This might get laughed at but I started collecting pokemon product in 2021, I put around 4K into it and now it's worth north of 18k. Anyone else get in while things were cheap? Does this look like a bubble or could big time investors take this to a different level?

My 9 yo son is into them pretty big. I've used it to teach him about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. He keeps track of purchases and sells them on ebay as a "business".

wessimo said:

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I'm sure this will turn out nothing like Beanie Babies or Baseball cards in the early 90s. Keep buying!

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It's impossible to buy at retail these days. So I'm just sitting on what I have.

I played magic the gathering when I was kid and was able to cash out a lot of my cards for a decent profit, but that being said its small subset of my overall portfolio. Its great to have a hobby that is also profitable, but you aren't going to retire on those gains especially when your collection gets so valuable you have to start worrying about insurance and how you will sell it without getting scammed.

If you are in the hobby for the right reason (you enjoy it) and you happen to make money, more power too you. But once you get people flooding the hobby just to make money, things can turn quickly.

Yea things seem to peak 25-30 years after they are popular because people have jobs with and money and want to relive their childhood when life was simpler and buy up all the stuff they could never have as a kid. I noticed this as different generation video games shot up in value, first it was NES, then SNES/Genesis, then N64/PS1, PS2, and now even PS3 and xbox 360 games are starting to go up in value.

Assuming 10 year olds are still into it today, I would bet there is a market in 25 years selling back to them when they have more money. That is, as long as we aren't in a "junk wax" type era we had for baseball cards and comics in the late 80s through 90s.

Prices are as good as someone willing to actually pay for it at that price. My wife and I have built out a collection as well since 2020, but even we are skeptical we would actually be able to find someone to buy everything we have for the prices you see online.

I am, however, amazed at how much activity there is at card shows and how much money people are willing to spend for an economy that is supposedly hurting. Not hurting enough for someone to spend $500 - 1000 in one weekend on Pokemon cards.

These things are printed massively and even PSA 10s of certain chase cards have high pop numbers - I'd like to think the prices will hold up over time, but I also wouldn't be surprised if the hype fades, people move onto something new, and it settles in to respectable, but not insane, prices we currently see.

permabull said:

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Yea things seem to peak 25-30 years after they are popular because people have jobs with and money and want to relive their childhood when life was simpler and buy up all the stuff they could never have as a kid. I noticed this as different generation video games shot up in value, first it was NES, then SNES/Genesis, then N64/PS1, PS2, and now even PS3 and xbox 360 games are starting to go up in value.

Assuming 10 year olds are still into it today, I would bet there is a market in 25 years selling back to them when they have more money. That is, as long as we aren't in a "junk wax" type era we had for baseball cards and comics in the late 80s through 90s.

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A black lotus was $300 in 1995 when I got into Magic the Gathering.

Go peep what it goes for now.

Yes there is a risk of being in beanie babies but Pokemon survived that first bubble and has only gotten more popular.

My sons binder from '18-'23 is worth a lot of money right now.

We had to stop collecting because you can not get retail product at all.

permabull said:

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gets so valuable you have to start worrying about insurance and how you will sell it without getting scammed.

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just pointing out the irony of the scammer worrying about getting scammed

The grocery stores around us have Pokemon card machines. Are they not swelling them at retail? Never paid much attention...

wessimo said:

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The grocery stores around us have Pokemon card machines. Are they not swelling them at retail? Never paid much attention...

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Go see if there is any stock... there is not.

People are getting in fights over retail product.

Short term bubble on the normal cards but the Secret Alternate Arts are holding value.

Older stuff is still holding value.

I was a bourbon nerd before people drank bourbon and was able to see what was coming in 2010-2012 time frame so stocked-up on a bunch of bottles to carry me through retirement. I'm kinda getting tired of hanging onto all the bottles and think more and more of just cashing out. It's really my largest uninsured exposure if you think about them in terms of actual cash value.

Pokemon isn't going anywhere. Some of you underestimate how many nerds are out there...more and more kids get into it every year.

Pokmon is gay.

Who wants to buy my Garbage Pail Kids card collection?

YouBet said:

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Pokmon is gay.

Who wants to buy my Garbage Pail Kids card collection?

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Damn I wish I still had mine. I had like all of the first 5 series

Yall are young. It was KISS cards when I was an 8 yr old

You never know what's gonna call the top of a bull market. Sometimes it is stock advice from a street food vendor, sometimes it is speculative Pokemon card investing...who knows!

My store has these. Should I buy them all and flip for max profitz?

I know you're joking but 1) Nobody wants Journey Together and 2) single packs aren't worth the trouble. You need to buy a pallet of Elite Trainer Boxes from Costco and flip those.

wessimo said:

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I'm sure this will turn out nothing like Beanie Babies or Baseball cards in the early 90s. Keep buying!

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Huge difference is that Pokemon has been around for 30 years and is one of the largest IP's of all time. By lifetime revenue it is the biggest, with over $100 billion. By contrast, Star Wars has generated about $50 billion in revenue from movies and licensing/merchandise. The Pokemon Company saw something like $12 billion in sales and licensing last year, which was up 10% from the year before. They do more sales than LEGO.

While the current market is astronomical, it's been this way before and probably will be again. Current prices are being highly driven by scalpers hoarding product and somewhat manipulating the market for current product, but vintage and out of print of product still command a pretty big premium. Even if it comes back down to earth in a year or two, give it 5-10 and it will come back.

If it's really worth what you say.. Why not sell half and pocket 9k... Cost 4k so a great profit and return in that timeframe.
Then hold the rest and see what happens

trip98 said:

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If it's really worth what you say.. Why not sell half and pocket 9k... Cost 4k so a great profit and return in that timeframe.
Then hold the rest and see what happens

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Mostly because Pokemon has proven that once something is out of print, it will always go up. Especially with the big sets that everyone wants.

That's why I like investing in things I can hold. It could go to zero like anything else. The difference is I'll still own a physical product that I can enjoy or give to someone else.

ChiefKiefton said:

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wessimo said:

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I'm sure this will turn out nothing like Beanie Babies or Baseball cards in the early 90s. Keep buying!

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It's impossible to buy at retail these days. So I'm just sitting on what I have.

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Are you sitting on individual cards or sealed packs and boxes? I could see being able to move packs/boxes a lot easier and more lucrative than individual cards.

The difference with Pokemon is that the franchise is still producing new content and attracting new fans. Once that stops, the value will start to head for a downturn. Until then, I imagine you will see steady ups and downs depending on content release.

You have to watch out for counterfeit cards with the higher end stuff

Even the sealed stuff you need to look out for reseals and repackaging. Anything that isn't direct from a major retailer or sold/shipped by Amazon is suspect.