By Phil Broadbent
Aim
So, whether you are reading this before or after the ‘Pokemon Card Collecting’ article, this article is meant to provide some encouragement and reasons of becoming a collector.
It’s a Hobby!
“A hobby is an activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, often in one’s spare time.”
Collecting is a hobby! It gives you plenty to do, which are described across the next few sections. It’s fun, and certainly is rewarding. Yes it can be repetitive, but I, and many others, firmly believe it is worth it.
The Community!
I have yet to meet an unpleasant collector! Of all the people I have talked to through my years of collecting I haven’t met anyone who I haven’t liked. Of course, you don’t generally talk to eBay sellers, but members of communities such as http://community.livejournal.com/pkmncollectors/ are very nice.
Too much Time is of the essence
Searching for cards is time consuming, unless you have shed loads of money or you are spoilt, you will want to make sure you are getting the cards for a good value, so you can buy more cards with your money.
It’s almost a certainty that even very busy people get bored from time to time, and having this hobby will sure take up some of the time. You will have to scan eBay and other sites and forums to check for the latest available cards, and this takes time! Searching for cards is not the most entertaining task, but finding the good deal is worth it, as discussed below!
The “Thrill”
Finding the epic deal! You have spent weeks searching for your card, and you finally spot it in a lot which is ending soon. So you occupy yourself until it is bidding time, and then you have the bidding excitement, waiting for those final 60 seconds watching the numbers count down and being ready on the mark to increase your maximum bid on a spur of the moment ‘need’ for the item!
“Congratulations, you are the winner of this auction” So, after much time investment into finding that irresistible deal on the card you’ve been wanting for ages, the real fun begins – the delivery! It is very exciting, although painful, waiting each morning to see if you have “THE PACKAGE”.
There have been many mornings of restless waiting around for the postman to come, as well as the inevitable disappointment of not having the package, but then the re-excitement the next morning. Of course, then there is the extreme excitement of ARRIVAL!
I can’t say I have experienced this postal excitement with much else, even the latest Xbox 360 game coming through the post or birthday cards with money in (Except maybe to spent on cards…)!
Investment
It’s an investment! Pokemon has been going strong for over 15 years and is still a popular franchise, with no end in sight.
Over the years these well renowned ‘pieces of card’ which were invented as a simple game have risen steadily in value. Cards have been known to go for up to $32,500 (See http://ezinearticles.com/?Pokemon-Illustrator—Is-it-the-Rarest-Pokemon-Card-Ever?&id=4268817)
You might be thinking “What a waste of money”, however, it is not like a car, which, once purchased, depreciates in value rapidly and several years later is worth nowhere near what it cost you. Cards retain their value, and, as mentioned above, even increase in value.
It’s almost guaranteed that there will be times cards have a lower value, such as if lots of collectors and traders selling a specific card at a time, in order to compete values will be lowered. There will however be times of higher prices; such as the opposite case whereby there are currently none being sold.
Of course, a lot of cards aren’t worth much; however, as your collection grows you are sure to obtain cards of more value.
Some people make a living from the cards, by buying and selling them and other merchandise. For example: http://www.pokevault.com/
However, for those collectors, you can be reassured that in times of monetary desperation, you could sell your cards and get pretty much all, if not more, what you put into your collection.
Summary
To summarise; Pokemon Card collecting (Or other memorabilia) is fun! There is some initial repetition of lot searching, but the bidding process, waiting process, opening the packages and admiring your collection makes this worthwhile.
It provides you with something to do – searching the web for items you’re looking for, and talking with community members!
It’s not only rewarding, but is also an investment! Unless the interest in Pokemon suddenly drops off, which is very unlikely for many years to come, you can be reassured to know that you can almost always make your money back, or make more if you play the time right!
I hope to see you within a community!
Tags: Card Collecting