Where does Pokémon fall among collectibles? When you think of things people collect, the categories that come to mind are:
Now compared to these Pokémon is relatively new/young despite being over 25 years old. Has Pokémon come to the point where they surpass any of these categories or is Pokémon still considered a bit niche/generational to 90s/2000s kids specifically?
Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!
Surpass toys, stamps and magic? Easily. Surpass sports cards? Highly doubtful. I also doubt Pokemon will ever have a sale higher than the highest coin sale
What about comics?
I would have said the same for comics but Logan decided to overpay by millions of dollars for his illustrator so now I can’t say it cause it isn’t accurate lol
Imo I don’t see why any Pokemon card should ever sell for more than an Action Comics 1 or Detective 27, given age and rarity and popularity of superman and batman.
Pokemon is a larger media franchise than both batman and Spiderman
Sonic comics > all of Pokemon
So Nintendo sells more cards and T-shirts and plushies… why is that relevant to the price of extremely rare comics from the 1930s with legendary characters?
I think the point was that the popularity of the franchise helps determine the price someone is willing to pay for a collectible of that franchise. Like if no one cared about [insert any comic book character] would that comic still have value just because it’s old. Most would say no.
This is a generalized view on it and not getting into specific items vs items but yeah. One can assume that since Pokemon has higher demand the more rarer items will outpace the rarer items of another franchise.
just my opinion.
I believe that Pokemon card collecting is still a bit niche and age-specific. Times are changing and TPCi has done a really nice job at making the hobby enjoyable for all ages, but we haven’t gotten to the point where Pokemon card collecting is seriously acknowledged/appreciated in the minds of the public.
There are flareups of hot news where even your grandparents are calling you about Pokemans, but the average person would probably laugh in your face if you told them how much money you have spent on this hobby.
I think it’s important to remember that Pokemon only became cool in 2016 with the launch of PokemonGo. Pokemon lost its coolness when Yu-Gi-Oh came out in the early 2000s, and was still quite the nerdy activity throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s. Once PokemonGo came out, everyone and their mother talked about Pokemon and it suddenly became the coolest thing since sliced bread. The cool factor jumped even further during the social media takeover of 2020 when Logan Paul and other streamers declared Pokemon as cool.
Now that Pokemon is considered cool again, I think that there is a bigger shot at it being taken seriously among the general public. As people age and as the brand solidifies further into mainline society, I could see it matching or exceeding the collectable categories listed above in terms of the collector base size and propensity for it to be considered a respectable “alternative asset.”
Why is MtG singled out, instead of just trading cards or TCG?
Also, advertising and signage are big categories. Old gas station Americana or Coke for example, or beer can be popular and valuable. And Art? Entertainment? Disney?
I think @Dyl has the biggest point:
I will make a slight correction, which I think we all will appreciate, pokemon didn’t get “cool” in 2016, people were just reminded of how cool it was. The quick double-down of history on it’s momentum with covid lock-down spending, then social media, gave us a glimpse of what the future might hold, but it is certainly still in the development phase.
Still, in the minds of collectors as apposed to the public… I was just talking with a business connection today in NY - he’s about 70, has been into collectibles for decades - pokemon was definitely on his radar… A few other guys at work collect trains and toys, and view PkMn similarly. (We’ll chuckle when the another gets the ebay chime on our phone. 
So it seems to me PkMn is definitely in the wind, but where it will land, and when…?
I think, that no open-minded collector today can look at a battle-hardened pokemon collector, and dismiss the legitimacy of their hobby.
I collect sports cards and a bit of comics, concerning sports cards for me Pokemon is really not at a point to surpass them actually, maybe in several years due to the fact that the current generation is less interested in sports/sports cards in general?
Sports cards are absolutely more common. I think the more culturally significant the subject is, the more collectable it is. I think that’s why you see baseball, football, and basketball being so collectable in the US. I think that the culture point is why coins and comics don’t necessarily dominate.
lol makes me feel good every time i over pay by a small margin to remind myself there’s always a worse buy
Spend a few minutes reading r/wallstreetbets and you will feel much better about every decision in your life.
There isn’t a fair way to compare collectibles that are 100 years old to Pokémon cards. The popularity of comics or sports cards isn’t the main factor, it’s the average discretionary income of the buyer. Most people in pokemon are in their 20-30’s. 30’s is considered old in pokemon, where that would be young in comics and a baby in coins.
lol probably right. I do my best to never use reddit. Maybe there is some good use for it but ive never seen any
Spend a day or two searching around and you may find something that you like. Be prepared to lose a few braincells along the way.
I’m 30 and I do feel old lol
The main difference in my mind is the reach & size of the franchise, which is representative in the scale/number of collectibles (cards, toys, etc).
I tend to agree that Pokemon is too young for it to have a “fit” anywhere. It’s not a mature collectible compared to comics and coins - although it definitely could be if it continues to stay relevant.
This is why I’m so bullish on high grade pokemon video games. In 10 years the average age will be 38-45 with much more disposable cash than the 28-35 year olds today.
Assuming supply dwindles, which it really should the prices should spike when all of the good games are in collectors hands!