Collecting Finding it Hard to Keep Collecting

ArcanineKillz89

ArcanineKillz89

Aspiring Trainer
Member
So I recently purchased a huge lot on eBay and it had tons of base set cards which gave me tons of nostalgia and pretty much helped me complete the entire base set of 150 which have always been my favorite since I began playing Pokemon in 1998. I am now finding it very difficult to have the same excitement and happiness in collecting the rest of the 5 generations of cards. Has anyone else had this issue or have any advice and how to get pumped back up for the newer cards?
 
RE: Finding it hard to keep collecting.

All i can suggest is stick to a budget and only buy from legit sellers.
 
RE: Finding it Hard to Keep Collecting.

With me, collecting is a little different. I'm primarily a player so I tend to buy single cards a lot more than I buy packs, but the collector in me likes buying packs because you fill your collection as you do so. (so long as you don't pull a bunch of duplicates :p) I usually get a booster box and then some and fill in the (Un)commons, misc. rares/holos and reverse holos by buying singles.

Some sets I enjoy collecting more than others. Flashfire still hasn't been completed and feels like a chore, while I really liked completing X&Y.

I do collect older sets as well and have a few of them completed, such as Fossil, 1st Edition Fossil and Jungle.

As for getting excited, I think it depends on which sets you like the most. If it were me, I would try to complete those ones first and then slowly complete the others.
 
RE: Finding it Hard to Keep Collecting.

I'd suggest looking at the scans here on Pokebeach and determine what cards you want, then focus on getting those singley. As collectors we don't have to care as much if a card is currently in rotation or even how playable it ever is/was. We just have to like it, be it because of the attack(s), the abilities, the artwork or whatever the reason may be.

It helps to know what kind of collector you want to be. Are you just interested in certain Pokemon regardless of anything? Are you focusing on specific sets like promos or XY? Are you trying to build a live carddex, and does it matter if you have all different types and does it matter if they're shiny in some way? Do you want all the EX/Lv.X/Prime/FA/secret rares or what have you?

Answering these questions, even if only to yourself, might help determine your next step.
 
RE: Finding it Hard to Keep Collecting.

I think that, as a collector, it's important to you to collect the things you want to collect. If you don't want to collect a full set of a certain set or whatever, why bother? You shouldn't need to force yourself to buy something. If sets don't interest you, maybe you'd like to try getting all the cards for a single Pokémon? Or a certain artist whose work you like? Maybe making a living dex and get one card for every Pokémon? There are lots of options. Find something that makes you excited and interested to collect and go from there, but don't force it.
 
I am working on getting atleast one card of atleast every pokemon. I completed the original 150 using base set, jungle and fossil and they are so beautiful and I know it may sound ridiculous but I will never love another group of Pokemon as much as I love the original 150. I also collect as many different arts of Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Growlithe, Arcanine or Abra. Need to get more of Abra.
 
If your passion for collecting dies down, take a break. give it a few months or even years. I was hardcore into collecting in 2012, spent a few thousand dollars on the old wizards of the coast stuff, the passion escaped me a little while after, but i kept my collection. 2 months ago a feeling hit me out of no where, there was the lust to collect pokemon cards again, i'm hooked and getting cards in the mail after weeks of waiting for them is a very satisfactory feeling.

so like i said, enjoy the cards, but dont force the enjoyment, let it come naturally.
 
Hey, what about Mew? If I were you I would track down the holo promo card (#9 iirc) and add it to the first 150 Pokemon. Mew is an original too after all.

Interestingly enough Japan's Fossil set had Mew in it, English removed it and made it a promo.
 
If collecting some sets becomes a hassle, consider stopping ? As for me, I wait to see the scans of each cards of the next set before deciding to buy anything : I'm not going to spend time and dozen or hundreds of $ (well, €) to buy cards I don't find appealing. And searching for one specific card, waiting to find THE deal is part of what's so exciting about collections. I also often check my folders to watch my cards, I remember how I got them, I take them out of the folder's sheets to watch them closely, to enjoy their details... I never get bored of them.

I collect mostly recent sets. I know that the appeal of ancient sets is mostly nostalgia (to me, at least) and that I will be quickly bored collecting them (I find them less elaborated and less colourful in some ways). But some prefer the old ones. Or collect only RH, or one kind of Pokémon, there's several ways to collect !
As said before, try to find what you really like collecting, try finding cards you didn't know existed (promos, some Japanese sets never released outside of Japan, etc.)
 
If you shop ebay you can find a few cheap holo Mew's from the Wizards promo line (originally from Fossil).

There are actually some japanese promos I've considered trying to track down myself.
 
Its always nice chatting with you guys here and hearing your opinions! I recently just found a old school mew and ancient mew to add to the collection. I also got a dragonair which was the final card I needed.
 
That's good. Forgot about Ancient Mew myself.

So any idea where you want to go from there? Next Gen? Alternate types for the first 151, like the poison type Tentacool/Tentacruel from Primal Clash?
 
Im going to try to finish the rest of the Dex when it comes to cards. Still missing tons of stuff. Need a Ho-Oh and Raikou and tons of others stuff lol
 
I always try to get the older sets before the new sets because the new sets will become harder to get and therefore I wait for older sets or what is available at my local store which usually goes back about 5 sets or so and rarely sometimes have the much older blister packs from an older set like the Southern Islands collection which I got about 4 years ago for around $12.00.:)
 
Like a live card pokedex? That is fun to do, I have one of my own. I looked at all the cards for a Pokemon and then determine what is 'the best' for me based in its attack, ability and artwork. Those with alternate types also get in, like the aforementioned Tentacool/Tentacruel.

This includes Ex/Lv X stuff. Primes, Crystal Pokemon, Legends, full arts, shinies and Delta species have their own section.

Sometimes it helps to have a specific goal, or goals, in mind for collecting rather than doing so in general.
 
Yeah a complete card dex is extremely hard. I have never got a set fully completed but I got pretty close on a few sets. Within 20 cards on each set.:)
 
Oh, a full pokedex sounds awesome! Don't think I have enough cards. Or enough 9 card sleeves. Maybe thats something I'll try to do when I get some time...
 
Yeah, I'm planning on starting up a living Dex binder myself; just need to decide which card I like best for all of the Pokémon, which will probably take a while... :p
 
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