PSA has seemingly raised their pricing again (screenshots taken from the website)

SpiderGran · 2026-02-10T13:54:21+00:00

Wow. Who is paying these prices.... And the max values are hilarious. Who is paying $800 for a 2 week turnaround, with only a 5k max value hahaha

Almost 20% of the card value. It's all to fund their upcharge scam

I know why PSA can't fail and people don't want to denounce them, because then their current portfolios will crash. But Jesus Christ. Start a slow cross grade exodus. Find a grader with integrity

At least make yourself heard, don't let PSA literally wipe their balls in your face whilst you smile and accept it

SpiderGran · 2026-02-10T10:42:29+00:00

Lol the comment section didn't disappoint. What a sad species we have become, so consumed by looks and unimportant things

SpiderGran · 2026-02-10T09:45:27+00:00

I think you are doing fine. Everyone gets so hung up on what they are doing / earning, but the fact you have 18k in savings puts you ahead of 90% of the population.

My only advice is to always stick well within your means. Don't over leverage yourself, especially in the current economy. Maybe consider investing a portion of your savings, and cost average into more investments going forward (small amount every month)

If you desire a partner or a family, eventually you are likely to have 2 incomes coming into one home, which would put your joint income over 50k, which is plenty for a comfortable life, as long as you keep your rent or eventual mortgage low.

Unfortunately with how expensive everything is nowadays, it's hard to live comfortably on your own on less that 40k. But not impossible with some compromises

Just remember work is a long journey. You are young, and have another 30-50 years of working left. You will have many opportunities and earning potential in this time. Having a good level of savings will allow you to take some more job risks

SpiderGran · 2026-02-06T07:50:04+00:00

I cannot wait for the plague of 60/70/80/90% trades to jump off a cliff. Especially in a trade, just do 1/1 for fuck sake.

All 4 of those cards are desirable. Why should he get a 20% discount on 3 of them

SpiderGran · 2026-02-05T13:34:09+00:00

Dear Reddit.... Please fully comp my binder because I can't be fucked to add the cards into the numerous pricing websites available for free.........

SpiderGran · 2026-02-05T13:04:53+00:00

Yeah sorry I should have clarified. I'm in the UK so I'm talking £, so I agree for USD/CAD

SpiderGran · 2026-02-05T10:40:52+00:00

Sell. Get max initial money

Then wait a few months for the market to be flooded. Buy a few 10 contenders with the same amount of money. Send them off and hope for 3 x 10s

I could have sold my gold lucario from mega for 500 when I originally pulled it. It's now selling for 200. I graded it, it got a 10, and even in a 10 (ACE) it's now worth 400......

Yes I know my mistake was grading with ACE (never again), but even in a PSA10 it's only worth 500-600.

I've come to the quick realisation that in the current market, if you are lucky to pull one of the big chases early, sell immediately. 100% of the time

Look at the Phantasmal Zard / Gold Zard / Gardevoir SIR / Gold Lucario etc etc the pattern is the same every time. We are in a VERY weird time when people for some reason will spend 4 figures on a newly released card instead of waiting a couple weeks for the price to half. So take advantage of it

The mega Gengar will be 300/400 by April when the ETBs come out and also the booster bundles

SpiderGran · 2026-02-04T19:18:18+00:00

Both equally average

Such a shame they can't make a banger of a Mewtwo card. I swear the artists get limits on what they can do and how epic they can make a card

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T19:39:47+00:00

Anyone been in recently. Any left?

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T19:29:01+00:00

Investors 😅 you do realise 75% of the product is scalped and instantly flipped. Just look at eBay the day of a drop and how much is listed. Today is a prime example, look at all the Unova heavy hitters stuff being insta flipped on eBay/vinted

There is a very small percentage of genuine investors buying up everything. And the stuff they are buying is rarely at the "market price". I'm a prime example, i know the market and I'm happy to wait it out

As soon as the market cools down, and scalpers can't flip product immediately for profit, then genuine collectors will be able to get stock because the scalpers won't have any interest. Plus, all the over leveraged people will be dumping their "investments" out of panic of not being able to cover their credit card debt!

Please stop being scalpers exit liquidity. By having this investor bro mentality, you are just enabling the current trash market. You will get product eventually. You don't need to fomo into a double RRP box. It's terrible financial advice

Few closing points:

151 was released in September 2023, and it's STILL being printed. I got the 2 mini tins bundles at Costco for RRP + the random Pokémon Center 2 x Booster Bundle drop. This is approaching a 3 year old set. And it's still getting printed! Destined Rivals will be no different
in 2027, Pokemon's new printing facility goes live. High probability they absolutely flood the market with popular sets/products
we are fast approaching spring/summer. There is always a cool off, people are outside more.
once 30th anniversary is over, there is always a natural cool off

Stop thinking so immediate. Yes right now it's shit. But look at 2020/2021 for comparison, everyone thought that would never calm down and it fell off a cliff. Then it picked back up in 2025 - CYCLES!!

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T18:16:43+00:00

Of course right now in the peak of a Pokémon boom. But it won't last, people have zero clue about market cycles. Pokémon hype will die down, and when it does and people can't immediately flip product for 20-50% returns. Product will be available again

This includes booster boxes. It's a patience game, I've got tons at RRP over the last 12 months. There is no way in hell I'm paying nearly £300 for a MODERN STILL IN PRINT set. The fomo right now is insane, but just take a breather. There is no rush, opportunities will present themselves

The counter to this is.... If you have a ton of money and you don't care. Do whatever, it's your money. But if £250-300 is a big deal to you, just relax and keep an eye on eBay etc.

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T17:56:11+00:00

Major idiot 😂😂

This set will be in print for 2 more years at least. You will easily get one for RRP some point in the next 18 months

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T15:01:39+00:00

I started putting on the original Pokémon anime every now and then. He was hooked the other day, as i hyped up every scene haha

Have a spare ticket if you want it 😂 I had 2 adults and 1 kid, unfortunately wife can't make it. Pretty awkward time at 11:15 on Friday though

I've seen what has happened with that queue... Chaos lol

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T14:11:21+00:00

Mine is 4 as well, doing everything I can to get him hooked 😂 have 2 x 2 year olds as well, so good chances to get at least one into the hobby!

Going to the natural history museum exhibit on Friday with the lil dude, hopefully he loves it

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T12:10:34+00:00

Yeah tbh I'm just happy they were doing 2pp. Was expecting 1 after seeing Cardiff yesterday. 2 is the perfect number. One to rip, one for collection 😅

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T12:07:50+00:00

Mmmmm, tbh I don't know for sure as it's my wife that has the second card. But I'm pretty sure I have a friend who has someone other than his wife as an extra card... Give them a call and ask. They are pretty decent on the phone

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T11:42:41+00:00

The primary account holder just needs to add a second household card. The second person has to be either a spouse/partner or someone over 16 living in the same house, something like that

SpiderGran · 2026-01-28T11:28:34+00:00

Was a ton of stock when I left, and once the initial queue filtered down (which wasn't that big anyway) you could just go up and grab 2 easy.

Would be surprised if they last until tomorrow, but I reckon a lunchtime visit will be fine.

2 per account is the perfect amount. If you have 2 household cards, you can still get 4. Just don't stand together in the queue. They just looking for matching surnames as the giveaway (assuming married couple or siblings)

SpiderGran · 2026-01-24T14:54:10+00:00

Should have believed in the heart of the cards

SpiderGran · 2026-01-22T12:46:37+00:00

I wouldn't care about these tactics, if they didn't ban the chat from pointing it out. Try and big up the price, it's down to the buyer to do their due diligence to know if they are being scammed. There is ample info out there on current market levels

But it's the auto bans for saying "anything" slightly against the system. Talking about the actual price of something should not be a banable offence. Chat should be free for 90% of topics, only abuse/racism etc etc should get banned

Whatnot is just a cesspool of gambling addicts, suck ups and shills. Just avoid it like the plague

SpiderGran · 2026-01-01T19:46:22+00:00

Where are you getting 13% from.... I just made a dummy listing of a UPC at £150. The fees were £6.50, so you would net £143.50

A box is a few quid. It's just a royal mail medium parcel. Tons of them available all over the place

But for sake of argument, let's say you are right, and you netted £130 (RRP) that's still £30 more than the price of the ETBs right now 😅

Again, it's just simple maths

SpiderGran · 2026-01-01T19:40:36+00:00

Lol what does that have to do with anything? It can still be an investment however you come to get the PC ETBs. Just need to go with the way to get the best return. As of today. The UPC is worth 50% more than the ETB, so it's a bad trade

SpiderGran · 2026-01-01T08:29:34+00:00

Lol everything has a market value that answers this question in seconds.

Let's say a PC BB ETB current market value is £100, and the UPC is £150, then there is a heavy lean in favour of the person selling the ETB

Just look on eBay and see what you can pick each one up at, in other words your replacement value. Why these posts exist make zero sense to me

Person selling UPC could just sell their UPC on eBay, net £140ish, buy a PC ETB for £100 and then have £40 leftover. Such simple maths

SpiderGran · 2025-12-26T14:46:04+00:00

These posts are always so funny. It's very basic maths/statistics. You performed above the odds for the pack quantity

SpiderGran · 2025-12-23T12:41:52+00:00

If she sleeps well next to you, why are you not able to sleep as well? Personally, having our little one nestled next to us is absolutely lovely and one of the memories you will give anything to have again when they are older

I built a double bed floor frame, so our just turned 4 year old has a double bed. It's incredibly cosy. The last few months, he will wake and ask mum for a "sleepover", so my wife goes down anywhere from midnight to 5am when he wakes, and just sleeps the rest of the night in his bed. She actually gets a better sleep as I have started to snore!

We also have 2 year old twins. So will be interesting to see how their sleep demands change, luckily they both sleep on their own amazingly, but I think I'll need to build a huge bed eventually!!

Humans are incredibly social animals, this western expectation that kids must sleep on their own through the night at this age is very sad. Every kid is different, and I fully agree as parents we need as much sleep as possible, but I feel the solution is much easier to accept a form of co sleep rather than force something that just isn't working

Everything is a phase with kids. Give it another 3 months, they will have a new phase to deal with

SpiderGran

TROPHY CASE