Hey, I’ve been collecting for a few months now and I was wondering how do you guys not get burned out on collecting. It may be me and my obsession to get good deals right now to try and protect myself more if a retrace happens but it seems to me I always seem to get burned on Buying items. Just Yesterday I was about to buy a charizard ex for 250 and then he mentioned he had like 6 other ex’s 4 of which I didn’t have. Offered 450 bucks. Didn’t hear back from him for a couple of hours, and then he told he sold it to a “store” all for 500. You guessed it hours later I see the exact cards listed on ebay for around 1500 dollars in total. So I ended up getting burned from a deal for the guy to sell to a flipper. This stuff has happened to me several times in just in just a few months and I was wondering how do you keep yourself motivated to keep collecting after stuff like that, and continue looking on ebay everyday to see the same over priced ripped up cards 95% the time, or see items on ebay shill bidded. Just wondering how yall do it, or do you buy at whatever market value you see on ebay usually. Also when do you think its a good time to take a break from collecting, if ever. Thanks!
Take what you can get, I think everyone feels bad when they miss out on something.
I did have to take a break for a few months after I missed a big deal since it affected my mental too much, so I know how you feel.
Genuine interest and love for the hobby. It’s that simple.
Yeah, it sucks that you didn’t get your cards, but that’s life. Those types of things will happen regardless of what you’re doing. You can’t let it affect you too much.
If you truly love Pokemon, you’ll stay engaged no matter what.
And remember this: you are entitled to nothing. The sooner you adapt to that philosophy, the better off you will be. We are talking about cardboard here. If a person wants to sell their cards to a flipper, that’s their choice.
Ive gotten burned a couple times buy things but usually ill just stop collecting for a bit and come back. Its okay to not constantly be interested just make sure to have fun and dont stress yourself out!
I agree it is sad when you miss out on something, but I wouldn’t over step that line to we’re it gets to you mentally and monetary. I set that budget and don’t pass, when I reach that limit I step away from the hobby, helps me keep engaged in collecting and that love for it and not broke lol
This this this ^^^^
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
Just be happy and enjoy collecting 
Either you stop collecting or collect long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Let me tell you about a little gift called Asperger Syndrome
I don’t get burned out because I don’t focus on trying to get “deals”, and a retrace has never crossed my mind. I buy cards I like and can afford at their current market value.
I also like some other cards sets aside from Pokemon, so I’ll occasionally pick some of those up too, which helps.
Been back into Pokemon since 2017 and I haven’t got bored with it yet. My interest has only grown.
True, I never meant to say that I was owed these cards, its just annoying mentally to have to go through it a lot. It’s more of my feeling of regret of “if I only did this I could’ve gotten it” which I know is a fruitless endeavor but its just the way my brain operates. The flipper part is just a sting on what I already felt too. Anyone can sell there cards at any price it though. I’ll just keep on trucking along, there will always be more deals eventually.
Burn out is definitely a real thing - especially amongst some of us small-time collectors. I’ve had a few experiences that mirrored yours throughout the years and once even attempted to sell my collection. What made me dig in my heals and keep going was ultimately the community itself. Participating in the Hartfords Regional event and meeting some new and old faces, sharing my collection, and seeing people’s reaction made me fall in love with it all over again and push myself to stick it out. At that event, I was also reminded about how much the community helped me in the past - so much of my collection I owe to members here. So share your collection when you can, engage in the banter at discord, share the things you love and love in the things you share with others. Though the community focus has shifted a bit towards price and market discussions, at its core, it’s all about the collections.
I took some time a month or two ago to sit with my collection as well. I looked through each card, tried to remember how I obtained it, what it meant to me, etc. Some cards bring back powerful memories, some cards I had to sacrifice for, some cards just bring me a lot of joy because it was shared joy with the rest of the community.
I also believe @sacari mentioned he would do a video at some point on the subject of burn out on his Youtube Channel so definitely watch out for that.
At the end of the day, and this is the hardest thing even still for me, admit when certain parts of your collection are no longer attainable or no longer available to you. There are cards I’ve had to pass on due to extenuating circumstances and it sucks when you have certain cards in mind for YEARS of obtaining suddenly being out of reach. But when you make peace with that and look at what you still have, you eventually become more grateful of what you have versus what you don’t have.
Admittedly, it can be hard to admit the above, especially when we’re surrounded by collectors who don’t seem to bat an eye spending hundreds or thousands of dollars when many of us are unable to do so, so it can feel alienating at times. This is nothing against high-end collectors since many of us would be doing the same if we were in the same financial position to do so. I’m just pointing out that this kind of thing creates the environment of the hobby and being subjected to that can feel alienating when it seems like everyone else is able to get what they want (which isn’t necessarily true but sometimes FEELS that way) and you’re not.
So when you’re met with frustrations because of that environment, step away a bit, do something else, turn back to other joys in your life. We’ve all taken breaks from this forum, community, and the hobby from time to time. There’s no shame in doing that.
TL;DR: Share your collection more, sit with your collection more, talk on discord, step away when feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with the hobby/forum/community, admit when cards are out of your reach, and learn how to be more grateful with what you have.
lol what?
I have a policy of never negotiating. If I find something at a good price, I buy it straight away. Never got burned.
Pichus that I need do not appear on the market often enough for me to ever get burned out. 
As cerulean said, genuine enjoyment. Also, it sucks missing out on a deal but you can’t let that get to you. There are probably hundreds of deals you are missing every day that you just aren’t looking in the right place for. you literally cannot get all the deals so no point stressing over the ones here or there you miss. Also I view every deal I missed as “welp, I saved 100 bucks” and I can use that money I didnt spend on the next deal I come across. Also I take breaks every few months, but thats usually only to save money when I feel like I’ve spent too much recently.
If you need a break take one. After I completed some of goals in 2018, I stopped collecting for about 6 months.
Hey that’s a bummer you missed out on that one! It doesn’t feel good for sure and I understand the frustration of missing out on what you felt was a good deal. This is not an easy time to collect as there is so much competition and the market is moving fast. If you’re trying to find deals right now its especially tough. I would echo what others have said which is try not to dwell on the frustrating parts of your experience. I’ll throw one other tip which may be beneficial to you or may not. If you haven’t done this already consider taking a decent chunk of time to really explore all the cards that this hobby has to offer. You may find something that you really like that is much less optimized and competitive right now. It doesn’t mean you have to give up on your main goals but could also be really satisfying. I know this can be tough if you have limited funds but best of luck to you!
in life, you should never let a thing, such as a hobby, become so overwhelming and all-consuming that it begins to make you unhappy. remember, pokemon is a game, an entertainment product. if it’s giving you more grief than happiness, it might be a good time to just step back and put some things into perspective before proceeding further.
it might be a good time to evaluate what’s important to you, see the big picture. once you find out what is triggering you and you make sense of it, it becomes easier to digest, such as a blown chance at getting a deal. just remember, there is always a next deal to be made. you can’t and won’t catch every ebay deal. so don’t dwell on it and move on. like in sports, you can’t let a missed shot or a swing-and-a-miss affect the next play. you gotta practice mentally to make yourself more “forgetful”.
hope that helps.
- It’s not about money
- Pacing
- Interest and engagement
- Set difficult but achievable goals
- If you never had the card in your hand then don’t worry about it