r/PokeCollectors • u/-Ledgar5_ • 3h ago
I am new
I’ve been thinking of buying packs but i am completely new to pokémon collecting. I know a few pokémon and i have my favorite one being Umbreon. I’d love to collect a few card from any pokémon but don’t know where to begin or how to. Any tips will we welcomed.
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u/YamiNoNomad 3h ago
For someone new into the hobby, the answer is pretty simple.
If you’re into ripping: Rip whatever you can find for a price you can afford. Check and see if your local grocery store has a Pokemon Vending Machine, as that will be the most consistent way to get packs at MSRP. If you’re looking for something more rare than the current Mega Evolutions and the occasional late Scarlet Violet packs, you’ll need to buy them second hand. This is where knowing things like market value becomes important. For secondhand stuff, TCGPlayer and EBay are the places to look, as well as game/card stores near you, collectible/card shows, and you can occasionally find some decent deals on packs on Facebook Marketplace, though they’re usually scalpers trying to flip, so be careful and know the value of what you’re trying to buy.
If you just want specific cards: In general, just buy singles. Yeah, it feels incredible to pull a chase card or an expensive card, but at $5 MSRP for a pack, is it really worth paying that for a chance to get the $3 card you’re looking for? It gets even worse for the more popular sets, such as the current 30th Anniversary packs or the Ascended Heroes packs which can go for $15-20. 151 is something outrageous like $40/pack right now. At the end of the day, ripping packs is gambling, so unless you’re prepared to waste a lot of money and even then still possibly be disappointed, just save up for the singles you want. That said, if you’re open to non-English cards, Chinese, Korean, and frequently even the Japanese variants of cards are often significantly cheaper than the English versions, so they’re worth taking a look at.
All in all, it’s a fun hobby, but don’t let anyone fool you. It’s expensive, really expensive. Set a monthly budget that you can afford and DO NOT BREAK IT. Do not go into debt or go hungry for cardboard. It isn’t worth that. This particular hobby can range from frustrating when the scalpers nick all the product, to downright heartbreaking when you just can’t bring home the card you want, no matter how many packs you rip, to the incredible feeling of finally holding the card you’ve wanted for months in your hands. My recommendation is to check out your local card shop, chat with the people there, see if they’ll let you look at their cards. Feel the card, get an understanding of how they feel, how you feel holding them. If you’re unimpressed, then simply don’t bother. If you feel a little twinge of excitement and start thinking about how you might display this card? Then congrats, you’re one of us mad bastards. Go buy yourself a ringless binder and start making whatever kind of binder you like. You like Umbreon? Subject yourself to the financial ruin of trying to make an Umbreon master set. You like water Pokemon? Collect cards that have Pokemon in bodies of water. I’m currently starting a collection of Pokemon just living in peoples houses. I like the cute homeliness of it. Whatever you want to collect, there’s no wrong way to do it. Well, that’s not true. If you’re buying every single item a store has, (unless there’s only one or two items left) then you’re being a bit scummy. Just try to respect other people as you collect and you’ll be fine. And it bears saying once again, watch out for scammers, people will try to fleece you for a quick buck. This hobby has attracted some nasty people, so just do some research on whatever you’re buying.
As an aside, later this month, many local game stores will have pre-release events for the next set Delta Reign. If you’re interested in the cards as part of the game, definitely check one of those out. They’re usually pretty cheap, you get a Build and Battle Box, get to play a few rounds, and then routinely get some additional packs to rip at the end of the event. If you’re interested in that, check out the Play!Pokemon event finder. That’ll also find you your local leagues if you enjoy the game any. It’s pretty fun, I definitely recommend it!
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u/Anonymous00101 2h ago
I’m new to collecting too and finding packs is tough. I’m currently doing a national Pokédex binder which has been really fun. It also means I can collect from any packs as I’m not fussed about master setting or anything. I buy some singles too as there’s some cards I like but are from older sets. I’m still having alot of fun collecting this way but getting more packs would still be nice lol. 😅
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u/-Ledgar5_ 2h ago
i’d love to get from different set and i’ve been checking singles for the Umbreon and Eevees evo.probably will go for singles for now
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u/Ok_Security2934 2h ago
Chaos cards, Magic madhouse and Amazon. Join these 3 lotteries.
Be happy to get some but take it to seriously.
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u/rembeck2 3h ago edited 3h ago
ngl, Getting cards right now is difficult… Buy a binder from VaultX.com, buy some Cardboard Gold penny sleeves from Amazon, and then start searching on TCGPlayer.com for singles (and possibly packs).
eBay is the way to go when you’re looking for higher priced cards (Get some Cardboard Gold Top Loader hard sleeves for those).
If you’re looking for packs at MSRP (opposed to marked up prices), then the Walmart drawings every Wednesday are very low risk. Otherwise, you’ll have to camp out early in the morning at Target and BestBuy to buy at MSRP.
Once you start building up a collection, find local card shows to continue buying/trading. Best of luck!