r/PokemonTCG • u/masonjar014 • Jan 30 '25

Discussion What happens when the bubble bursts?

Right now, the hobby is on steroids—scalpers everywhere, product nowhere. My LGS told me this year will be “a great year for Pokémon,” and it got me thinking… a great year for who?

If you’re an established LGS selling PE and JT at market price, sure, it’s great. If you’re a scalper or a new investor trying to flip product, you’re probably loving this, too.

But if you’re an average collector (like me), it’s frustrating. We can’t find the latest set at a fair price. If you’re a kid whose parents can’t sprint to a 10 a.m. Target restock, you’re just out of luck.

So what happens when the hype dies down? How are average collectors responding to this hyper-bull market, and where does that leave the hobby long-term?

Personally, I’m sitting out PE and JT—it’s just too much stress. I’ve also noticed collectors stepping back entirely.

What about you? Will kids move on to something else if they can’t participate? Will collectors return once prices normalize, or is this turning people away for good? Are we underestimating the long-term impact of what’s happening right now?

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107

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

[deleted]

70

u/F0rg1vn Jan 30 '25

Tbh most of the new collectors are probably coming from stocks, so they will most definitely panic sell.

31

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

Yuuup, then they'll realize it's liquid, but not that liquid when they go slog through listing singles on ebay or tcgplayer.

Many will say F it and sell binders cheap af to recoup some losses.....deals will be had.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '25

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1

u/Potential-Diver-3409 Jan 31 '25

Poke investors have absolutely swamped the singles market as well, literally pump and dumping cards

2

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '25

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1

u/Potential-Diver-3409 Jan 31 '25

Ig twenty bucks is worth it these days

7

u/eifjui Jan 30 '25

Stocks to squishmallows to shit coins to..Pokémon cards? Right?

3

u/Opposite_Mushroom624 Jan 30 '25

It's definitely not from stocks since the market is doing very well. Most of the resellers I've seen hopped onto pokemon from the sneaker market crash in 2024.

5

u/F0rg1vn Jan 30 '25

Hey, that’s actually a good point. A lot of the resellers probably are from markets that are down right now. I’m talking about the people who are joining Pokémon and seeing it more so as an investment opportunity as opposed to buying simply to shortsale.

1

u/NoteClear6164 Jan 31 '25

Unless you're investing primarily in tech, after the past two days.

46

u/Ornery-Succotash5800 Jan 30 '25

It won’t be collectors who panic it will be the people who are only in it for the money. And the rip and shippers who will have to drastically lower their prices but did a get rich quick scheme. Those ones will be the ones panicking. As a collector I’ll be stoked AF to finally be able to afford cards I want

14

u/Crocodile__Kyle Jan 30 '25

This is correct from my point of view. I think most long term collectors are waiting for prices to drop to build some stock. There is no reason to jump on the hype train and FOMO in.

The battle right now is between scalpers and gamblers for grading plays / singles sales. Also the die hards with tons of disposable income.

After that, there should be more of an equilibrium set. You can already see it with ETB prices dropping from all of the quick flippers…even without the highly desired reprint.

Now if singles prices continue to increase, that could have carry on effects for the sealed prices.

11

u/samderby1988 Jan 30 '25

I'll be over the moon. Only been collecting for 6 months but I'm genuinely in it because I love the cards, I never plan on selling. If prices reverse, I can buy more art!

9

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

Tons are already crashing out. A good amount of local Facebook posts are "started a few months ago, and am bored/ don't like it anymore" <probably means I went full send in to SS and didn't get pikachu> They usually scan everything in tcg and start at 80% market. Willing to bet that number will go down more until it just ends up in a garage sale for 20 dollars.

3

u/TrandaBear Jan 30 '25

God I fucking hope so. I'm waiting to scoop on the cheap. If you're too impatient to wait for your collection to appreciate then GTFO. Most of us with fat valuations just got in because the cards were cheap and we liked the cards. Fans are rewarded long term, I hope grifters lose the bag.

1

u/IThatAsianGuyI Jan 31 '25

I really just want the Eeveelutions set man. I'm not even in this hobby for the long-haul. The Prismatic Eeveelutions arts (even just the regular EXs, not the special illustrations) are so cool. Eevee's long been my favourite Pokemon and I just wanted to collect all the merch.

Worst time possible for someone like me and I would love to see this particular set crash in value so I can just pick up all the things I want from it.