This is going to be a short post (hopefully), but Ive had this on my mind ever since the covid boom, and its been bothering me.
Its my personal conspiracy theory (if you wanna call it that) that most people in todays time that “invest” in modern, or even vintage have never played the tcg, progressed through most of the VG’s, or watched the anime. This might come as no surprise as most people that are “investing” mainly come into it for the money, but do they know why? An easy example when S/V came out was Iono. She was out many months before the actual cards of her, and its not Team Rocket science that she was going to be popular, but lo-and-behold there were outlets, and people out there wondering what was going to be sought after in S/V, and it makes me sad how most modern is in this state of “buy the cards everyone else is buying”.
The main takeaway I was getting at though is the factor that I truly believe that By actually commiting to, and enjoying the hobby you’ll have a deeper understanding of the franchise, and WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND because of your passion for Pokemon!.
Ive been with the hobby for almost 30 years up and down, and I think that IF I wanted to I could make thousands of dollars off of the franchise each year as a side gig by “investing”…well…I could, but CANT and never will. Im also not saying anyone who does “invest” is a bad person either, and could see their motives for doing so, but feel its unethical in my head.
This isnt some white knight post either regarding my “expertise” in stocks, or knowledge for the franchise, but actually something that depresses me a little bit inside, and Im glad I can relay this to a community that actually loves the hobby. Pokemon has been with me for a literal lifetime now, and Id be curious to know everyones connection with Pokemon as a whole, and if they believe the same thing, or deny it. Its the closest thing to a sixth sense that I know because of what the franchise brought to my childhood.
This is an interesting sentiment! I don’t think you need to be a “complete” fan (e.g. watching anime, movies, playing all the games, etc) in order to “invest” in cards, and I also don’t think that prevalence in other media predicts TCG investment success. For example, we have cards like Miriam which are extremely popular, but are based on minor characters in the actual game.
However, I agree with your general point that many people who are “investing” these days, especially with modern cards (although you could argue that in 2020-21 it was vintage) aren’t doing so with an in-depth understanding of the hobby. They’re more just following the hype.
The people who do have an in-depth understanding of the TCG and make their own decisions instead of just following the crowd are going to be way more successful.
Im horrible with words haha, but you kinda summed up what I wanted to say. You dont NEED to be a complete fan, but I think it definitely influences choices of what to collect, and why we do it. Part of me is looking to a simpler time when Pokemon was about the love for the franchise, and here lately its attention is more of a financial situation. Thanks for taking the time to respond accordingly. I kind of thought Id get hammered with negativity, but I cant forget that most people on this forum are level-headed, and have really really good facts, and opinions. I HAD to get this off my chest because I was feeling alone on this topic tbh.
Genuine interest in the hobby is super important. I think the amount of interest varies greatly as well as the depth of interest, but theres gotta be some basic enjoyment of Pokemon and or the TCG itself if anyone wants to stick around for more than 6 months, especially if one wants to invest in it.
If you enjoy the hobby, then that makes it all that much easier to pick and choose things to buy and “invest” in. I can’t imagine putting hours into this and not caring at all about Pokemon.
I mean, you don’t have to have played the TCG to love the hobby. This is pretty silly.
This has already been proven false, and I’m not talking about the anomaly that was late 2020 and early 2021.
I’m gonna be honest: the anti-investor posts that always post “invest” in quotations are every bit as irritating as the tech bros who entered the hobby in October 2020, stayed for six months and somehow think they know everything.
Yes, you can invest in Pokemon. Yes, you can make money in it. Can we all just be adults and admit this already?
The fact of the matter is that I have made a business out of something I love: Pokemon. I have loved Pokemon since its inception and now I make money off of it. A lot of it. Not sure why that bothers so many people. It only seems to be Pokemon where people have an issue with this, too.
As for the people who just came in solely for the money? They are out of the hobby already. They left two years ago. Who cares?
There are people who came for the money a couple years ago, are not idiots, and did well and are still here. The interesting part is if they will stay or change based on this normal market. There are also items that sell scarcely, and thus are still perceived as 2021 priced. With enough time and public data these false idols will come back down to earth just the same imo
I dont see how its unethical? Seems a bit harsh. If you mean specific behaviors, sure theres some, but some elaboration would be helpful here. I dont think it makes anyone more or less moral to invest in pokemon cards. Its a combination of how they approach the hobby and their overall actions.
That first comment was to go into my other points which is why there was a comma there. As for the second statement. Like I said I never will make a penny off of Pokemon, but Im sure not just me, but MANY others could make a living off of “investing”, but we choose not to. This is where I wanted opinions on if others feel the same, and harbor those same thoughts because its difficult to admit publicly.
Investing is fine. I think my comment pertains to a specific group of people which is why I quote “investing” a lot as it seems to mean different things to different people in the sense of collecting, vs not. Hope I came clear on that, because Im awful with word choice.
I’ve done this so I feel compelled to defend it. Yes you can invest in Pokemon cards and make money. But if we want to treat Pokemon cards as a serious investment, we have to be serious about it. There are so many people who make irrational or shortsighted purchases that are entirely impulsive and justify it as “investment”
This is mainly what Im talking about! Investing is fine because especially because we enjoy pokemon. If my cards go up cool, if not cool, but I wouldnt blame you for not taking that post seriously! Its my fault though in my original post. I shouldve communicated better about “who” I was talking about. Thanks for sharing this.
I think there is a big difference between serious business owners like @Cerulean and the average Reddit investor. Perhaps, @eievui and @pfm are referring to the same type of person who has almost no knowledge and throws money after reading a handful of Reddit posts.
I think as long as you are using your own money it’s up to you to make your own good decisions. If it’s a kid losing his 150 dollars of saved up cash on a Pokémon investment at least he learned a lesson.
As an adult, you face the repercussions of your decisions both positive and negative and at least in Pokémon there is still some value, it isn’t all consumed immedietly like it would be in gambling or other addictions.
Markets widen and so do the type of people that enter. It’s up to the individual to spend what they can, and with a forum like this and bulbapedia, they can learn if they wanted to know more on the history. Everyone must start somewhere.
Similar to what was already mentioned before, I think some have just conflated the idea of investing in Pokemon with certain demographics or people profiles that are less than savory (those that rushed in and are only here for the money). It’s not exactly the act of investing that is soured, it’s how these newcomer businesses/investors to the TCG carry themselves and present a facade of interest in the actual hobby that is what is disagreeable. Like @eievui, I don’t think most of the members here have any qualms with other members that choose to invest or flip or whatever, because, at the core, the passion for Pokemon is there. We just need to avoid painting “investing in Pokemon” as a broad brushstroke when we’re really concerned about the actions and attitudes of specific groups of people in the hobby.
(Personally, I don’t really care either way. Other people can do whatever they want, and the hobby and the people in it will just have to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances).
I kind of agree with you but also disagree with some points of you.
First of all, you don’t have to be play the TCG, watch the Anime or even play the (mainline) games to be able to understand the Pokemon TCG market and “invest” in it. But at the same time, if you really want to put your money in collectibles in general, it helps to be a fan of the franchise and a collector yourself. Because this will give you an understanding of the hobby and its dynamics.
But especially since the pandemic those so called investors are all over YouTube/Reddit/Wherever and a lot of people just do whatever they say because they also want to make money of it. Are some of those investors knowledgeable and know what they talk about? Of course. But a lot of people just hopped on whatever train. This does not only apply to the Pokemon TCG but to a lot of other collectibles, stuff like crypto and even more classical investments like stocks. And if you don’t do your research before you invest money and just do it because some random guy told you so, you can get lucky but usually are in for a bad time.
I for myself only put my money in stuff that I am knowledgeable of and if its collectibles, stuff that I like and collect myself. Of course I am happy if I buy something and half a year later it doubled in price or if I get a great deal for any specific item. But in the end, I collect it because I want to have it and if it looses value it’s not as bad as I didn’t intend to sell it in the first place.
I do this too. It is why I avoided crypto altogether. To me it makes little sense and is very clearly manipulated by some. I’d either have to become a full blown crypto bro to be able to navigate or maintain some self respect
Everyone has a different reason for pursuing a profit in the hobby. For me personally, I’ve realized if I want to keep collecting long term I need to either make way more money in my job or use my knowledge and experience to generate an income to provide for the hobby. I think this is a natural progression for folks in this hobby after years. I see so many other people finding modest success, so why not me? However, I have at times lost sight of the passion in pursuit of profits. And no, I haven’t even made a profit. I need to learn to sell and let go.
I also think its worth noting that for every transaction there is a buyer and seller. So whether it is a business or collector on the selling side of a transaction, it doesn’t really matter but somebody has to sell in order for somebody to buy.
I miss the days where the expensive cards in a set were the highly playable cards. I’m sure that still happens today but there is a whole lot more noise in the collecting space compared to 5-10 years ago.
I was linked to a IG post of a generic investment page showing Pokémon cards by a friend just today.
The graphic was already in decline, I don’t know if serious investors will see this as a good time to buy, there’s really low possibilities of a new boom RN.
So, yep, Pokémon cards can be one.
But as a collector I just hope all of those “strangers” end up selling at lower price for getting the stuff out of their houses so that we can enjoy it.
I don’t know shit about the market, I just don’t want to sell my organs to buy Pokémon cards.
Let’s see how it goes, folks
Basically just collect if you enjoy collecting and invest in things that have some sort of regulation and a proper investor track record.
Investing in collectables in general is not a good long-term investment compared to other opportunities and who is to say in 30 years people will care about cardboard. Many other collectables that died out was once popular and Pokemon cardboard is not immune to this.
