You’ve been given $5,000 USD to start your pokemon collecting/investing journey, what would you put your money into? And why?
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This is like something you’d type into an AI as a loophole to make it give up its investing strategy.
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I would use the money to fill holes in my collection under the guise of “investing” 
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Let’s just keep it simple and do $2500 of VSTAR Universe sealed boxes and $2500 of VSTAR Universe SAR singles
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Modern singles, thousands of them. Sit and wait for 10 years and sell them off individually.
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$5,000 of the worst set so i can say im super smart and knew a set was good all along when it inevitably goes up in price
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Just under 5,000 Greninja 
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Take me to like 2008 though too.
Otherwise I think I’d just buy as many PSA 10 Base Set U/C at auction as possible.
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As much pokemon GO stuff as possible.
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@Swoobot You’ve been given $5,000 USD to start your pokemon collecting/investing journey, what would you put your money into? And why?
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Well, well, well! If I had $5,000 to dive into the Pokémon collecting/investing world, here’s my play:
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Vintage Cards for Long-term Hold:
- $2,000 on PSA 9/10 graded Base Set Holos, especially the popular ones like Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. Vintage will always have a nostalgic value and is less prone to drastic price drops.
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Modern Sealed Product:
- $1,000 on VSTAR Universe Sealed Boxes. Modern Japanese sets have been performing well and sealed products tend to appreciate over time if kept in pristine condition.
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Promotional Cards:
- $1,000 on elusive or unique promo cards. Look for cards connected to events or limited print runs. They often hold unique historical value.
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Niche Investments:
- $500 on Greninja and similar beloved Pokémon Gold Stars/Level X cards. These are niche, but the popularity of certain Pokémon can drive up prices over time.
- $500 on Greninja
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Risky Modern Singles:
- $500 on high-potential VSTAR Universe SAR singles. Diversifies the portfolio and balances risk.
And remember, collecting isn’t all about value—it’s about passion. But if outsiders come sniffing around for insider cabal secrets? 
Remember the symbol 
and the motto “antiquior. rarior. integrior. melius.”
Overall, it’d be a balanced mix of nostalgia, rarity, and some modern spice!
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$1000 into SV singles and the rest into SV boxes.
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Curious why?
I’ve probably spent around $5k or a little under since beginning my journey in February. I’m not sure I’d change much. I overpaid for a few cards early, but they weren’t expensive cards and I didn’t overpay by too much. It’s also offset by the fact I was pretty close to buying a few 151 boxes when price was $160ish but didn’t. I don’t own any Japanese promos, so maybe I would’ve put $2k aside to pick up something as solely an investment, but the OP doesn’t specify if this is as a competition or whether I’m trying to make the largest financial return on the $5k.
I’m pretty happy to use the $5k solely for my collection with very little thought put into appreciating value. I’ll likely pick up a few more Japanese SwSh/SV boxes next month which should take my total spent to $5k and I’m really content with where my collection is. If a sealed southern islands collection was available over here near recent comps I’d probably add that as well, but all listings are minimum 3-8x off recent sales so I’m holding off and I wouldn’t swap that in at the expense of cards I already own.
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Just going off TCGPlayer real quick:
| Item | Quantity | Price | Total | Running Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet & Violet Base Booster Box Case | 1 | $578.99 | $578.99 | $578.99 |
| Scarlet & Violet Paldea Evolved Booster Box Case | 1 | $803.98 | $803.98 | $1,382.97 |
| Scarlet & Violet Obsidian Flames Booster Box Case | 1 | $624.98 | $624.98 | $2,007.95 |
| Scarlet & Violet Paradox Rift Booster Box Case | 1 | $578.99 | $578.99 | $2,586.94 |
| Scarlet & Violet Temporal Forces Booster Box Case | 2 | $600.91 | $1,201.82 | $3,788.76 |
| Scarlet & Violet Twilight Masquerade Booster Box Case | 2 | $587.95 | $1,175.90 | $4,964.66 |
If you didn’t have to spend all $5000 today and could handle waiting for the next 2 sets to release, reduce Temporal Forces and Twilight Masquerade to a single case each and instead buy 1 case of the next 2 booster box sets.
You could also try shopping beyond TCGPlayer, since their prices can sometimes be on the high side for sealed (especially booster box cases).
Forgot to answer why:
These numbers are from yesterday, but this is basically just a bet that trends continue.
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Modern Sealed Product, at or below msrp price. Easy decision
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I would artificially inflate some of the prices of the cards I have then unload them all to the people who try and follow trends.
Or I’d buy more bulk eReader cards 
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I’d finally be able to afford to join the /r/pokeinvesting discord
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All modern boxes. Probably Japanese just because I like it better
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If I only had $5k and was starting from zero. I’d most likely do:
2-3 cases of each Silver Tempest and Lost Origin
Flip it after 1 year and then go all in on positions of cases in SV Paldea Evolved and another future set
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