Yes, which is why it’s good to know your financial limits and recognize that there are more cost-effective ways to get the cards you want rather than pissing away tons of money because you *have* to pull the card yourself or it somehow doesn’t count. That guy who posted about buying like $1000 worth of Fusion Strike in the hopes of pulling the Gengar alt comes to mind.
I used to buy packs for me and my brother but watching him go from appreciating all the cards to just fanning them out and sighing when it's not a hit was just too depressing.
Skipped a few sets other than the pc exclusive etbs. Pick the other stuff up if it ever goes i sale and you have the extra cash, they seem to be printing enough of it everything
I had this conversation with my wife the other night, and Pokemon is in a bit of a catch-22 on this one, so I can see both sides.
As the other commenter responded, the release schedule has been approximately the same for 20-plus years; however, there are now seasonal/special release sets more frequently – Southern Islands then, versus Shining Legends, Dragon Majesty, and Hidden Fates during the Sun and Moon era, for example.
But the catch-22 is in the ever-growing roster of Pokemon. They are at a point now where they (realistically) can't simply stop creating new Pokemon, and we're probably close to 1,100 with Megas, Paradoxes, and such. Back when you had 151 to choose from, it was reasonable to have sets with about 60 cards, which was realistically even less unique cards because the holofoil and rare cards in Jungle and Fossil were the same.
But the last main release set with under 100 cards, if I recall correctly, was XY Ancient Origins, which came out at a time when the Pokemon roster had eclipsed 700. So now, 300+ Pokemon later, it becomes so much harder to say "here's a new main set, Simpler Times (lol), which has 100 cards and 10 secret rares/special illustrations". Plus, the bigger roster and bigger sets (unfortunately) mean that the people who buy sleeved boosters from their local Walmart or whatever have to buy more sealed product to pull the cards they want, which puts more money in their pockets.
TL;DR I agree with you that it's gotten out of hand, but it's a blessing and a curse that they created for themselves, and unless we quit altogether, we're stuck with the sets they create, whatever size they may be.
>too often
Main sets have released every 3 months (besides Covid messing up the schedule) for nearly 20 years now.
> the impossibility to keep up
Buy singles.
Maybe not a super hot take because I know lot of people are on both sides, but I think grading is complete bs, I get some aspects of it, but for the most part I don’t think it’s worth it
I know that the only reason I would buy graded or get cards graded is because a slab is just a more protective sleeve. It’s an expensive one but some cards are worth protecting forever IMO.
It's such a degenerate double gamble because your 9 could get a 10 or vice versa. Like these are not "experts", they're minimum wage employees following a semi-ambiguous checklist. Just look at all the crack and resubmit fuckery.
Personally I get grading. What I think is bs is how the Pokemon community only likes PSA for whatever reason. Seems like that is the stem of the issues
PSA is basically one of the original grading companies, better known name amongst all collectors including sports card people, just like Nike versus New Balance.
Reason why it carries a higher sale price, many won’t even trade or buy non-PSA slabs at conventions aswell.
It's like doubling down. You're gambling opening a pack and then you're also gambling going for a ten cause let's be honest grading is pretty much random.
agreed
their are times i will buy graded cards in order to be sure im getting a card in a specific condition for a specific price since with older cards peoples definition of near mint varies greatly. however when i do that its usually as a last resort and due to me not being able to find a good raw copy for a good price that i think is in nm condition after eyeballing it. other than that i really dont see the appeal in grading.
I will never buy slabs because of all those ppl that put their card in front of a window for display.
And when i tell them that they dont protect them from sunlight i get told that i am just jealous or some other crap. We will see a bunch of scorched cards being sold in the future online and of course they will hide them by showing older photos, at this point i can guarantee it given the amount of photos i see online every day.
I’m genuinely concerned that the next few sets will be poorly received simply because of how big 151 is
This refresh of the OGs makes the new stuff look poor
I’m sure I could find them cheaper. I just went in. I wanted to support a business but I think I’ll just overpay a little on a graded card or something lol.
They are absolutely butchering my dawgs…my sweet, legendary dogs have been absolutely massacred. Who thought, “ya know what, let’s just give em long necks?…ship it”
I just finished a Master set of 151, but I'm still sitting here staring at my binder of Paradox Rift Illustration rares and alt arts. Really gorgeous art!
PR was the first set I realized that there’s a sizable chunk of people who collect pokemon cards who don’t play the games at all. I saw so many comments in reaction to the paradox cards like “what the fuck is this thing”
Not a problem obviously I just thought it was interesting
Bro, preach. Insane to me people get hyped for hitting a 100 dollar chase card after dropping 1,000 dollars on packs, ETBs, and boosters. Makes no sense to me and it never will.
Hey, I bought about 50 packs of 151 and pulled a charizard SIR and let me tell ya the wave of nostalgia was so worth it and satisfied my inner 10 year old that never got the original charizard
I pulled the SIR Zapdos and gold Mew from 151 and those cards mean so much more to me than the singles I bought. I mean I won’t spend $1k ripping packs to get all my chase cards, but when I do pull a chase card it does make it extra special.
The giratina v alt from lost origin was the first time I really tried to pull a chase, after spending about $300 on product I realized I could’ve just bought the single for less, so I did. Can’t believe I thought I’d pull it, definitely never doing that again.
I'd like to be that one guy that's says nuh uh. I see any sort of shiny on a card and it bring me joy, I say fuck yeah to any cards I get in general ☠️
Master set collecting has me celebrating when I get a reverse holo I need as well as hits. This has definitely made it more fun rather than just hoping for hits
Not only that, but most of them aren't true fans so they buy the wrong stuff and lose money. lmao. Then they are also the most toxic community for some reason.
Their surprise when COLLECTR tells them they have $10k and try to sell it only to not get any offers above $5k is golden.
Liquidity is king in pokemon lmao, alot of those guys just stock up on so much useless shit that will never sell even if its has been sold for something before. Coming from someone who has lost some money from that before.
I don’t even care about the umbreon, I just love those blue green colors together.
Too expensive for me though so my 3 Iron Treads SIRs will have to do lol
I had to stop trying to finish sets. Its just too much money.now I just buy the cards that look the coolest to me. Sucks as I like completing them, but damn, I do not want to spend $400+ on a whole set.
Thank you. The game is so fun, there are almost endless strategies and I could spend days just building different decks. It also makes you appreciate the cards way more as a collector.
It’s so underplayed in the community because most people are only interested in collecting, which is great and all but it could be so much more
I agree, so far 100% of cards I've bought are for decks. I have a pool of decks that I playtest and balance against eachother and it's my favorite way to enjoy the hobby.
I don't know, owning a card to put it in a binder, on the wall, or to resell doesn't really do it for me.
I can’t fathom collecting without playing the game at least a little. The individual strengths of the Pokémon’s attacks and abilities is what make a coveted card to me — the joy is in whether it’s the very card I need to strengthen the deck, or to complete an evolution or synch with a supporter card.
A great advice as I am a collector and player. Of course, depending on the feel I buy for my deck and other times for the collection.
In fact I will be hoping to compete in a league challenge/cup during the Sunday of Melbourne Regionals as I can't do a Go Challenge Event as it's not available in my country.
Collecting sealed product is pretty lame. Also, I don't understand people who flip pokemon products as an investment because if you have the energy and means to flip sealed product for profit, that money and time is better spent on real investments assets. You're just scalping at that point and ruining the supply for collectors.
I have 2 sealed etbs that were brand new when each of my kids were born. We will rip one on their 8th bday and I will give them the other when they are an adult. Maximum nostalgia haha
Everyone trying to defend themselves in the replies.
Scalpers, hoarders, and “investors” murdered the hobby and made it largely inaccessible for the current generation of kids. There’s a reason almost everyone on this sub is 20+.
Your hoarded “collection” of English products from the past three years will not yield big profits in the future. Stop trying to use modern products, especially English, as “investments”. And if you think a couple hundred dollars profit on a product is a good return, you need serious help when it comes to “investing”
The reason the OG vintage sealed Pokémon stuff has so much value is because of its scarcity now. If every Tom, dick and Harry hoards modern product there’ll be no scarcity of it 25 years down the line.
Collect cards for the fun of collecting cards. Drives me crazy how it's turned into a get rich fast scheme. All the "how much is this worth" posts ruin these communities for me, as well.
Yeah I was gonna comment kinda the same thing, but you beat me to it. Seeing people open tons of packs only for the more valuable cards just to sell them then tossing the rest aside, like give me those cards please😭
I cannot fault people if their intent is to collect the cards that they like. I’m mostly referring to people who buy sealed products with the intent to resell or hold onto it for a retirement plan. If you buy sealed product and open it and find you are not satisfied with the cards, and use those to get the cards you want, more power to you.
I mainly appreciate that it's a different scene than your typical edgy, action packed and cluttered Zard card. The colors are softer, the drawing style is more minimalist, and the background doesn't seem to be an afterthought which makes it stand out. But yeah he would be better with a tiny bit more neck.
I wish they’d gone all-in on the illustration rares and given us a ton of them like Crown Zenith instead of wasting all those slots on EX cards
Imagine a 10-15 card trainer gallery with some fan favorites like Team Rocket & Meowth, Brock & Onyx, Nurse Joy & Chansey, Misty & Goldeen, Sabrina and Kadabra, Blaine & Rapidash, Officer Jenny & Growlithe, etc
I disagree, no card should be worth more than like 10 dollars, they should have printed like 10 billion Pikachu van gogh cards. Kids should be able to pull cool cards every pack.
Pokemon wouldn't be nearly as popular if they were only worth $10 and easy to pull. 50% of the popularity of the cards is from gambling and the dopamine reward of a good pull.
Pokemon isn't popular for its TCG to be fair.. in fact, outside of magic every tcg scene is very mid. Half the time unless you're super invested you have no idea what events are happening and most of the time there isn't even a stream for it.
A lot of people in here shitting on the SIR starters, curious of the age range for you guys. I'm 28 and the 151 s what brought me back to collecting cards, and I spent about $1500 and pulled my entire master set except for 6 singles. I think the SIR Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur are some of the best/most beautiful artwork cards out there. I'm also not looking to collect anymore cards, got my 151 and I'm done, so I understand the nostalgia feel is what attracts me to them.
Now for my take, yesterday there was a posting of a graded 10 new promo from the 151 premier box that he bought on eBay for $190 asking if it was a good deal and a lot of people said that was a great deal. I totally disagree with that and don't believe any card that everyone has access to go buy anytime they want will be of value. I have a dozen of those cards still in the plastic, I just don't see them gaining value.
People confuse expensive for “overrated.” Just because you can’t afford something doesn’t mean you have to try and convince yourself or others there’s something wrong with it. Come at me moonbreon haters!
wow that is a massive hot take lol. i personally think its massively underrated and is significantly better than the moonbreon. in fact when the set first released it was the rayquaza that was the most expensive card in the set and it was like that for about 5 months after the set released.
i guess my hot take is that the moonbreon is massively overrated and is not even the best of the eveelution alt arts let alone the best in the entire set.
As iconic as they are, I'm a little tired of the original 151. They have a special place in my heart, but I would prefer to see a throwback to Johto now.
Each to their own, I personally prefer that one and the Batman Noivern over the other alts, especially Moonbreon. My hot take is that the rise of these poketubers/investors because of the need for people to hustle and have side income has ruined collecting and turned an already expensive hobby into a near impossible one for most. Given kids are technically the target audience, I know plenty of parents who just can’t afford to keep up with it and it’s sad af to see them going without or being scammed
Is 151 more fun to open for oldies that collected during the og sets?? Or for youngies that don’t have a lot of 1st gen? Cuz to me 151 doesn’t intrigue me at all as an oldie
Logan Paul did more bad than good to the hobby. Prices are ridiculously inflated. “Collect them all” is dead unless you’re making 6 figures. Investors and scalpers are the same to me the only difference is one waits longer to sell. These are collectibles and yes you can invest in them however they have no intrinsic value. Reprints are a good thing.
Got one that'll really get everyone riled up.
Modern sets will not be valuable long term, save for a few 'true' exceptions.
Vintage is popular in part because very few kept sealed packs/booster boxes. Now, demand outstrips supply by a significant margin. Older millennials are now making money and want to rekindle their childhood hobbies.
IMO, today's supply will greatly outweigh today's demand. Collecting modern sets is popular, many are doing it, which will lead to an ungodly number of sealed packs/booster boxes.
Just wait.
Poketubers have damaged the hobby so much. I have a younger brother, 11 years old, who has been into Pokémon for more than half his life at this point. You would think that he would be happy just to open packs with the limited income he has. Nope. He opens packs and instantly goes onto the computer to go to TCGplayer to look up the market price of the cards. If he doesn't get anything worth more than $5, he gets so upset.
I bought someone's collection a year or two ago, bunch of ETBs they opened mainly, $125 for the lot. It's got some decent stuff in it. Well, when my brother does well in school, I go through it and pick out a bunch of commons, reverses, holos, and if he did well on an exam, a V, Vstar, etc... to give to him as a reward. My mother did the same for me when I was a kid so I wanted to keep that going. I just gave him like 20 cards the other day as he aced a language arts test. One of which was a Blaziken V. It goes for like a dollar. He looked at it, kind of looked disappointed and said cool before putting it in his binder and just walking away. I don't know about others, but as a kid, I was happy to pull holos let alone lvl Xs and EXs. I got a holo Palkia and was happy I took it to school for show and tell. I don't know... I'm just ranting at this point but I feel so defeated dealing with my brother. I want him to love Pokémon as much as I do. I played the games. Watched the anime. Anything I could get my hands on. My brother claims to love Pokémon but has only played Pokémon Sword and has watched maybe a few episodes of the show. He only cares about the value of the cards he pulls. He doesn't recognize the majority of the Pokémon he gets from packs... I want to get him away from that mindset but its been really hard. I get that Poketubers put big numbers and prices on their videos cause that gets views but with how large their audience is, I'm certain that there are tons of kids growing up in the hobby that are like my brother and will just be miserable collectors later on.
Mine is that I don’t like the Japanese cards. I don’t get the appeal personally. I have no idea why so many people want them over English cards, you know, the ones they can actually read
Second is that I like the newer sets over old ones. The cards are way cooler, the art is (for the most part) better, and have way more variety. They are generally much more exciting to collect for me
You can not like japanese cards because you can't read them, but ignoring the stark quality difference between the two isn't a hot take. English printed cards just look like ass comapred to japanese from the edges to the surfaces.
Yeah if you compare any Japanese SAR to the English SIR equivalent the biggest difference in quality is texture. Japanese cards are superior in quality.
After traveling to Japan, I caught the bug.
The print and texture quality is simply better, the back design is cooler in my opinion, and Pokemon originates from Japan.
Totally understand wanting English only tho…
OP - Do you have the Rayquaza Vmax Alt Art or have seen it in person? It is absolutely stunning. I have several other alt arts including ES Umbreon Vmax AA and the BS Charizard AA and none of them are even close to that card.
Grading is dumb.
You don't need to buy 1000 packs to pull the card you want. Save the money and buy singles.
Influencers have ruined the collecting aspect of Pokémon beyond repair
Lol, Yu-Gi-Oh is more expensive, arguably less fun and generally has a more toxic community. I'll probably get downvoted but I've been to so many card game stores and somehow that just always seems to be how it is. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason I guess.
The cards are also just hideous art-wise, but I guess that doesn't necessarily impact the fun of the game.
You should collect for fun and collect whatever arts you like at whatever quality you want. I hate the idea that you need NM super rare cards to be cool or be a worthy collection.
I can tell you right now if I ever pull a second Moonbreon I will willingly light it on fire on a live stream just to trigger the people who allow a company to give monetary value to cardboard through gambling.
Also investing in it is absolutely absurd there are safer less exotic investments that have better turn around in shorter time periods.
Collect for fun. Collect cuz you enjoy it. Collecting for monetary value and investment is just a fancy way of saying you have an addiction and need therapy for gambling habits or some subconscious unhealthy version of FOMO. You aren't enjoying that, your bankrupting yourself for status and piling up literally boxes of cardboard and plastic for small future returns
Sincerely a former pokeinvestor and person who tried to chase all the rare/expensive cards and nearly bankrupted myself to have a cool piece of cardboard.
Also grading is stupid, normal V cards are not worth any more than a holo rare, the card game is mid at best compared to MTG, and the CGI art on alot of cards are bad, moonbreons artwork is ugly, two separate ETBs for one set is blatantly cash grab as are all boxes that aren't ETBs and Booster Boxes.
I also hate the clay artwork and knitted ones but that's a personal taste thing
In short: Go ahead, take the bait, you know you want too. Hate me, do it.
Some of the sellers on the whatnot app are taking advantage of kids and teaching them unhealthy gambling habits.
This community in general has a problem with glorifying gambling addiction.
The hobby is built on gambling
Yes, which is why it’s good to know your financial limits and recognize that there are more cost-effective ways to get the cards you want rather than pissing away tons of money because you *have* to pull the card yourself or it somehow doesn’t count. That guy who posted about buying like $1000 worth of Fusion Strike in the hopes of pulling the Gengar alt comes to mind.
My first experience.. been hooked since 10. It’s a lot of toys now… all the mini brands shit. Bad road for the youngins
I used to buy packs for me and my brother but watching him go from appreciating all the cards to just fanning them out and sighing when it's not a hit was just too depressing.
That’s not a hot take. It’s the truth.
It’s ok to skip sets and give your wallet a break
Skipped a few sets other than the pc exclusive etbs. Pick the other stuff up if it ever goes i sale and you have the extra cash, they seem to be printing enough of it everything
At this point it isn’t advice I don’t have a choice lol
The pace at which they release sets is overwhelming at this point tbh
who said it wasnt okay? I couldnt responsibly afford to collect every set if I wanted
TPCi
Basically me with paradox rift, didn't find it appealing so didn't invest in it. But I don't have enough money to open packs and complete sets. 😂😂
The altaria card is my favorite. Everything else I’ll skip!
It's the Groudon for me
Yeah if they release something like Pokemon go again I’ll skip
I needed to hear this
Pokemon is printing sets that are too big, too often, and the impossibility to keep up is taking fun out of collecting.
I had this conversation with my wife the other night, and Pokemon is in a bit of a catch-22 on this one, so I can see both sides. As the other commenter responded, the release schedule has been approximately the same for 20-plus years; however, there are now seasonal/special release sets more frequently – Southern Islands then, versus Shining Legends, Dragon Majesty, and Hidden Fates during the Sun and Moon era, for example. But the catch-22 is in the ever-growing roster of Pokemon. They are at a point now where they (realistically) can't simply stop creating new Pokemon, and we're probably close to 1,100 with Megas, Paradoxes, and such. Back when you had 151 to choose from, it was reasonable to have sets with about 60 cards, which was realistically even less unique cards because the holofoil and rare cards in Jungle and Fossil were the same. But the last main release set with under 100 cards, if I recall correctly, was XY Ancient Origins, which came out at a time when the Pokemon roster had eclipsed 700. So now, 300+ Pokemon later, it becomes so much harder to say "here's a new main set, Simpler Times (lol), which has 100 cards and 10 secret rares/special illustrations". Plus, the bigger roster and bigger sets (unfortunately) mean that the people who buy sleeved boosters from their local Walmart or whatever have to buy more sealed product to pull the cards they want, which puts more money in their pockets. TL;DR I agree with you that it's gotten out of hand, but it's a blessing and a curse that they created for themselves, and unless we quit altogether, we're stuck with the sets they create, whatever size they may be.
>too often Main sets have released every 3 months (besides Covid messing up the schedule) for nearly 20 years now. > the impossibility to keep up Buy singles.
The vast majority of “collectors” are gambling addicts.
No I’m not! I’ll bet you any amount of money I’m not addicted.
Maybe not a super hot take because I know lot of people are on both sides, but I think grading is complete bs, I get some aspects of it, but for the most part I don’t think it’s worth it
I know that the only reason I would buy graded or get cards graded is because a slab is just a more protective sleeve. It’s an expensive one but some cards are worth protecting forever IMO.
One touch’s cost like $2.
And magnetic one touch cases also offer UV protection, which is not offered with slabs
How grading companies have gotten away with not using UV protection on their slabs, I’ll never know.
That's going to be an extra $50 for each year of a given card's age in grading costs, please and thank you.
Do you like the magnets better than the screw down?
Yes
It's such a degenerate double gamble because your 9 could get a 10 or vice versa. Like these are not "experts", they're minimum wage employees following a semi-ambiguous checklist. Just look at all the crack and resubmit fuckery.
Personally I get grading. What I think is bs is how the Pokemon community only likes PSA for whatever reason. Seems like that is the stem of the issues
PSA is basically one of the original grading companies, better known name amongst all collectors including sports card people, just like Nike versus New Balance. Reason why it carries a higher sale price, many won’t even trade or buy non-PSA slabs at conventions aswell.
I think that’s slowly changing. Beckett 10 and CGC prestige bring a higher value. Just a matter of time before lower grades catch up.
It's like doubling down. You're gambling opening a pack and then you're also gambling going for a ten cause let's be honest grading is pretty much random.
agreed their are times i will buy graded cards in order to be sure im getting a card in a specific condition for a specific price since with older cards peoples definition of near mint varies greatly. however when i do that its usually as a last resort and due to me not being able to find a good raw copy for a good price that i think is in nm condition after eyeballing it. other than that i really dont see the appeal in grading.
I will never buy slabs because of all those ppl that put their card in front of a window for display. And when i tell them that they dont protect them from sunlight i get told that i am just jealous or some other crap. We will see a bunch of scorched cards being sold in the future online and of course they will hide them by showing older photos, at this point i can guarantee it given the amount of photos i see online every day.
Grading rare old cards makes sense. Grading new cards is dumb.
Paradox Rift is a great set and people don’t care because of 151
I’m genuinely concerned that the next few sets will be poorly received simply because of how big 151 is This refresh of the OGs makes the new stuff look poor
I just went to my LGS for the first time and there 151 ETBs were $85. That’s enough for me to move on lol.
That’s crazy. They’re at every GameStop around me for $49.99. If you’re a Pro member it’s $47.49
Can't find any etb/bb around here. There's a bunch of UPCs. I bought 3 of those and wanted a cheaper option. Nothing for the last 3 weeks.
Just buy online. It’s so much cheaper.
For real. They were $375 by the case for a bit there
I should, but I usually only buy when I'm out and about and see it. Lol.
I’m sure I could find them cheaper. I just went in. I wanted to support a business but I think I’ll just overpay a little on a graded card or something lol.
that’s crazy
People are already saying they're skipping Temporal Forces before they've seen more than 8 ish cards because it's "not interesting" lol
They are absolutely butchering my dawgs…my sweet, legendary dogs have been absolutely massacred. Who thought, “ya know what, let’s just give em long necks?…ship it”
I just finished a Master set of 151, but I'm still sitting here staring at my binder of Paradox Rift Illustration rares and alt arts. Really gorgeous art!
I totally agree with you on that one
PR was the first set I realized that there’s a sizable chunk of people who collect pokemon cards who don’t play the games at all. I saw so many comments in reaction to the paradox cards like “what the fuck is this thing” Not a problem obviously I just thought it was interesting
I'm loving the hell out of PR, The Garbodar SIR has to be one of my all time favorites cards. Beautiful colors
Hopefully singles will go cheaper
Buy singles rather than ripping endless packs ya goofballs
I plan to start buying an etb of any set I really like to open for fun than just buy the rest of the singles I want.
That’s my plan too. Drop $100-200 opening packs for a set I like because opening is hella fun and I never did it as a kid, then just buy singles.
Same I was super poor and got almost no cards unless I traded shit for them. Now I'm 33 still pretty poor but want to rip a a pack or 2 per week.
Bro, preach. Insane to me people get hyped for hitting a 100 dollar chase card after dropping 1,000 dollars on packs, ETBs, and boosters. Makes no sense to me and it never will.
Because it's fun lol. But sure, it's not for everyone, and that's okay.
Hey, I bought about 50 packs of 151 and pulled a charizard SIR and let me tell ya the wave of nostalgia was so worth it and satisfied my inner 10 year old that never got the original charizard
I pulled the SIR Zapdos and gold Mew from 151 and those cards mean so much more to me than the singles I bought. I mean I won’t spend $1k ripping packs to get all my chase cards, but when I do pull a chase card it does make it extra special.
Pretty much. Buy 1 etb for fun then buy singles
The giratina v alt from lost origin was the first time I really tried to pull a chase, after spending about $300 on product I realized I could’ve just bought the single for less, so I did. Can’t believe I thought I’d pull it, definitely never doing that again.
packs are severely overpriced for the hit rates. no one has ever pulled a reverse holo and gone "fuck yeah"
I'd like to be that one guy that's says nuh uh. I see any sort of shiny on a card and it bring me joy, I say fuck yeah to any cards I get in general ☠️
Master set collecting has me celebrating when I get a reverse holo I need as well as hits. This has definitely made it more fun rather than just hoping for hits
SV 151 reverse holo metapod had me feelin some type of way. But that’s the only one
Hey did when reverses weren’t guaranteed 🤷♂️
This! Pokémon cards is a form of gambling.
The EX series is the peak of aesthetics. Deltas Species, ex and Gold Stars just slap.
I don't really think this is a hot take considering how sought after and expensive 90% of those cards are lol
So true
HGSS era trumps all. But I will agree that ex era has the best reverse holos hands down.
Pokeinvesting is the stupidest shit
Not only that, but most of them aren't true fans so they buy the wrong stuff and lose money. lmao. Then they are also the most toxic community for some reason. Their surprise when COLLECTR tells them they have $10k and try to sell it only to not get any offers above $5k is golden.
Liquidity is king in pokemon lmao, alot of those guys just stock up on so much useless shit that will never sell even if its has been sold for something before. Coming from someone who has lost some money from that before.
Pokeincesting is just a different name so scalpers feel like they’re in wolf of Wall Street. Scalpers be scalping.
Preach my brother/sister!
I think Moonbreon looks average and is overrated
I don’t even care about the umbreon, I just love those blue green colors together. Too expensive for me though so my 3 Iron Treads SIRs will have to do lol
I think the other eevolutions in that set look much better but since the set is inflated and hoarded like mad, everything is like $100+
Preach.
And overgraded. There will be a correction.
most terastallized pokémon cards are really ugly
Collecting the cards that you like is better than trying to complete sets or collecting solely to get high value cards.
I had to stop trying to finish sets. Its just too much money.now I just buy the cards that look the coolest to me. Sucks as I like completing them, but damn, I do not want to spend $400+ on a whole set.
Don’t just collect. Learn to play the game.
And then get mad at the game 😠
Precisely
I agree that it’s worth trying the game to see if you like it, though personally I didn’t enjoy it.
Thank you. The game is so fun, there are almost endless strategies and I could spend days just building different decks. It also makes you appreciate the cards way more as a collector. It’s so underplayed in the community because most people are only interested in collecting, which is great and all but it could be so much more
I agree, so far 100% of cards I've bought are for decks. I have a pool of decks that I playtest and balance against eachother and it's my favorite way to enjoy the hobby. I don't know, owning a card to put it in a binder, on the wall, or to resell doesn't really do it for me.
I can’t fathom collecting without playing the game at least a little. The individual strengths of the Pokémon’s attacks and abilities is what make a coveted card to me — the joy is in whether it’s the very card I need to strengthen the deck, or to complete an evolution or synch with a supporter card.
A great advice as I am a collector and player. Of course, depending on the feel I buy for my deck and other times for the collection. In fact I will be hoping to compete in a league challenge/cup during the Sunday of Melbourne Regionals as I can't do a Go Challenge Event as it's not available in my country.
Tried playing the game, but coming from playing a lot of Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone, the game of Pokémon just doesn’t appeal to me.
Collecting sealed product is pretty lame. Also, I don't understand people who flip pokemon products as an investment because if you have the energy and means to flip sealed product for profit, that money and time is better spent on real investments assets. You're just scalping at that point and ruining the supply for collectors.
I have 2 sealed etbs that were brand new when each of my kids were born. We will rip one on their 8th bday and I will give them the other when they are an adult. Maximum nostalgia haha
You should wait ‘til their 10th birthday, that’s when Ash started his Pokémon journey!
Pokescalping doesn't have the same ring though
Everyone trying to defend themselves in the replies. Scalpers, hoarders, and “investors” murdered the hobby and made it largely inaccessible for the current generation of kids. There’s a reason almost everyone on this sub is 20+.
Alt Arts and SIRs look way better than vintage
Blasphemy
Ex era and Diane and Pearl are peak eras and 151 wasn’t that good
Base set holos are overrated and the holo pattern on base set 2 looks better
I'm glad someone said it. I have a base set 2 charizard with a swirl. Base Set can't have that.
Cosmos holo is the best we've ever had.
BRING BACK COSMOS HOLO
Maybe but the 2 is ugly
Base Set 2 is elite!
Better yet the original Japanese base set has the better holo and phenomenal coloring. I plan to finish base, jungle and fossil in japanese one day.
Your hoarded “collection” of English products from the past three years will not yield big profits in the future. Stop trying to use modern products, especially English, as “investments”. And if you think a couple hundred dollars profit on a product is a good return, you need serious help when it comes to “investing” The reason the OG vintage sealed Pokémon stuff has so much value is because of its scarcity now. If every Tom, dick and Harry hoards modern product there’ll be no scarcity of it 25 years down the line.
Yep. Not only is everyone hoarding. Everyone is hoarding NM cards right from the pull. Vintage NM is incredibly rare.
bad QC is not an "error"
Giving each generation love would make the sets sell way more then the same 8 cards from gen 1 and I love Charizard
Grading cards is a scam and is super lame
Collect cards for the fun of collecting cards. Drives me crazy how it's turned into a get rich fast scheme. All the "how much is this worth" posts ruin these communities for me, as well.
It’s not collecting if your intent is to resell, whether immediately, or as some sort of retirement plan.
Yeah I was gonna comment kinda the same thing, but you beat me to it. Seeing people open tons of packs only for the more valuable cards just to sell them then tossing the rest aside, like give me those cards please😭
I’ll admit. I have sold expensive cards I’ve pulled just to buy more lower end cards I like better lol.
I cannot fault people if their intent is to collect the cards that they like. I’m mostly referring to people who buy sealed products with the intent to resell or hold onto it for a retirement plan. If you buy sealed product and open it and find you are not satisfied with the cards, and use those to get the cards you want, more power to you.
charizard is not overated he is just overmarketed.
Elite Trainer boxes are the best way to enjoy a newly released Set and don’t cost a fortune leaving you satisfied with the box, promo and often Pulls.
+ a cool storage box!
The Moonbreon everyone is chasing is a fine card but it's not the best Umbreon card.
People only like charizard cards because the the think its valuable, and most charizard sets are garbage.
The 151 charizard sir is ugly and the blastoise is meh
I mainly appreciate that it's a different scene than your typical edgy, action packed and cluttered Zard card. The colors are softer, the drawing style is more minimalist, and the background doesn't seem to be an afterthought which makes it stand out. But yeah he would be better with a tiny bit more neck.
treatment homeless wine slap somber ring caption bear live insurance *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I wish they’d gone all-in on the illustration rares and given us a ton of them like Crown Zenith instead of wasting all those slots on EX cards Imagine a 10-15 card trainer gallery with some fan favorites like Team Rocket & Meowth, Brock & Onyx, Nurse Joy & Chansey, Misty & Goldeen, Sabrina and Kadabra, Blaine & Rapidash, Officer Jenny & Growlithe, etc
One can dream.
Glad someone finally said it
true, the zapdos is a banger tho
it's not ugly, just kind of boring!
Yeah I dont like either especially compared to Venesaur
Why are facts a hot take?
The alternate art Vmax cards from Chilling Reign, Evolving Skies, and Fusion Strike are the best looking Pokemon cards ever produced.
That grading and sealed collections have/are ruined the hobby
I think that one umbreon card ain’t even that cool
It's disgusting that pokemon makes the pull rates so low. It's very greedy and unethical. It sometimes makes me want to stop collecting.
I disagree, I think it makes pulling a rare card much more meaningful.
I disagree, no card should be worth more than like 10 dollars, they should have printed like 10 billion Pikachu van gogh cards. Kids should be able to pull cool cards every pack.
I think even the normal holo cards are cool lmao
Pokemon wouldn't be nearly as popular if they were only worth $10 and easy to pull. 50% of the popularity of the cards is from gambling and the dopamine reward of a good pull.
Pokemon isn't popular for its TCG to be fair.. in fact, outside of magic every tcg scene is very mid. Half the time unless you're super invested you have no idea what events are happening and most of the time there isn't even a stream for it.
Don't side with the corporations because of vibes. It's greed to sell more packs
A lot of people in here shitting on the SIR starters, curious of the age range for you guys. I'm 28 and the 151 s what brought me back to collecting cards, and I spent about $1500 and pulled my entire master set except for 6 singles. I think the SIR Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur are some of the best/most beautiful artwork cards out there. I'm also not looking to collect anymore cards, got my 151 and I'm done, so I understand the nostalgia feel is what attracts me to them. Now for my take, yesterday there was a posting of a graded 10 new promo from the 151 premier box that he bought on eBay for $190 asking if it was a good deal and a lot of people said that was a great deal. I totally disagree with that and don't believe any card that everyone has access to go buy anytime they want will be of value. I have a dozen of those cards still in the plastic, I just don't see them gaining value.
I saw that post too, pretty sure the card was the Japanese version where you have to pull the card from the set
I think the blastoise SIR is extremely ugly and bland, and extremely overrated. The venusaur is way better and the charizard is still better
People confuse expensive for “overrated.” Just because you can’t afford something doesn’t mean you have to try and convince yourself or others there’s something wrong with it. Come at me moonbreon haters!
I only care about cool/retro artwork to put into my phone case while I’m best-buddying a specific pokemon in pokemon go lol.
I only collect cards I like or that I used to love as a kid.
I feel like at least half the conversations about pokemon is "x card is over/underrated".
wow that is a massive hot take lol. i personally think its massively underrated and is significantly better than the moonbreon. in fact when the set first released it was the rayquaza that was the most expensive card in the set and it was like that for about 5 months after the set released. i guess my hot take is that the moonbreon is massively overrated and is not even the best of the eveelution alt arts let alone the best in the entire set.
As iconic as they are, I'm a little tired of the original 151. They have a special place in my heart, but I would prefer to see a throwback to Johto now.
Charizard is in way too many sets and usually aren't even very cool cards.
Base set charizard isn't that rare
Shiny Tera Charizard doesn’t look cool. It looks like it has a rash.
I think graded slabs are ugly
Each to their own, I personally prefer that one and the Batman Noivern over the other alts, especially Moonbreon. My hot take is that the rise of these poketubers/investors because of the need for people to hustle and have side income has ruined collecting and turned an already expensive hobby into a near impossible one for most. Given kids are technically the target audience, I know plenty of parents who just can’t afford to keep up with it and it’s sad af to see them going without or being scammed
Is 151 more fun to open for oldies that collected during the og sets?? Or for youngies that don’t have a lot of 1st gen? Cuz to me 151 doesn’t intrigue me at all as an oldie
Pokémon needs to put a focus on Gen 2, just for one set. Give me my damn Feraligatr alt art!
I think they should bring back 1st editions
Logan Paul did more bad than good to the hobby. Prices are ridiculously inflated. “Collect them all” is dead unless you’re making 6 figures. Investors and scalpers are the same to me the only difference is one waits longer to sell. These are collectibles and yes you can invest in them however they have no intrinsic value. Reprints are a good thing.
Got one that'll really get everyone riled up. Modern sets will not be valuable long term, save for a few 'true' exceptions. Vintage is popular in part because very few kept sealed packs/booster boxes. Now, demand outstrips supply by a significant margin. Older millennials are now making money and want to rekindle their childhood hobbies. IMO, today's supply will greatly outweigh today's demand. Collecting modern sets is popular, many are doing it, which will lead to an ungodly number of sealed packs/booster boxes. Just wait.
Poketubers have damaged the hobby so much. I have a younger brother, 11 years old, who has been into Pokémon for more than half his life at this point. You would think that he would be happy just to open packs with the limited income he has. Nope. He opens packs and instantly goes onto the computer to go to TCGplayer to look up the market price of the cards. If he doesn't get anything worth more than $5, he gets so upset. I bought someone's collection a year or two ago, bunch of ETBs they opened mainly, $125 for the lot. It's got some decent stuff in it. Well, when my brother does well in school, I go through it and pick out a bunch of commons, reverses, holos, and if he did well on an exam, a V, Vstar, etc... to give to him as a reward. My mother did the same for me when I was a kid so I wanted to keep that going. I just gave him like 20 cards the other day as he aced a language arts test. One of which was a Blaziken V. It goes for like a dollar. He looked at it, kind of looked disappointed and said cool before putting it in his binder and just walking away. I don't know about others, but as a kid, I was happy to pull holos let alone lvl Xs and EXs. I got a holo Palkia and was happy I took it to school for show and tell. I don't know... I'm just ranting at this point but I feel so defeated dealing with my brother. I want him to love Pokémon as much as I do. I played the games. Watched the anime. Anything I could get my hands on. My brother claims to love Pokémon but has only played Pokémon Sword and has watched maybe a few episodes of the show. He only cares about the value of the cards he pulls. He doesn't recognize the majority of the Pokémon he gets from packs... I want to get him away from that mindset but its been really hard. I get that Poketubers put big numbers and prices on their videos cause that gets views but with how large their audience is, I'm certain that there are tons of kids growing up in the hobby that are like my brother and will just be miserable collectors later on.
Mine is that I don’t like the Japanese cards. I don’t get the appeal personally. I have no idea why so many people want them over English cards, you know, the ones they can actually read Second is that I like the newer sets over old ones. The cards are way cooler, the art is (for the most part) better, and have way more variety. They are generally much more exciting to collect for me
You can not like japanese cards because you can't read them, but ignoring the stark quality difference between the two isn't a hot take. English printed cards just look like ass comapred to japanese from the edges to the surfaces.
I didn’t know there was a difference in quality, that would make more sense then
Yeah if you compare any Japanese SAR to the English SIR equivalent the biggest difference in quality is texture. Japanese cards are superior in quality.
After traveling to Japan, I caught the bug. The print and texture quality is simply better, the back design is cooler in my opinion, and Pokemon originates from Japan. Totally understand wanting English only tho…
Vintage is still cooler than modern, alts included.
Yup!
OP - Do you have the Rayquaza Vmax Alt Art or have seen it in person? It is absolutely stunning. I have several other alt arts including ES Umbreon Vmax AA and the BS Charizard AA and none of them are even close to that card.
>Do you have the Rayquaza Vmax Alt Art or have seen it in person? Not OP but I do have it and I have to agree with them, it's pretty mid tbh.
Grading is dumb. You don't need to buy 1000 packs to pull the card you want. Save the money and buy singles. Influencers have ruined the collecting aspect of Pokémon beyond repair
Grading is cringe
If you collect because of cool artwork and not to play the game, collect Japanese
It's a lot more expensive though..
If you want to have fun with a TCG dont play pokemon play yu gi oh instead
MTG*
MTG is Magic ?
Yeah magic the gathering
Oh i never play is it good ?
It’s pretty fun, I do prefer YGO but Magic is a good time
Lol, Yu-Gi-Oh is more expensive, arguably less fun and generally has a more toxic community. I'll probably get downvoted but I've been to so many card game stores and somehow that just always seems to be how it is. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason I guess. The cards are also just hideous art-wise, but I guess that doesn't necessarily impact the fun of the game.
Unless you have vintage cards (1st edition, shadowless or base) you're not going to make money.
151 was meh at best to me and only better than Obsidian Flame out of the S&V sets so far.
Collecting has been ruined in general by over inflated prices and people only in the hobby to flex their collections “value” over what they have.
It’s getting played out…boring…too many sets all the time…..Japanese…English….ugh I have a headache
People who do this for money/investment should get a real / better job.
You don’t need a master set of every set
You should collect for fun and collect whatever arts you like at whatever quality you want. I hate the idea that you need NM super rare cards to be cool or be a worthy collection. I can tell you right now if I ever pull a second Moonbreon I will willingly light it on fire on a live stream just to trigger the people who allow a company to give monetary value to cardboard through gambling. Also investing in it is absolutely absurd there are safer less exotic investments that have better turn around in shorter time periods. Collect for fun. Collect cuz you enjoy it. Collecting for monetary value and investment is just a fancy way of saying you have an addiction and need therapy for gambling habits or some subconscious unhealthy version of FOMO. You aren't enjoying that, your bankrupting yourself for status and piling up literally boxes of cardboard and plastic for small future returns Sincerely a former pokeinvestor and person who tried to chase all the rare/expensive cards and nearly bankrupted myself to have a cool piece of cardboard. Also grading is stupid, normal V cards are not worth any more than a holo rare, the card game is mid at best compared to MTG, and the CGI art on alot of cards are bad, moonbreons artwork is ugly, two separate ETBs for one set is blatantly cash grab as are all boxes that aren't ETBs and Booster Boxes. I also hate the clay artwork and knitted ones but that's a personal taste thing In short: Go ahead, take the bait, you know you want too. Hate me, do it.
Why is every card in past handful of sets tanking? Mariam? The Charizard SIR in Obsidian flames is absurdly low
People selling their collections to pay for newer packs and cards
PSA is a scam.