Thoughts on Pokemon scene as a new joined
I was always unfazed by the craze until recently when I decided to give in. I started by going for the TikTok live streams. First, I spent hundreds and then thousands in a single setting, only to disappointing hit rates. Back then, AH was only $14? I started to wonder if the packs were filtered or I was just having some unlucky streaks. TikTok Shop really made it so easy to splurge since there’s no physical transaction.
Then after collecting some chase cards, I was introduced to the trading groups on Facebook. That was when I realized this community is bigger than I thought. And more toxic than I imagined.
These are my takeaways from my brief yet intense exposure:
- How are people willing to pay >$10,000 for a single slab?
- Those who managed to keep their old cards in relatively pristine condition as a child are really lucky.
- How do people manage to procure so many cases and boxes that fill the entire warehouse?
- Is this a bubble with inflated demands?
- The whole grading industry is really cashing the golden cow.
- The rumors of reshrinked or filtered packs are getting increasingly worrying
- Is this business (not hobby) a comeback for the societal degenz? IYKYK.
- The returns of TOTO are higher than this.
I better gtfo before digging any deeper hole for myself.