Macky's collection and stories

Collecting
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Hello!
I have an on-going binder collection of modern english sets (XY-on); however, the current trend of massive print runs, over-saturation of products, and excessive “secret rares” have really left a bad taste in the mouth. There is just little to no value in modern english sets anymore (save a few choice cards), hence I’ve slowly shifted to exclusive Japanese cards.

What i like about this new part of my collection is that most of these cards have a story behind their acquisition. They remind me of my travels and the associated journey in tracking them down; as well as the different people i met along the way.

These were my most recent purchases, at a hole-in-the-wall card shop in Shibuya. Interesting enough, I was aware this shop existed and tried to look for it last September 2018, but I couldn’t find it and just figured it must have closed for good. I only recently found out from a reseller (which I am planning to meet to purchase some cards in person) that the shop is indeed still in business. It took a while to find it, even though I was familiar with the street it was on. It was definitely very easy to miss.

Of the 3, Machamp is the best condition-wise, with just a few minor issues at the back (the japanese old backs make whitening very obvious).
Omaster and Alakazam both have scratches and whitening at the back. Omastar’s holo seems flawless, but Alakazam’s is not (though the scratches are mostly visible under a strong LED light).

Over-all I’m still satisfied with them and for the price i paid, its not bad at all. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to find such old cards in that place, so im happy.

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Arrived here at 7am; I never dreamed I’d travel so far for a card, yet here I am. More than the card itself, it is the journey that makes it all worthwhile.

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Worth the wait! Seeing the scream and despair paintings, as well as Edvard Munch’s other works in the flesh is just fascinating. The bonus card at the end of it all is just the icing on the cake. Pikachu and Pokemon definitely transcends age barriers, as even the older people (60’s 70’s) seemed delighted by the pikachu promo. It is definitely a heart warming feeling to see other people enjoy the same things that we do.

Edit: added a photo of the promo in a display case i bought this afternoon.

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This is so lovely! I look forward to more stories of your acquisitions

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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed some of my stories.

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Interesting story! I am glad someone else is seeing the charm in Japanese product other then myself!!

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Thank you. There is just something about the way they are made differently that makes them more desirable. For a more recent example, even the bulk holos in the new set tag bolt look highly appealing.

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Story time!

I decided to go take a walk around Ueno park again, and dropped by the art museum to see the paintings again, this time an english audio guide was available as it was near noon and it wasn’t as crowded as Monday. It may have something to do with the adjacent zoo being closed on Mondays, but there were significantly shorter queues.

On my way out, I spotted an acquantance whom I haven’t met in person until now. Some here might know him, but just for his privacy I won’t mention names. Let’s call him Mr.O. We talked a bit, then we decided to walk to Akihabara for some late lunch (it was 3pm at this point) as he knew a really good Gyudon (beef bowl) place. We talked about a lot of topics, from Pokemon collecting, secondary markets, work, family, relationships; it is just absurd how, in this hobby, everyone is connected to everyone else in an uncanny way. Getting to meet the different people and learning their own pokemon stories is a grounding experience.

The first photo is of 2 other scream promos which Mr.O exchanged since the ones I originally got from him were damaged (I’ve done business with him multiple times in the past). It just so happened we were both in Japan at the same time, but we were going to setup an exchange regardless.

The next 2 cards were bought from different shops. Mr.O was kind enough show me around the cardshops in the area, many of which I have never visited before, and are easy to miss if you cant read nippongo.

The second photo is one which was supposedly altered in the english release, as the morbid image of Gengar in a cemetery was deemed inappropriate for western audiences.

Third photo is a Masaki Golem. Excellent at best, but still a good find. There was 1 more left, and 1 Masaki Alakazam, but I’ll leave that for someone else who may be looking to get them. 4 down, just 1 more to go.

Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed your time.

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Yeah I already got my eye on a few to add to my collection. Japanese product is just better quality and dont whiten like English cards. I have Japanese Gold Stars as well, the silver borders look clean w/ em. Heres an example:

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Those are very good looking cards! I agree on the borders thing, such a shame they don’t do that with english holos. The plain yellow is just bland.

Ah, someday I want to have my Japanese stash graded as well, but it is quite difficult to do from SEA. That is something I am currently researching and actually trying out different methods.

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Was zooming past the original and thought it was mr burns lmfao

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This is a very delayed update, and for that I apologize. I became so engrossed in the other activities during this vacation trip that social media had to take a backseat.

Here are some cool new additions!

A little back story: I purchased these cards in person from someone I met online. I’ll call him Mr.A. We ended up spending a couple hours outside Ikebukuro Pokemon Center just talking about collectibles and life in general. I am so happy to make another pokefriend, and it always fascinates me to learn about a fellow hobbyist’s collecting journey. What’s more, getting an insight into the local collecting scene and obtaining information on the ground floor and how things go is just priceless. Definitely learned a lot from this man.

I feel really conflicted about the rocket promos. At the time when they were available, i actually saw a couple of the sealed cases being sold at pokemon center Osaka, however, at the time I wasn’t into japanese promos, and didn’t know they were distributed inside those cases. Classic example of how being uninformed and disengaged can end up kicking you in the face, but it is what it is. Overall still happy with the purchase.

At the end, please enjoy a photo of the seasonal change they made to the statue outside the pokemon center. Couldn’t take photos of the other statues inside since there was just too many people. Had to leave after 5mins inside because there was no point squeezing through the crowd.

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Hello and welcome back to Macky’s!

This piece arrived mid-December 2018 while I was away on vacation, and is part of my various personal experiments on shipping methods from the USA to my hometown in the Philippines. It was ordered May 2018, and on November 2018 when it still had not arrived, I opened an ebay and paypal refund case. The case closed unsuccessfully since it was 6months since the order, and too much time had gone for it to be considered. I decided to write it off as a loss and moved on, so it was a pleasant surprise when it suddenly arrived in the mail. Note to self not to ship via traditional post office again, as it takes too much time, and tracking is pretty much useless once it enters my country; for reference, i’ve used a cargo forwarding service in the past, the cost was the same, but it arrived within 10days.

This card isn’t super special, it was intended as a living room display / conversation piece; much of my recent collection purchases have been more focused on artwork; pieces that i really enjoy and plan to display in my office and bedside.

Edit: for some reason, the image shows up rotated even if the original is upright. Sorry for the neck pain. :grin:

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This beauty arrived some time in January, completing the set of 5. Not much else to say, collecting goals remain the same.

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Got my first taste of wotc cards again after all these years. Got these from a local collector during last weekend’s regular league tournament. Traded a bunch of spare Ultra shiny GX for them, so no cash out from my end. Been holding off on getting base set cards for so long, I didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole, but seeing that original Alakazam artwork just brings back so many memories of childhood.

10/10 Happiness level.

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Complete ultra shiny gx ur set!
This wasn’t included in earlier posts as i thought it deserved its own post at the time.
This is the result of hours of fun card shop diving around Akihabara with Mr. O from my previous story.

For some specific cards like eeveelutions and charizard, i picked up some extra copies and resold them locally. Made some decent coin, nothing too big, but enough to cover my personal purchases and essentially bring my overall cost close to zero.

(See next post for remaining photos)

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Here are the last 3 pictures to complete the previous post.

Edit: Shiny Riolu is missing from these pictures, as I pulled him out of a pack and left him at home. The rest of these cards were purchased and photographed away from home, hence Riolu could not be included.

Here are all the scream promos side by side.
Truly a work of art.

Thank you for looking, please enjoy this photo of pikachu on mt. Fuji. :blush:

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Here are some nice pikachu poncho full arts i found while digging through old photos. I took this photo some time in july or august of 2018 as a keepsake, since i work away from home for months at a time. Very unique artwork with a very limited release.

Some more cool promos i picked up. Learned about these from a friend who quit pokemon and moved on to k-pop idols photocards.
Same friend used to buy and sell japanese merchandise but eventually became too busy with their family business. It is always sad when good friends leave the hobby.

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Got some awesome cards added to my collection! This is part of my personal project to stream line my collection and focus on favorites and rare, unique cards. Love the artwork on this mewtwo, kinda reflects how i would react when i win at arcade crane games.

One thing i did note, these newer japanese cards tend to be slightly off-centered. I was so used to the flawless japanese new backs that they do come as a surprise when they come out with minor issues.

The past few months i also slowly added some psa 9 bw era full arts, mainly to get a grasp on how actual graded 9’s look (as a sample reference point), and also because they are sometimes cheaper than their raw ungraded counterparts.

Thank you for reading, and please enjoy this awesome photo taken at Pokemon Center DX in Tokyo.

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Added some more Full arts to my Japanese collection!

These came in sealed packs so there is a 1:3 chance of getting either of them, and were only awarded to winners of Japan’s Battle Day (expanded BW-on) tournament.

I am particularly fond of the Lillie art, as you can see she is crying which seems to depict the end of an era (sun & moon). Very fitting card art as we transition into sword & shield come November.

Thank you for looking. Please enjoy this photo taken at Pokemon Center Osaka DX.

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