The TRUTH of Card Collecting in 2025

[@refineme]

My in-laws and parents never understood how all my sealed cases can go up in value and make money, then I explained Pokemon is really unregulated gambling disguised as a children’s card game, and showed them streams of this stuff getting ripped casino style, then they got it.

[@INHUMANENATION]

I buy with a time horizon in mind that accounts for the 80% drawback I'll be offered by vendors. I'm not a collector of pokemon for example but have collected comics and cards like sports and magic since the early 80's. I invest in pokemon and the main problem I have with these types of commodities is the liquidity. So it needs to be accounted for I feel. Expecting 80% allows me to know what I can get pretty much immediately from a store or serious trader/buyer/vendor. If I was a collector I would certainly be more into trades than buying or selling since cash creates taxable events and all of this stuff needs to be considered. Luckily I'm not a store and only offer my stuff to market when the market suits my needs. I certainly would never call myself an investor if I was playing with money I will need in a month or even a year. That sets me up for bad situations.

[@thetankrodriguezshow5434]

Heres what ill say. 38 years old. Living in the states. Been around sports cards since I was a kid. I was a kid when Pokemon cards were first released. It was crazy then. Its crazy now. Yeah like the heat is expensive but you made a great point. Sometimes its not about that top tier card. Would it be nice to have...of course. But as I was watching this video I was organizing some cards and just admiring the different variants of Tauros there are. I want to get those graded and have them in my PC because I just love those cards. If you're around long enough, youre more than likely going to come across an excellent deal for something you really want. Love the video! I just think we need to remember why its fun.

[@alessandrorossi1294]

Hi, I just stumbled upon this channel. May I ask how Europeans stumble into trading cards? I always assumed they were an American thing since they seem to resolve around American sports. I guess there's soccer, but I never see those cards be worth all that much.

[@FirstGentleman1]

If people are only in it for the money, it is not a hobby. You mentioned at the beginning "You have no perception of monetary value, what you may have made or lost." That never should become a problem in the hobby. Remember when you, for the first time, pulled an amazing card and felt joy? You cannot buy that with money, it is not possible.

[@TheCrow0029]

I'm all about the PC. I don't crack packs and I don't buy sealed. I just buy singles for cards that I plan to play (did you know that these cards are often actually a game? crazy, I know), and I splurge on chase cards when I'm comfortable with the price, protect them how I see fit, and just enjoy looking at them.

[@badgerbaiter2888]

Ive always played card games but just got into sports cards. Its purely for the collection and not flipping. The Ideal is pull big hits if im lucky and sell to fund more , unless I want to keep it in the PC. Im in it for the collection 😊

[@thatcollector]

Thank you for this video. I still enjoy the hobby tons, but prices are just getting ridiculous now, and it's not worth the money your paying.

[@RarelyCased]

Appreciate you watching the video. That's great to hear, I would just like to get to a place where the hobby community as a whole go back to talking more about the artwork, connection and enjoyment of the cards as opposed to it always being about money and value.

[@ACollectorsDream]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[@PokemonDoshyy]

The funny thing people in the hobby are just riding the hype train. Even the ugliest card are getting rocket to the moon. While the beautiful art cards is affordable. Not dropping names but i'm having fun buying cheap cool cards for my personal collection and not for reselling.

[@RarelyCased]

Love this! It’s all about perspective, collect what you like and not only what is perceived to be monetarily valuable.

[@Gambles_Cards]

Great video, very thought provoking. I think the hobby as it was is dying but it’s just a transition to a new phase which I think will benefit the true collectors within the hobby that aren’t fussed about buying wax, breaks or PSA 10s. I’m having a fun time atm securing my PC cards for a lot cheaper than they were in 2022. The people I am concerned for are those that are addicted to breaks and have the expectation that they can make anything close to their money back. Not looking good for them at all!

[@RarelyCased]

Glad you enjoyed the discussion. I agree with the transition to a new phase as I feel like more of the "true collectors" are waking up. Breaks was definitely not mentioned enough in the video and to your point, I feel the only people who will be left to fund this version of the hobby will be gamblers who will lose the majority of the time.

[@johnn900]

I recently went down the KZbin rabbit hole for Pokemon cards. Finally decided to commit and buy a box, but it seems impossible to even buy a pack at a regular price. It seems bizarre to need a Discord chat or bot to even have the chance to buy them. I'll hold off for another few months and see how things look next year.

[@the_ktb]

I am astouned by your comment. I can buy cards for their retail price at my local grocery store at the register, maybe this is a US Problem?

[@metsrus]

Greed has definitely took over this hobby, turning collectors into flippers. When some of these cards are worth more than homes, they are commodity and become opportunity for even non-hobbyist to take advantage of. maybe once the profits are gone, they'll move on. It is like that for any market. For example when the real estate market was on fire, all people did was buy old houses, repair them and flip them for a quick profit. Not really different from people buying raw cards, grade them and flip them.

[@TheSushiandme]

That's why you work hard and earn $100k+ usd a year so you can buy TCGs to have fun and crack packs. Money comes and go. MTG crack is forever.

[@RarelyCased]

@@TheSushiandme 😂