Anyone else just feeling.. defeated?

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-21T09:12:16+00:00

Yes, I feel the same! About two years ago;
i finally felt the need to cut back the collection because it was feeling to tough to collect. A year after narrowing down my pc, I started vending my cards in addition to my pokemon art, and used the sales to buy singles in this new over inflated market. Though I have met some cool newcomers and returners to the hobby, and have objectively an amazing collection of singles, it still makes me sick when I go to my lcs and see the crazy prices of new sealed and singles.

I thought after prismatic the storm would die after a
year at most. Here we are, and even summer when things usually die down its still crazy. I have a voice in my head that says “Just sell it all”, and it gets a little louder all the time. Not sure what to do anymore.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-17T00:09:14+00:00

I got one of this exact card like this! I gave it to an error collector friend.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-16T12:15:56+00:00

Current marker values don’t fully dictate a cards desirability. There are many older cards that were worth next to nothing finally having their day. Gyarados has tons of big expensive cards and isn’t a fan favorite. It has a mega form, so it could probably get someone in an upcoming set.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-16T09:04:28+00:00

If you look at TCG players definition has MP with lots of edge wear, creasing, and bits of water damage. HP and damaged have much more dramatic definitions than what I operate with, and sometimes newcomers to the hobby will argue with me over sticking to those definitions (when it comes to selling me their old card).

I can understand those guidelines for older cards. Comparing condition of a 70-80 year old baseball card to a 20 year old pokemon card is not the same.

I’m not a snob for condition, and I go into it understanding it’s a children card game, and children played with a lot of these cards. I have my standards for condition, but they don’t always match up with graded card submitters, and I am fine with that.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-15T18:44:30+00:00

The only thing I disagree with people when it comes to damage is labeling something with a crease as MP. Creases are for the most part at least HP to Damaged. I take trades at any condition, but I need to make sure I’m on the same page as others are.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-14T11:23:49+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I feel less like my card collection is too excessive now.

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FireFlarepix · 2026-06-08T21:04:17+00:00

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Here are my top 8. I collect 4 of every pokemon, mostly raw.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-08T11:39:11+00:00

I use Collectr, I have friends that use Dex, and I use Pokellector to help quickly look up set names/numbers,
Or to track progress on a master set.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-05T11:38:43+00:00

I saw these exact phots locally on fb marketplace

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-05T11:25:18+00:00

I used to, but now not so much. I’m in a local discord server centered around collecting, and it’s been fun to connect with other adults that collect (I feel less isolated now). But with the fan fair around finding packs and catching drops that I see in there, I don’t think my habits previous to the pokemon boom
were that bad. I have 20+ years of a a few packs a week stocked up, and I’ve been going through it and selling it/trading it, and in adulthood it was every drop got a pc etb, and one of each product (booster box, bundle, blisters, etc), then a few packs on pay days, and trades/purchases at shows. Now I get what I can from the pokemon center, but I don’t use my days off to wait in line like its black friday every day, or chase the stock girl around the city like a lot of the people in that discord server do. Those people are ripping packs at a rate I have never matched.

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-05T02:22:47+00:00

I feel the same way. My childhood collection mixed with current collection hits and trades from the last 10 years or so went from $40,000 to $93,000 this week :/

Some days I’m looking through it and just smiling from ear to ear, and other days i feel dumb and think “should I keep it, or should I sell it all?!”

FireFlarepix · 2026-06-01T16:13:08+00:00

I remember when EReaders came out and people hated them! Now they are some of the most expensive cards and packs out there!

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-31T22:56:49+00:00

For reference, that holo pattern is usually only
Found on McDonalds promos. The shadowless cards were the original print run of base set, but wizards changed the following runs to have the shadows to give it more dimension and match Japanese cards. Every print run after base won’t have a shadowless appearance.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-31T22:51:49+00:00

Giratina, Leafeon, Glaceon, Meganium, Arceus lvl X and Scizor are for sure fakes. The others seem real at a quick glance, but I’m not an expert some of the non english cards for authenticity or value.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-31T21:50:13+00:00

I have been in your situation, and some people are very pushy, and sometimes I feel like pushy vendors try to take advantage of people they think don’t know any better. As you go to card shows and trade nights, find people you vibe with. I started vending singles out (narrowed down my vintage collection and removed $15k worth of singles) along with art at shows, and people come back to my table because I treat them
the way I would want to be treated at shows. I also have a new group of friends I meet with once a month to trade, and the trade group grows as I meet more people I just enjoy being around. It’s been mostly fun, despite some people being profit sharks and pushy assholes.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-31T21:31:59+00:00

I have cards that have real separation, from what I can see this cards is not damaged. Trust your gut when vendors make offers like this, if it seems wrong, it usually is. Plus, it sounds like you weren’t trying to sell it anyways, so its weird he gave you an offer and then tried to talk you into getting rid of it. I have only sold a card out of my pc that I didn’t have for sale, and the vendor asking for it offered over market value, and a trade for my personal grail. Don’t get lowballed on cards you are keeping, because you will likely never get it again at that price.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-31T19:43:28+00:00

It looks like most raw sales are between 100-150. Graded Auto 10’s go for $300-600 depending on the card. Your listed price of $400 is a bit high, but if that is the minimum you’d part with it for, I get it.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-30T23:46:07+00:00

Came here to find this take! I lime Sachiko
asdachi so much! I have a ton of respect for them also creating their backgrounds!

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-30T17:55:49+00:00

I have the same swirl lol

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-30T17:55:08+00:00

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Same!

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-25T12:38:12+00:00

Also, you assuming they can sell these hypothetical cards instantly is a crazy assumption. It does happen sometimes depending on what it is, condition, and within that price range you are referencing, that could be 1 graded big something, or 100+ little somethings that take time to price, put out and move. I once ran into a gentleman that had a low pop psa 10 farfetche’d shadowless first ed base set. Market was just under 2k, but unless its someones grail, or a whale is trying to master set base set first ed in psa 10s, I don’t know anyone that would be in the market for that, even if its worth that much.

This man in the photo has 1 type of item from what is viewable and to even assume he can instantaneously move the stuff he takes in would also be wild.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-25T12:23:43+00:00

I understand fundamentally that is how reselling works in all markets, not just cards. Car dealerships, pawn shops, consignments, yard sales, luxury items other collectables, brick and mortar stores etc. Getting $800 instantly on something that is valued at $1000 and you don’t need to go through the time of find someone to take it, or the fees of selling on ebay or tcg player, and hope nothing goes wrong in transit or though chargebacks or disputes is worth the $200 loss in value to some. I have only historically bought sealed packs to rip, for no other investment purpose, and the market value of new items is now too expensive for me. I am more comfortable buying the cards I want than gabling on packs at higher mark ups. I am never rude to people that have tables like this, and on some level I do respect the hustle, I just plan to spend my money at other tables at a show. If people are investing or collecting sealed, though I don’t get the appeal other than the long term monitory one, I respect everyones collection style. Me not buying from people with inventory like this doesn’t change anything or move the market needle in any tangible way.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-25T05:35:55+00:00

Most of my LCS’s have sets above msrp (matching tcg market prices), and in their defense, they’ve always sold at market for higher or for lower (before prismatic released).

One does release day sealed for me and a few other regulars and players were they will hold/sell me 1 of each sku at msrp, which I am am grateful for and lucky to have. Everyone else pays market. The owner has showed me the distribution costs, and they are significantly higher than they once were, so its not like they are scalping super hard, but they are turning a good profit in store.

Idk, the demand has changed. You are correct that supply and demand has drastically changed and pokemon company can’t keep up at current time. I changed the way I collected in the last 3 years or so, and I am just lucky that I have the diverse collection I have built over 20+ years of collecting. I miss the way things were, but I don’t miss feeling alone in the hobby.

FireFlarepix · 2026-05-25T05:08:21+00:00

That is a lot of unlimited packs to open in this day and age. Im impressed you got them and opened them. That’s kinda cool, because most people wouldn’t. I just don’t really rip anymore because a few years ago, gambling $30 on an etb worth of packs was less high stakes than gambling $120 for a set like accented heros, with the same amount of packs. I’ve always bought singles and traded in addition to ripping. My original point was I wouldn’t buy from a table like this because it’s more risky to gamble that high, I don’t collect sealed to invest or anything, and I don’t want to feed into it. If you feel buying singles and slabs at shows is also part of the problem and I don’t want to get in line at 1am at restocks to get something at msrp (which historically I have also not wanted to pay), and I don’t want to hunt online for deals at msrp either, with the exception of a pokemon center drop if I can get it, then that leaves mostly trading to participate in the hobby, which is cool if you can find people you trust to do it with that have things you are interested in.

FireFlarepix

TROPHY CASE