Hi all, very soon I’ll be coming into around £2000.
I started collecting just after the start of the new year but it was only small purchases here and there. Since my enthusiasm to collecting grew I noticed the prices of everything WOTC rise significantly aswell!
So my question is when I get my money at the end of this month (middle of October latest) do I wait and see if prices go down abit or buy now while I can!?
I’m only interested in the older sets.
Any advice, tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks
I say if you see something you really like and the price is okay with you then go ahead and buy it! Not a whole lot of advice besides that 
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Risk prices going up or purchase now, no way to tell man
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Depends on what you want to buy. For most things, I’d probably wait a bit to see where the market goes from here. It’s tough to be a buyer in a bull market. Things could continue to increase or it could all be downhill from here. Either way, £2000 (which is $2500?) won’t go very far in this current market so I’d hold off (especially if it’s a significant amount of money for you).
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This is a Pokémon forum and not a personal finance forum… however. My advice is to make sure all your personal finances are in order. If you have zero debt, how is your emergency fund and are you maximizing your retirement contributions? If you are old enough to spend 2000 on Pokémon you are old enough to prioritize those first. Maybe this isn’t relevant to you or your personal situation, but as a generalization it’s important regarding - “I just came into some money, what should I buy?”
As far as what to buy, buy what you want to collect. Make goals and see them through. Do whatever makes you happiest regarding the hobby. If you’re looking for advice about purchasing at the lowest price, financial gain, or ‘wHaT iS a GoOd PuRcHaSe’ you aren’t going to find it here.
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Send that £2000 to me
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Tempting… tempting
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I believe your question is when to buy, not what to buy, as you stated you are interested in only older sets. With that being said, WOTC probably has the lowest chances of a drastic retrace, as they seem to have the strongest market stability, price points, and interest. Specifically, any first edition base set card, along with holos in general. Do what you want with that information, as I could be completely wrong, lol. Anyway, from my personal experience, I’ve waited around for prices to drop and that DID NOT work out, haha.
The market is undisputedly at an all time high, so speculation of a retrace will of course be present. However, I’ve been seriously collecting for four years now and its always been at an all time high. 
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Yeah just wanted to see if anyone has seen cards spike, then dip again in the last few years.Tempted to just hold off for now and buy anything I like for a fair price!
All good on the financial side of things thanks for asking though mate.
This is extra cash on top of what I need.
Only reason why I got approval off the girlfriend!
I suppose the point I was trying to get across was is this the right time to buy, as I can’t see prices dropping any time soon!
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Yeah I get what you mean!
I could definitely spend the money I have and be happy with what I’ve purchased I suppose that’s the main thing!
I’ve really enjoyed collecting agin this last year and just wanted to maximise this opportunity that’s coming up!
Many thanks
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@pokemonguy27 My advice is simple. Don’t try to time the market. It will only cause stress and aggravation. Make Collection Goals like others have mentioned. Finishing a collection goal is very rewarding. Here’s a video I made that might help.
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It depends whether you’re buying purely as a collector or with the mindset that you’re investing in an asset. The outlook is much more straightforward if you’re just collecting because you love Pokemon. If you think it’s worth it to pay current market price to obtain the item, then the answer is obviously: go for it. If you’re wanting to buy these items to “invest” in, then the waters get a bit muddier, and there’s a number of resources (threads) archived on this forum to answer that question. The long and short of it is: 1. Nobody knows whether prices are going to go up, down or sideways - you have to figure out whether it’s worth the risk, 2. Pokemon is a collector’s hobby and was never designed to be an investment vehicle; it’s just a positive side effect of supply and demand, and 3. If you collect what you truly love then prices don’t matter.
Most people coming into the hobby these days want the best of both worlds; they want to collect because they enjoy the product but they also want their collection to grow in value. Hence price is a factor that has too much weight in their decision-making process, and they become hesitant at the thought of paying today’s all-time-high market value. So, with that in mind it boils down to one mantra: collect what you love. If you collect what you love then it doesn’t matter what the prices do, because you’ll never want to get rid of the item. If you think you might sell your collection at some point in the future, then do you really love it? If that’s the case then you need to re-evaluate.
Think about what set(s) you identify with the most. Then think about the card(s) you love from those sets and prioritise which ones you want the most. Let’s say 1st edition base is where your heart lies; £2k is not a bad starting point. You’ll be able to grab a good amount of the holos from the set, though you’ll have to compromise on condition - PSA 5-8 most likely. Forget the Z0rd, that ship’s sailed unless you can stump up more cash. Put a solid, realistic plan together, then execute it.
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very tough to time markets perfectly. The one thing I would suggest is not spend your entire 2000 pounds at once if it’s a large sum to you, as if the market does drop ~30% or so you’ll end up feeling stuck and not have much to do and selling at a loss will hurt. Buy what you like or spend some time trying to find things you believe are objectively undervalued
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Wait until January. Prices peak during the holidays then fall off. Consistent trend.
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Great video mate. Think my problem is I don’t have an actual goal like you said. I’ve made a good start on the base set, jungle, fossil and base set 2.
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Lots of helpful tips and advice thank you.
I think my goal is to complete all the sets up I’m collecting now which will only cost £200-300.
The other money can be spent on cards I really like I.e shining magicarp and gyarados. Shining mewtwo and get them graded.
It’s defintely more of a collecting thing for me rather than investment.
Some solid points you’ve made though and I’ll take them away.
Thank you
Thank you, here’s to hoping it does drop a little bit!
I’ll make sure I spend it wisely and not all at once!
Thanks
Ahh no way?
Very helpful advice!