u/its_chickentown

I wanted to share some thoughts about Pokémon, what it has become and where it seems to be heading.

After a long hiatus, I’ve recently been trying to find products at MSRP, and the experience has been interesting, to say the least. This morning, I went to Meijer, where they have a purchase limit. However, after buying one or two items, some customers simply went to the back of the line and made another purchase. They kept repeating this revolving-door process, effectively bypassing the limit while employees allowed it to happen.

The attitude surrounding anything Pokémon-related has also become abysmal. Obviously, the hype has something to do with it, but even casually asking someone, “Hey, what did you get?” can be met with a terrible attitude and an unmistakable “screw you” mentality.

What has this hobby become?

I came from collecting sports cards in the mid-’90s and was lucky enough to open some of the first Pokémon booster packs sold at FuncoLand. In my experience, the cultures surrounding sports cards and Pokémon are now polar opposites. Many sports card collectors are friendly and pleasant. They remember collecting when they were young, possibly as Little Leaguers, and recognize that we’re now adults enjoying a hobby.

With Pokémon, however, I sometimes feel as though I’m dealing with adults who never really grew up. I don’t see people lining up at 6 a.m. dressed as LeBron James to score the latest NBA release, but with Pokémon, you might see a grown adult wearing Pikachu pajamas while waiting in line.

Then there are the looks of desperation on some vendors’ faces, the ridiculous comments on videos, and people sending in nearly everything they obtain for grading in hopes of getting a 10 and hitting it big.

The logical conclusion I keep reaching is that money is destroying the hobby. When did this happen?

I feel like a bit of a black sheep in Pokémon culture. I simply don’t fit in, and I often find it difficult to communicate with other collectors. I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts about the cutthroat attitudes, the “everyone for themselves” mentality, and the general hostility surrounding the hobby.

Looking at it objectively, there is clearly an issue. When are we going to hold one another accountable for the problems we see? Between scalpers, grading culture, grading companies, pricing discrepancies among those companies, and the secondary market, have we done this to ourselves?

I wanted to share some thoughts about Pokémon, what it has become and where it seems to be heading.

After a long hiatus, I’ve recently been trying to find products at MSRP, and the experience has been interesting, to say the least. This morning, I went to Meijer, where they have a purchase limit. However, after buying one or two items, some customers simply went to the back of the line and made another purchase. They kept repeating this revolving-door process, effectively bypassing the limit while employees allowed it to happen.

The attitude surrounding anything Pokémon-related has also become abysmal. Obviously, the hype has something to do with it, but even casually asking someone, “Hey, what did you get?” can be met with a terrible attitude and an unmistakable “screw you” mentality.

What has this hobby become?

I came from collecting sports cards in the mid-’90s and was lucky enough to open some of the first Pokémon booster packs sold at FuncoLand. In my experience, the cultures surrounding sports cards and Pokémon are now polar opposites. Many sports card collectors are friendly and pleasant. They remember collecting when they were young, possibly as Little Leaguers, and recognize that we’re now adults enjoying a hobby.

With Pokémon, however, I sometimes feel as though I’m dealing with adults who never really grew up. I don’t see people lining up at 6 a.m. dressed as LeBron James to score the latest NBA release, but with Pokémon, you might see a grown adult wearing Pikachu pajamas while waiting in line.

Then there are the looks of desperation on some vendors’ faces, the ridiculous comments on videos, and people sending in nearly everything they obtain for grading in hopes of getting a 10 and hitting it big.

The logical conclusion I keep reaching is that money is destroying the hobby. When did this happen?

I feel like a bit of a black sheep in Pokémon culture. I simply don’t fit in, and I often find it difficult to communicate with other collectors. I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts about the cutthroat attitudes, the “everyone for themselves” mentality, and the general hostility surrounding the hobby.

Looking at it objectively, there is clearly an issue. When are we going to hold one another accountable for the problems we see? Between scalpers, grading culture, grading companies, pricing discrepancies among those companies, and the secondary market, have we done this to ourselves?