I know we have all been there when there are so many products you want but only so much money to purchase. I find this happening more and more in this buyers market where I’ll be deciding between several options. Sometimes it takes days for me to pull the trigger and hours of research, comparing and contrasting. I thought it would be a nice topic to share with each other some recent choices and how you made the choice. Or maybe you haven’t made a decision yet and need some help deciding!
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This happens to me typically with rare items with little to no sales data. I usually sleep on it then make the decision.
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Ditto, Scott! Thanks for sharing
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Last year I completed one of my collection goals of getting every mainline Pokemon game with it’s original box plus inserts. Now I’m doing the same thing with the spin-off games. I made a long list of what I needed with the general price that they were selling for and organized the list from most to least expensive. There were a few games near the top of the list that I estimated could sell anywhere between $200-300 pending condition. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge was one of those games and I noticed that it popped up WAY less frequently than the others. So my options were either to buy one of the other games and risk not having enough money for Puzzle Challenge or to hold onto my funds and wait for a copy to appear. I decided to wait and it took about a month for a copy in good condition to hit eBay auction. Luckily, I won and got it for way cheaper than what I had budgeted.
Tldr: I generally try to pick the option that won’t be as easy to find again.
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Coincidentally, “sleeping on” an opportunity is also idiomic for missing out. Makes you think.
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1000%!! I’ve definitely lost deals from waiting too long to pull the trigger. Both buying and selling.
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I’ve run into this problem over the years, and I’ve learned to make some small compromises with my collecting goals just so I’m not stuck waiting on the sidelines forever and having too much ‘option paralysis’. For example, I usually maintain a list of cards I really want bad, and then I’ll either save up for a while to get them or try and get deals on other cards I need to complete a collecting goal instead to save funds for my bigger/expensive collecting targets on my list.
I’ve done this especially with less rare set cards. The tough thing is, I really enjoy a lot of old Pokemon cards, but in the end of the day I only have so much money at a time or so many opportunities to get the cards at a good price.
So I think it’s good to map things out within your budget and collecting goals. If I only collected graded 9s and 10s for example, it would take me years and years to finish off my collecting goals and I find I still get plenty of enjoyment out of a clean NM card as well once it’s in my binders for viewing or stored away in a toploader. The high grade slabs I have just hold special spots within my collection, but I’ll never have them overwhelm it either because I simply enjoy too many different cards.
Overall, the good thing about Pokemon is there’s generally a ton of supply out there for almost every set that I collect. I’ve come to realize that everything I’ve collected is not nearly as rare as I thought. Certain cards can raise a challenge, but I’ve always found another one at some point. I think as long as you’re in it for the long haul, you’ll meet your goals one way or the other.
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Worst is when you’ve made your decision and then suddenly …“Oh, this random card looks neat as well.” Followed up by hours of tinkering and going through the entire cycle again.
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Literally me right now hahaha! I think I keep making the dumb choice though.
I NEED raikou gold star, and there is one at a shop nearby me for an okay price, but I keep getting distracted by other shiny gold stars at good prices 
instead of getting the one I need, I ended up buying celebi, regice, metagross, and gyarados… all of which are doubles… why can’t I just get the things I need, I’m easily distracted… 
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It takes me years to pull the trigger because I know that I can’t afford two big purchases, sometimes waiting for that grail works in the end.
Don’t worry… there are plenty of Raikou Gold Stars going around.
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This is me all the time. There are at least a dozen goals I could have at any point. I’m terrible at sticking to one goal, but think that’s the only way I’m ever going to finish anything.
Pretty sure he is looking for the Japanese Raikou
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I’ve been having these feelings as well, for the same reasons. I have developed a practice of reviewing all the stuff I want to buy, comparing the thing in question to those items, and then deciding whether I’d rather get the others.
As was also mentioned, sleeping on it helps. Or, rather, going for a skate around town for some perspective and centering my mindset before making the decision. Whatever rubs your buddha.
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Good tips! I also try to follow @smpratte ’s advice of prioritizing the scarcest stuff that might not come back around later first. There are times I’d rather have product A right now but product B is the smartest move b/c I’m unlikely to get another shot at that price so I go with B understanding A will come around again. Actually happened with a Web series pack the other day. I wanted it but there were other items I’d planned to buy and wanted more. But I knew this item I never see and I may not get another chance in years (or ever)!
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@dyl yes I am looking for JP. Not opposed to English, but JP is the goal.
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Sorry - must have misread!
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