CardFolio Presents:

Market Roundup #4 ☕️

Before we get started....

I know you're excited to jump into Pokemon news and marketplace developments but before we do, I just have to ask....how am I doing?

• Do these roundups have everything you're looking to get from a nerd-tastic Pokemon collectibles newsletter?
• Do newsletters get sent often enough? Is weekly not enough?

Just respond to this email and let me know how I can make this more helpful for you 🙏🏼👊🏼

Upcoming:

To my Floridians, will you be in Stuart, FL August 20th - 21st? If so, you can catch me at the Florida TCG Convention with some cool people! I'm of course going to be there repping Cardfolio 🦊 so if you can, come say hi! I'll be showcasing the app prototype so if you want to get a feel for Cardfolio, this is the place to be.

I'm definitely not the coolest table there though, there will be a bunch of other great Pokemon community members there, some of which have been on the Geeked Out Collecting Podcast:

• Eric from @pokemonster89
• Charlie from @dulcepokemon

It'll be all around fun, but no worries if you can't make it because what is an early access waiting list without screenshots of initial prototyping?

Be on the look out, I will be sharing those with y'all soon 😉🍿

Did you Pre-Order Evolving Skies yet?

So what do you think about Evolving Skies? Did anyone places order for the new set?

First off, you gotta love the Eeveelutions cover on the ETB am I right?

Twitter has definitely been taking to the new set - how could you not? Seriously the Eeveelutions' art is absolutely amazing! Just look at this.

On Pokemon's official website, the ETBs are already sold out for the set, but if you're willing to spend $143.64 on a booster display box, then there's plenty there for you.

(This is not a brag but I pre-ordered two booster boxes 🙃🙃)

Long story short though, the reaction to this new set can be summed up thusly:

If you didn't catch the prerelease event and want to see a bit more of the set, check this out.

Cardboard Shortage and the Lifecycle of Collectibles

If you've been paying an ounce of attention to Pokemon over the course of the past year and a half, seeing images like this really isn't a surprise.

We're still seeing shelves be ravaged across the country because there's money to be had in Pokemon cards.

Again, nothing new for us old heads.

One thing to remember, and something we talked about in last week's roundup: sustainability for a pop culture market isn't measured in one or two generations, but something in 3+. That means we're not talking decades, but centuries.

Focusing on short term economics and potentially robbing younger generations from positive experiences with the Pokemon brand could in the long term prevent them from entering back into the market.

For a collectible category to go from a speculative/growth market to a stable/mature market, newer generations must enter that market. Examples of stable and mature markets are ones like coins, rare books, rare maps, historical documents, antique weapons, etc. There's cultural impact, history and meaning wrapped into those markets that bring new generations into its fold. So if we want the Pokemon market to become stable and mature, it has to have a similar impact for enough of us in the future.

Will this specific Walmart instance have a negative impact on the market in the future? Maybe, maybe not, only time will tell us ultimately. It's just something to think about as we continue to watch the Pokemon market move on the ground floor.

(Original article)

The time to buy might be now

Recently reported by Ebay Inc., they've seen a decline in active buyers of 2% in Q3 compared to 2020. When we think about what was happening in June 2020 with collectibles, the drop in active buyers isn't completely surprising.

In general we have been seeing a pullback in buying and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything, this would mean it's a great season to buy.

If you think of your Pokemon collection as an investment, in reality it's an incredibly risk one - cardboard is illiquid luxury good that can go to zero at any point in time.

That means for us, entry point is everything!

Since that's the case, if you're chasing a few holy grails or master sets in your collection, buying right now might prove to be a tremendous way for you to hedge your bets and mitigate the riskiness of collecting the cardboard we love.

Ultimately, Ebay's active buyers decline can be due to so much more than just "people aren't buying Pokemon like they used to," but it's something to be mindful of nonetheless.

Happy hunting and looking forward to your #maildaymondays 😉

(Original article)

When you bid, don't forget, you're competing with the world

It has been recently reported that Heritage Auctions reached 1.5 million online bidder members with a quarter of a million online bidders being from affluent areas in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Let us not forget as buyers and sellers of nerdy cardboard, we're buying and selling from across the world.

Everyone wants in and it's a great sign for collecting in general. It's also a reminder that just because a card isn't in english doesn't mean it is automatically worthless. There have been a number of non-English collections go on the market and sell for hundreds to thousands (no I'm not just talking about Japanese collections either).

If you're looking for parts of the market that are undervalued, don't forget that cards in French or Spanish can be great opportunities as well.

(Original Article)

Good Reads/Watches:

• Ever wonder what the real estate industry has in common with collecting cardboard? The one and only Rudy from your mom's basement breaks down the similarities for us in a 47 minute video. (As daunting as an almost 50 minute youtube video sounds, trust me you won't regret it)

In other news in collectibles:

• The MLB will be putting out NFT's, but they're taking a fan-focused approach that will definitely be something interesting to watch.
• With all of the money we're seeing float around in the TCG world, it looks like Warhammer is joining the club.
• Have you heard of Monaco Market? Long story short, it'll be an NFT marketplace for tangibles.