paldea evolved or SV base in the next 5 years. It’s important to keep in mind that typical stock market growth is to double after roughly 7 years. If Pokémon does it in 5, that’s a significantly higher CAGR.
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I really don’t want to ruin anything and spoil the fun, but if you have to ask this question you should not invest in Pokémon cards in general.
Buy what you like, if it goes up in value, great. If not, you still have stuff that you like and makes you happy.
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Thank you everyone for your words. I do like the golden 25 year anniversary box. Are these better to get in Japanese or English? I noticed there’s not many English boxes for sale. I was going to get an acrylic case for it, and put it on a shelf forever lol.
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was the golden box even released in English?
I remember it being in Japanese, Korean and traditional Chinese?
English got a UPC which stonked immediately, but from what i can tell simmered down.
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Its absolutely ok to ask, engage and educate. I guarantee someone will ask this in the future as this is one of the biggest questions this hobby will ever receive. Otherwise we would be setting the precedent that we don’t want questions and are limiting future members, members who lurk because they’re afraid to jump in, and current members who love to engage.
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