We all know about some of the financial benefits of collecting. Some people have been able to quit their 9-5 and some folks have even been able to buy a house for a single card!
But what are some unusual ways that collecting has benefitted you?
For example it’s been pointed out to me on numerous occassions that I’ve been able to spot hard to see things pretty easily. If a coworker loses an earing they usually ask me for help. If I’m out in Nature with friends, finding birds or spotting a chimpunk in the leaves is an easy spot for me.
It suddenly dawned on me why that probably is. For years I’ve gone through thousands and thousands of listings to see if I can spot a Gyarados item in a lot, or one in an art piece. I’ve had to look for different colors and shapes looking for Pokemon cameos in art. I’ve also helped a good number of folks find non-tcg inclusions of their favorite Pokemon and surmize that I’ve probably just trained this silly noggin to differentiate subtle colors and shapes.
While certainly not a skill that’s been gained such as yours, I’m very much an introverted person and don’t spend much time talking with people outside of my wife, daughter and very close friends. I have no social media, nor have I for close to a decade and so my circle is small.
Collecting has reminded me that there’s a lot of really good people out there willing to share knowledge, help for the sake of helping and just be kind.
We will likely be purchasing some remote property sometime in the not too distant future and become self sustainable, so if it wasn’t for collecting I think I’d live a much more closed in existence. The benefits of that are huge and something I look fondly forward to, however I also am extremely appreciative for the reminder that people are good far more than they’re bad.
Coming to terms with things not under my control. I think in life we have a lot of things with absolutely no control over. Some desired, some not so desired. This hobby really helped me get an accelerated perspective on all of it.
Over my course of collecting, I have been priced out multiple times, scammed a few times, have seen people not so long in the hobby come in and showcase bigger, better collections after just returning back to the hobby, so much so you start getting envious. However, I have also made deals with the lovely folks I met though this forum, shared my love for the cards and received a lot of love back and been lucky with a lot of cards I got undervalued.
I know my collection is fleeting and can be easily be lost, stolen etc. I have seen the same happen to people here and how they make a comeback from all of it, the perspectives they have after losing what they have spend so much time loving and cultivating. It has also made me patient with a lot of things in life, more kinder, more open to others successes and also their troubles.
In short, more clamer, more kinder and more emotional mature.
Collecting has helped me significantly get through a dark chapter of my life as I battled addiction. Pokémon collecting and nostalgia for those beautiful days as a kid gave me the strength to push forward and dig myself out of the hole I used to be in. Going through this sort of thing really helps one appreciate the stuff that truly matters in life so much more than I could ever explain in words. To this day, I can for sure say that diving deep into my passions along with having a newborn son has made me happier than I ever could have imagined.
it has shaped my life in ways i never knew would happen, ive met so many people and had so many oppurtunies. I’ve traveled on planes for cardboard, ive met people ive never thought i’d meet, it has helped me through dark situations countless times since honestly as far back as i could remember. before i was even collecting cards i was playing the games and watching the anime since red and blue i started collecting cards again during 2020 before that i havent really touch cards since neo but was always very into pokemon and was how i destressed, fast forward to now. I met someone because of the hobby and we now live together and collect happily together. you never know what your passions can bring you, we just so happened to be from the same state and ended up in a groupchat together and eventaully met at a con and forward i still plan on keeping up collecting because my life is honestly more full with it. I know it can be stressful too, but you can’t have everything in the hobby. If we had all we wanted overnight, the hobby wouldnt be fun, so yes im going to say it has benefitted my life for the better in many ways
I’ve talked about this subject in some different thread but in my adult life Pokemon and losing weight go hand in hand.
In May 2014 I didn’t feel too good and decided to step on a scale which I hadn’t done in ages, first the monitor glass broke in half and then I looked at number it showed, 133 kilos. This was the moment when I understood things have to change, ~6 months earlier I had re-started collecting Pokemon so I used it as encouragement tool: every time I made progress with weight loss I also bought new things for collection and vice versa, it was like a neverending cycle of things going right.
The goal for first year was 30 kilos, I barely missed it yet kept going. In May 2019 I was already at 80 kilos, it felt right moment to stop. I’m still in similar figures but the main thing is I know there’s zero chance I go back in old eating/living habits.
Another thing Pokemon/collecting has improved is generally speaking my connection to nature. It’s safe to say the weight loss thing above is major factor in this as well but nowadays I enjoy going outside and if there’s a chance to make places look little cleaner I’ll go for it because it will benefit both humans and wildlife.
Pokemon collecting specifically? I’m struggling to think of much. Pokemon has always been quite sacrificial to me, a lot of squeeze and very little juice.
One thing, my english. Pokemon definitely played a role there. I’ve even caught myself thinking in english. I wasn’t bad before per se, even as far back as junior high I could stumble my way through a conversation and I only improved from there, largely thanks to my writings and studying. But now these last years I feel like I’m finally able to emphasize, pause and have that kind of verbal fluency and fluidity that make you sound less like an illiterate and a little bit more like a native. My writing has improved too, especially my casual writing.
Pokémon single handedly unlocked my artistic brain from childhood!
As a kid I would draw, build legos, create games outside, play music (drums/piano) and had the time and freedom to create. After getting back into collecting, I signed up for the E4 art contest and drew again for the first time in almost 20 years. Of all things I could draw, Pokémon was, and continues to be the spark of inspiration!
If you hadn’t said this I would’ve had no idea you weren’t a native speaker! You’re English is better than mine, although I am Australian so that might not be such an achievement.
Thanks. Back when I was a kid, norwegians started english in 3rd grade. I think it’s 1st grade now.
I actually noticed your excellent english too though! At first when I only knew you were located in China I was like “this guy must be from some english-speaking country.”
Pokemon has really helped me become better with finances and money. Ive spent more money than i ever imagined on cards, but i also have more money than i ever have. I budget, have financial goals and plans. Its changed the way i view money and honestly life in general
My brother once tried to show me a card trick where you take a card, look at it and put it back in the deck.
I immediately noticed and asked why the cards were all OC. He laughed. The way the trick works is you line up the centering on all the cards and flip the deck upside-down before the person puts the card back in. Then you splay out the deck and find the one where the centering is in the opposite direction.
I’ve since done this trick on other people with decks that have a very subtle center issue lol
I also think I have a greater appreciation for hobbies in general. I dont think collecting is all that weird, while before I probably would have shunned it more for things I wasnt interested in
Two nights ago I was at a dinner party and the lady who hosted it pulled out a napkin collection. I was super into it but I probably would have thought it was crazy had I not had my own coloured paper pulp collection
Reminds me of this documentary by Dramamine about barf bag collectors. I told some friends that I could actually relate to these old guys and they thought I was insane.
Understanding the different ways and reasons people collect cards has made me much better at asking compelling questions about other people’s interests. I’m able to have a lot more engaging, memorable conversations with people overall because of my time going deep in this hobby.
Echoing what others have said, not sure if it is exactly unusual or benefit but i have a lot more sympathy towards people who collect something. My wife’s grandfather wasn’t the most pleasant person but after he passed away we found a large stamp collection from his home. It was a weird feeling learning about that kind of passionate side of a person i otherwise knew as an angry man with questionable habits. It kinda felt i saw inside him and behind all the negative i knew of him.
That and i also found my wife through pokemon, i think that’s something
I guess I’ve been weirdly benefitted in that it actually gained me some respect?
I collect primarily Pikachu related items in general (not just cards) and have so since childhood. My family supports the collection but I’ve always gotten the feeling I wasn’t taken very seriously with it. They see the cutesy stuffed animals and figures and I get the sense that while they love me and support my hobby, they see me as a little childish?
Anyway, I feel like tides started to change when I actually got to talk to my dad a bit about the monetary value of my card collection. He was super surprised and actually wanted to talk about it more, and it didn’t feel like a “oh sure honey tell me all about your hobby :)” situation. It felt like genuine interest now that there was a possible financial benefit. My collection of these items suddenly wasn’t so silly.
Back when I was a kid, norwegians started english in 3rd grade. I think it’s 1st grade now.
