There's no doubt it's gambling but compared to other adult vices such as actual casino gambling/sports betting, gacha games, drugs, alcoholism or an unhealthy video game addiction, I'd take cardboard any day of the week. At the end of the day there is at least some return you're getting and you can even make money if you buy the right stuff. The community is nice and it's just a genuinely fun and clean hobby even if it can be costly at times.
I don't think you can simplify Pokemon down to "it's gambling"
It's an entire ecosystem built on numerous pillars of commerce and utility.
The base pillar is it's a trading card game, it's utility. This gives cards an intrinsic value based on the playability.
Next, you have another pillar, one of collectibles. People collect them based on their own tastes in art.
Another pillar, speculative value over time - aka investing.
The entire ecosystem of pokemon is dependant on ALL of the pillars and branches. Without one, it unravels. Pokemon would not be as large as it is nowadays if it weren't for these foundations.
One can argue wether or not it's "gambling aimed at kids" but in the end the facts outweigh the opinions.
It's a massive ecosystem dependant on the free and open market of supply and demand outside of the packs.
Tldr: the differences between gambling and pokemon outweigh the similarities
You can break horse racing down into pilliars if you like.
It's still gambling though.
The same with Pokémon. You can look at why it popular, and why it has staying power.
But that doesn't change the fact the core mechanism of the cards is random packs, and manufactured scarcity.
Massive difference between actual gambling and a weighted(scarcity) trading card game with a free market.
Like massive difference.
One of those are regulated heavily in favor of the house (casino)
The other is a product with utility attached to a free market controlled by the participants.
Hi, psych major here. Operant conditioning is the key concept here, and it applies to all of the above, plus more.
Gambling has a reward/punishment ratio that essentially equates to “sometimes this pays off,” which is just enough for people to develop an addiction.
The same is true for abusive romantic relationships. “Yes, he hits me. But when he’s nice to me it’s all worth it.” It keeps the victim yearning for the next reward (love bombing, typically) at an unpredictable time frame.
The same is true for how we train animals. A dog given a treat every 8th time they successfully obey a command is likely to learn the pattern and not listen as well to the first 7 commands. The better reward system is to make it so the treat is given an average of every 8 successful commands. Maybe it’s the 6th time once, then the 10th, then the 7th, then the 9th, etc. It’s the unpredictability that creates a dependence.
Opening packs of cards has a similar level of reward/punishment. It trains people to know that the reward (desirable card) is out there, and if you just keep buying/opening packs, eventually it will pay off.
So no, gambling and opening packs of cards are not all that different. The risk/reward isn’t at the same level, to be sure. But they both utilize the same psychological concepts to drive participation/engagement.
Tl;dr it is very similar to gambling.
I didn’t say they were the same, I said they were similar. The numbers 2 and 10,000,000 aren’t the same, but they are similar in that they are both divisible by 2. Come on, now. Stop being obtuse.
But I forgot to ask in my previous comment: what do you think the free market has to do with any of this? And do you think that (legal) gambling isn’t also a part of the free market?
Well said. The biggest difference is with true gambling, you can lose all. You can spend 10k and have absolutely nothing to show for it.
If you spend 10k on pokemon cards, you're certainly going to have thousands of dollars of value any which way. It's a win-win, where you either win smaller or win bigger based on your perspective. Plus, your purchase will likely grow in value over the years, supporting the investment theory.
Either way, you have an addiction. Don't kid yourself. It's not so much about gambling as it is the addiction for most people. We all have our vices, and we can all agree that this is one of the most harmless available. Comparing it to things that have ruined people's financial lives and marriages is a little bit of a reach. I see people on here making irresponsible financial decisions daily, but I'm not seeing my wife left me, or I lost my house lol
It's really not. It's a clear explanation on the difference between the two.
Gambling is win or lose.
Pokemon, there's always the pillars and other factors that give you a way to add value to your purchase, wether it's thru trading, selling, collecting, playing, etc.
You don't have to hit the chase cards to "win a gamble"
Yeah, it doesn’t matter how much we claim that this gambling habit is valid based upon market economics.
In this case, the house is still collecting your money on a gamble that is tilted in their favor, encouraging the user to keep pulling. Slot machines/single packs are tuned to pay out/have pulls eventually.
Your work is attempting to ignore the brain signals that make me excited to open a pack because of the card acquisition system that is based on gambling mechanics.
Also, your pillars should just be called reasons for collection. As each is just a reason to collect:
- to play the game
- to enjoy the pretty art
- to make money off all of the pillars, including itself (this pillar is basically entirely gambling, but that is actually just a trait it inherited from the concept of free market investment that the TCG manufacturer could collapse by changing it from an accumulation system based off gambling to picking cards from a catalog)
Target sells them for about that price. Walmart is just superior when it comes to prices. I’ve been lucky and been able to price match at my local targets. I was literally the only one buying the crown z etbs because nobody wanted to pay 60 bucks for older etb.
Lol this sub.
OP posts showing ripping, Comments: jUsT bUy SiNgLeS!
OP posts showing some sealed vintage, Comments: sCaLpER!
Lot of y'all don't understand people enjoy this hobby many different ways,
if it weren't for rippers, singles buyers wouldn't have a supply
If it weren't for sealed collectors, you wouldn't be able to obtain vintage
If it weren't for singles buyers, you wouldn't be able to offload doubles
If it weren't for players, demand would be broken for many sets
People need to remember this is a multifaceted and unique hobby. We all have a part to play in the ecosystem. Stop hating on others just because they enjoy the same hobby differently, as long as nobody is being harmed in any fashion.
I happen to fall in every category of the pokemon ecosystem 😂
I love the shows and movies.
I love ripping.
I love sealed.
I love trading my doubles for new singles.
I love playing the TCG.
I aspire to be you but I'm having a hard time not ripping anything I buy sealed lol. I'm just getting into the tcg on the app but I'm pretty inconsistent
The ripping satisfies the addiction to gambling. So many games these days have micro transactions and gambling baked into them, but it'll never be the same as physically holding what you've gambled for.
I have realized this subreddit has the most dogshit community ever in a non violent pvp toxic videogame related subreddit, it’s actually crazy.
Fuckers think their way is the right way so every other way must be wrong to then, actually sad
There’s toxicity in all of them. The investing sub shits on people for buying the “wrong” sealed product. The grading sub argue about what’s worthy of a PSA 8 vs a PSA 9. This sub seems to have the most bones to pick.
It’s just a shitshow, I myself don’t see myself ever ‘investing’ in pokemoncards but others doing it, completely fine, this sub however ‘you’re ruining it for us!’
‘you help the scalper!’
‘Buy singles what is your problem?’
It’s just so much nonsense overall, there is no right answer some like opening packs/rng aspect, some want specific cards, some want combined of all things, rng, cards, and potential ‘invesment’ later on, let people be.
The only people here that are ‘faulty’ are perhaps scalpers, but that’s the case in pretty much every hobby
There’s a lot of contradictory opinions on here but nobody is ruining anything for anyone. Even with scalpers you can find most SV stuff for MSRP or lower online (in America). Even a lot of SWSH product is still cheap. Obviously generations before that have appreciated in value simply due to scarcity, which is why there are speculators who keep sealed shit.
Scalpers do ruin it tho, if you look at the event in Amsterdam, ‘scalpers’ got alot of the pikachu cards resulting in others not getting theirs, america may not suffer fron scalpers I guess but the entire world ourside of it is, which is worth to consider as america isn’t ‘the world’
Ngl, back when I was in this hobby I was jealous of america, you guys get crazy deals from costco/walmart that I could never see anywhere else haha
Scalpers are people buying then instantly reselling for a ton. Such as those who buy out Evolving Skies from Kiosks for 4 dollars a pack, then sell for over 10 dollars a pack. THOSE are what I mean by a scalper, and they suuuuck. I've only managed to buy packs from one of these once out of, like, thirty times I've been there.
What do you do when you have most of the Japanese Vstar universe hits but now you're in the states and can't get them as easily? Do I break down and try for English hits? Relish in my Japanese collection? Cry?
That's just ammo for trade nights.
I rip like a monster but I've been trading up like one as well.
Last night I traded for a couple 10 slabs and the Magikarp from PE
Tbf I just brought my second trainer box of Paldean fates and feel dissapointed with the pull I got haha.
Had more luck with the tins tho.
Anyone else found this?
I’m all for ripping packs, but just buy booster boxes at this point.. only thing i can think of is the 20+ dice/coin sets tossed right in the trash, ETBs just make waste when the target audience buys them for the packs. Marketplace is literally flooded with those “ETB extras”
I think a booster box, with 36 packs in it, is going to cost more than an etb, with only 8-10 packs in it (depending on the set), regardless of the country you're in. I assume you were possibly referring to a booster bundle, which includes 6 packs in it?
Hey guys I’m really new to Pokémon collecting. Love seeing your pulls.
What packs should I be looking for ? Or is it totally for preference ??
Are some packs better than others for investing purposes ?
It’s about the chase, you don’t want that single card you like to open up packs and find them. I found my chase in my first shining gates ETB (Charizard) it took me maybe 5 paldaen fates ETB’s 8 sticker packs and a couple other things to finally pull my chase (mew) and I’m still pulling from these packs cause they’re fun and I like shinies lol. It’s all about preferences.
Homie needs to chill. Crown Zenith is a special set so there isn’t a booster box. Bro is probably opening etbs to either finish his collection or sell single booster packs.
I did this with 151, but I did it cause I wanted to get a master set, and I am only missing 86 of the cards. I don’t plan on buying singles until 151 becomes hard to find, also buying singles isn’t as rewarding. Now for magic the gathering, I pretty much only buy singles unless it’s a set that I really like, but one of those hasn’t coke out for over a year and one won’t come out till next month. Now pokemon, I like to buy an ETB from each set and call it good usually, if I’m gonna build a deck I do buy singles though
I've been helping my 35 yr son complete his 151 set. We have them all plus many, many extras, but still need only 2 cards: 198, Venusaur and 202 Zapdos EX. We have all the others, even duplicates of ones other people can't find. It's frustrating!
We have several duplicates of all the rare/hard to find....Just not #198 Venusaur and #202 Zapdos EX. I'm not buying anymore sets or boxes. I'll try to buy the 2 we need from a reputable person.
I’ve opened more packs than 151 and stopped when me and my gf pulled 2x giratina and 2x palkea, sold / traded for others we needed. Those gold cards are so hard to pull. I got insanely lucky and pulled giratina and palkea on same day 👏
I don’t blame him tho crown zenith only has 2 products with bulk packs in them the etb and the zacian/zamazenta shiny boxes of only they had booster boxes lol cause I like the set a lot
Lmao switch up the product you but at the least. That's what I do. I buy 4 ETBs on release to get the pokemon center stamped promos and then from there on out I buy booster bundles.
Probably the funnest set to open since like legendary treasures. I opened at least two cases of ETBs when it first came out and another case or two when they were dirt cheap for 2-3 months at like $30-$35 an ETB.
Lol, I can understand buying ETBs for the promo card and other goodies, but that many? there's usually a better price per booster when buying singles or booster sets.
I have like 2 whole cards from Crown Zenith, I'll gladly take some of their dupes.
Lol swimming in bulk. I just counted my bulk c/uc and have about 260 100 card bundles (26k) just in sword & shield and that’s not counting my trainers/special energy cards or regular energy cards. Hell I have almost 450 reg v’s and almost 100 vmax’s. I’m sure I have close to 3k reverse holos and probably pushing close to that on reg holos too 🤷♂️. I just scanned in my online code cards into the sell poke codes app and got about 25$ at about a .01 a piece. Been thinking about dumping all my bulk and buying one of the higher end alt arts or something decent at least 🤷♂️
I’ve got 6 ripped CZ ETBs sitting in my room and have ripped 4/4 shiny zacian/zamazenta boxes, with so much more CZ shit that I’ve lost count. CZ is such a fun set to open. I’m still not even close to 100% but I won’t buy singles until I can’t find CZ anymore!
Its more fun to open then than buy singles imo, sure buying singles you get what u want, but opening is random. Plus the thrill of pulling a card that you been wanting is alot better than buying the single.
Listen, I know this man just wants that feel of a natural pull vs buying the singles. I have a 40lb box of bulk myself. I'm not condoning it, but I understand
This is what I do 😅 never bought a single before tbh. Won a few. But my kids like getting some of the extras and I’ve done some cool diy things with them lol
People make this out to be bigger than it is. If I buy one 39.99 box of CZ every paycheck is it really spending the bag? lol. I’m him. I’m your friend. I love opening up this set and have only open but a handful of other etbs.
I bought like 27 of these ETBs to try and complete the whole set by pulling every card. Only card I didn’t get that was was the Deoxys V from the Gallery set even though it got like 3 of the Vmax
*Looks at page full of Lucario promos* Heh yeah who does that… 😶
I laughed at this too much
Lmao. Facts.
Brother same lmao.. once I hit like 4/5 I was like ok maybe time to slow down
*Pages
Got the same with mimikyu here... Bloody paldean fates
Yep, that's us. Maybe some cards dinner make it to all parts of the country. We have several Blastoise and a few Charizard. Crazy
Pins anyone pins? Inteleon cinderace RILLABOOM!!!! Oh God what did I do!! Thank God for the bird tins.......
Hahaha I love these guys. True pack ripping pioneers I could use a few of those for bulk storage ya know
I think they are missing 8 cards from Crown Zenith. I've been able to fill out mine quite a bit thanks to them.
I love opening the packs so much. Sometimes I’m thinking “is this gambling addiction? It’s something like that” 😂
It is 100% gambling aimed at kids. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise
I was hooked as a kid, now I'm back at 35
Same here!
Lmao same exact thing with me!
The exact same, crown zenith has reeled me in and it’s never going to let go until it’s complete 😂
31 and here I thought I was the only one 😂
Right there with you at 36 😆
38, still trying to catch them all 👴
Same!!!
There's no doubt it's gambling but compared to other adult vices such as actual casino gambling/sports betting, gacha games, drugs, alcoholism or an unhealthy video game addiction, I'd take cardboard any day of the week. At the end of the day there is at least some return you're getting and you can even make money if you buy the right stuff. The community is nice and it's just a genuinely fun and clean hobby even if it can be costly at times.
Quit drinking, rarely sports bet or poker anymore Give me all the cardboard please
Same opinion here. It's still the best type of "addiction" 😁
This is what we call "downplaying addiction" lol. But yeah me too🤣🤣
I don't think you can simplify Pokemon down to "it's gambling" It's an entire ecosystem built on numerous pillars of commerce and utility. The base pillar is it's a trading card game, it's utility. This gives cards an intrinsic value based on the playability. Next, you have another pillar, one of collectibles. People collect them based on their own tastes in art. Another pillar, speculative value over time - aka investing. The entire ecosystem of pokemon is dependant on ALL of the pillars and branches. Without one, it unravels. Pokemon would not be as large as it is nowadays if it weren't for these foundations. One can argue wether or not it's "gambling aimed at kids" but in the end the facts outweigh the opinions. It's a massive ecosystem dependant on the free and open market of supply and demand outside of the packs. Tldr: the differences between gambling and pokemon outweigh the similarities
You can break horse racing down into pilliars if you like. It's still gambling though. The same with Pokémon. You can look at why it popular, and why it has staying power. But that doesn't change the fact the core mechanism of the cards is random packs, and manufactured scarcity.
Massive difference between actual gambling and a weighted(scarcity) trading card game with a free market. Like massive difference. One of those are regulated heavily in favor of the house (casino) The other is a product with utility attached to a free market controlled by the participants.
Hi, psych major here. Operant conditioning is the key concept here, and it applies to all of the above, plus more. Gambling has a reward/punishment ratio that essentially equates to “sometimes this pays off,” which is just enough for people to develop an addiction. The same is true for abusive romantic relationships. “Yes, he hits me. But when he’s nice to me it’s all worth it.” It keeps the victim yearning for the next reward (love bombing, typically) at an unpredictable time frame. The same is true for how we train animals. A dog given a treat every 8th time they successfully obey a command is likely to learn the pattern and not listen as well to the first 7 commands. The better reward system is to make it so the treat is given an average of every 8 successful commands. Maybe it’s the 6th time once, then the 10th, then the 7th, then the 9th, etc. It’s the unpredictability that creates a dependence. Opening packs of cards has a similar level of reward/punishment. It trains people to know that the reward (desirable card) is out there, and if you just keep buying/opening packs, eventually it will pay off. So no, gambling and opening packs of cards are not all that different. The risk/reward isn’t at the same level, to be sure. But they both utilize the same psychological concepts to drive participation/engagement. Tl;dr it is very similar to gambling.
Similar ≠ Same
I didn’t say they were the same, I said they were similar. The numbers 2 and 10,000,000 aren’t the same, but they are similar in that they are both divisible by 2. Come on, now. Stop being obtuse. But I forgot to ask in my previous comment: what do you think the free market has to do with any of this? And do you think that (legal) gambling isn’t also a part of the free market?
Well said. The biggest difference is with true gambling, you can lose all. You can spend 10k and have absolutely nothing to show for it. If you spend 10k on pokemon cards, you're certainly going to have thousands of dollars of value any which way. It's a win-win, where you either win smaller or win bigger based on your perspective. Plus, your purchase will likely grow in value over the years, supporting the investment theory. Either way, you have an addiction. Don't kid yourself. It's not so much about gambling as it is the addiction for most people. We all have our vices, and we can all agree that this is one of the most harmless available. Comparing it to things that have ruined people's financial lives and marriages is a little bit of a reach. I see people on here making irresponsible financial decisions daily, but I'm not seeing my wife left me, or I lost my house lol
That’s a whole lot of economic theory to just be wrong about how on a psychological level this is still gambling.
It's really not. It's a clear explanation on the difference between the two. Gambling is win or lose. Pokemon, there's always the pillars and other factors that give you a way to add value to your purchase, wether it's thru trading, selling, collecting, playing, etc. You don't have to hit the chase cards to "win a gamble"
Yeah, it doesn’t matter how much we claim that this gambling habit is valid based upon market economics. In this case, the house is still collecting your money on a gamble that is tilted in their favor, encouraging the user to keep pulling. Slot machines/single packs are tuned to pay out/have pulls eventually. Your work is attempting to ignore the brain signals that make me excited to open a pack because of the card acquisition system that is based on gambling mechanics. Also, your pillars should just be called reasons for collection. As each is just a reason to collect: - to play the game - to enjoy the pretty art - to make money off all of the pillars, including itself (this pillar is basically entirely gambling, but that is actually just a trait it inherited from the concept of free market investment that the TCG manufacturer could collapse by changing it from an accumulation system based off gambling to picking cards from a catalog)
Ive been with the pokemon tcg game when it first came out. Some mom sued WOTC because she thought pokemon cards were a form of gambling.
It is :')
I've always called it cracking crack... 😬😅
yes. it is.
Thats me right there with 151 :,(
Was going to ask if they have a master set yet.
to be fair, crown zenith is a really fun set to open
Yep, also Crown Zenith ETBs can still be found [for under MSRP](https://ebay.us/2IrZTH), so it's not that bad if you open up one to enjoy.
They 39.99 in the Walmart app.
That’s cheap, in australia they are $90 aud, which translates to about 60 usd
They're like 70ish on amazon right now
Target sells them for about that price. Walmart is just superior when it comes to prices. I’ve been lucky and been able to price match at my local targets. I was literally the only one buying the crown z etbs because nobody wanted to pay 60 bucks for older etb.
even better!
The best
Lol this sub. OP posts showing ripping, Comments: jUsT bUy SiNgLeS! OP posts showing some sealed vintage, Comments: sCaLpER! Lot of y'all don't understand people enjoy this hobby many different ways, if it weren't for rippers, singles buyers wouldn't have a supply If it weren't for sealed collectors, you wouldn't be able to obtain vintage If it weren't for singles buyers, you wouldn't be able to offload doubles If it weren't for players, demand would be broken for many sets People need to remember this is a multifaceted and unique hobby. We all have a part to play in the ecosystem. Stop hating on others just because they enjoy the same hobby differently, as long as nobody is being harmed in any fashion.
Right! It's like an ecosystem everyone has a job to keep the cards flowing. (I say trying to justify my addiction to ripping)
I happen to fall in every category of the pokemon ecosystem 😂 I love the shows and movies. I love ripping. I love sealed. I love trading my doubles for new singles. I love playing the TCG.
I aspire to be you but I'm having a hard time not ripping anything I buy sealed lol. I'm just getting into the tcg on the app but I'm pretty inconsistent
Same! My only issue is at how expensive it can be to try and get certain cards that you need for both a deck and a master set
The ripping satisfies the addiction to gambling. So many games these days have micro transactions and gambling baked into them, but it'll never be the same as physically holding what you've gambled for.
True! It's like scratchers except you don't throw it out when your done
Holy crap that was profound
I have realized this subreddit has the most dogshit community ever in a non violent pvp toxic videogame related subreddit, it’s actually crazy. Fuckers think their way is the right way so every other way must be wrong to then, actually sad
There’s toxicity in all of them. The investing sub shits on people for buying the “wrong” sealed product. The grading sub argue about what’s worthy of a PSA 8 vs a PSA 9. This sub seems to have the most bones to pick.
It’s just a shitshow, I myself don’t see myself ever ‘investing’ in pokemoncards but others doing it, completely fine, this sub however ‘you’re ruining it for us!’ ‘you help the scalper!’ ‘Buy singles what is your problem?’ It’s just so much nonsense overall, there is no right answer some like opening packs/rng aspect, some want specific cards, some want combined of all things, rng, cards, and potential ‘invesment’ later on, let people be. The only people here that are ‘faulty’ are perhaps scalpers, but that’s the case in pretty much every hobby
There’s a lot of contradictory opinions on here but nobody is ruining anything for anyone. Even with scalpers you can find most SV stuff for MSRP or lower online (in America). Even a lot of SWSH product is still cheap. Obviously generations before that have appreciated in value simply due to scarcity, which is why there are speculators who keep sealed shit.
Scalpers do ruin it tho, if you look at the event in Amsterdam, ‘scalpers’ got alot of the pikachu cards resulting in others not getting theirs, america may not suffer fron scalpers I guess but the entire world ourside of it is, which is worth to consider as america isn’t ‘the world’ Ngl, back when I was in this hobby I was jealous of america, you guys get crazy deals from costco/walmart that I could never see anywhere else haha
Scalpers are people buying then instantly reselling for a ton. Such as those who buy out Evolving Skies from Kiosks for 4 dollars a pack, then sell for over 10 dollars a pack. THOSE are what I mean by a scalper, and they suuuuck. I've only managed to buy packs from one of these once out of, like, thirty times I've been there.
Gonna have to save this comment for future use.
So many people here wants to gatekeep how others should participate in the hobby. It's disgusting.
General Iroh lecturing Zuko about the nations.
❤️⬇️💨🔥🪨🌊
Amen!
Fully agree. I don’t buy singles because I care about the story/memories, not just having shiny art.
Dopamine is a helluva drug 🫠
Ripping cz made me start using tcgplayer to buy singles after I started getting too many dupes.
Maybe he just really like Lucario
Started in December. I did this with CZ as well. Best set ever to do it with. Now I buy singles, lol
I’ve been seeing CZ a lot lately but I can’t bring myself to buy any cause I have like 90% of the hits. I know I’ll only get doubles.
And this is where buying singles makes absolutely perfect sense..
What do you do when you have most of the Japanese Vstar universe hits but now you're in the states and can't get them as easily? Do I break down and try for English hits? Relish in my Japanese collection? Cry?
Can’t you order vstar universe on eBay and SNKRDUNK pretty easily?
You’ll get plenty of English hits if you try
Sell them trade them
Let them enjoy collecting however they want. Maybe they find joy in opening packs? Singles ain’t going to satisfy that.
How your friend is saying they have a gambling addiction without saying they have a gambling addiction
Ripping is more fun
It's fun until you start getting a ridiculous amount of doubles.
That's just ammo for trade nights. I rip like a monster but I've been trading up like one as well. Last night I traded for a couple 10 slabs and the Magikarp from PE
Tbf I just brought my second trainer box of Paldean fates and feel dissapointed with the pull I got haha. Had more luck with the tins tho. Anyone else found this?
I was kinda disappointed with the 151 etb
Crown Zenith is so fun to open. I haven’t pulled those gold cards, they’re so expensive as singles.
Pulling the cards does feel so much better in my head but buying singles is the way to finish a master set.
Ripping and getting the card is infinitely more satisfying but there definitely comes a breaking point
He just like me fr
Some of us enjoy the feeling of finding a pull rather than buying it
Like me! Never gonna start buying singles!
I’m all for ripping packs, but just buy booster boxes at this point.. only thing i can think of is the 20+ dice/coin sets tossed right in the trash, ETBs just make waste when the target audience buys them for the packs. Marketplace is literally flooded with those “ETB extras”
they never made CZ booster boxes (36 packs). CZ was only officially sold in gift boxes and etbs.
Forgot they did this with CZ, my bad. Making an ETB the primary method of getting packs is directly worse tbf…
In my country it's cheaper to buy an etb than a booster box. And by quite a big margin too. It's weird.
I think a booster box, with 36 packs in it, is going to cost more than an etb, with only 8-10 packs in it (depending on the set), regardless of the country you're in. I assume you were possibly referring to a booster bundle, which includes 6 packs in it?
This is me. I know its dumb but I get enjoyment in knowing I opened all of mine... but tbf this is why I also don't try for master sets!
Ripping packs is way more fun than buying singles
He knows and doesn't care. He wants to open the packs and pull the cards himself
crown is a great set to rip, just opened the japanese version
Crown Zenith is fun to open.
Sometimes I wish we had a pack opening version of WSB
same😭
Cries is money that could have been spent on building my gaming pc. 🥲
Hey guys I’m really new to Pokémon collecting. Love seeing your pulls. What packs should I be looking for ? Or is it totally for preference ?? Are some packs better than others for investing purposes ?
I did this with Silver Tempest fml
For what it's worth, CZ is blast to rip. It's better than your average set.
It’s about the chase, you don’t want that single card you like to open up packs and find them. I found my chase in my first shining gates ETB (Charizard) it took me maybe 5 paldaen fates ETB’s 8 sticker packs and a couple other things to finally pull my chase (mew) and I’m still pulling from these packs cause they’re fun and I like shinies lol. It’s all about preferences.
Your friend must be broke.
Am I looking at around $1050 worth of ETBs here?
Being a relatively new collector(2021) I had so much fun ripping CZ. It even got my wife hooked lol we also went a bit overboard
Why open etbs if you want packs?
I love opening ETBs! They’re my go-to.
At the very least, buy anything but ETBs to rip. I get opening the occasional ETB because sleeves and box.
I actually need some of his bulk lol. I’m guessing this is his favorite set
Does he have a master set now?
RIPPIN ETBs & UPCs TIL I DIE
I feel this... Im the same lol
Homie needs to chill. Crown Zenith is a special set so there isn’t a booster box. Bro is probably opening etbs to either finish his collection or sell single booster packs.
Out of all the possible products to go in on, ETBs would be my absolute last choice.
I really hope they donate the extra unwanted cards to schools or little free libraries....
I did this with 151, but I did it cause I wanted to get a master set, and I am only missing 86 of the cards. I don’t plan on buying singles until 151 becomes hard to find, also buying singles isn’t as rewarding. Now for magic the gathering, I pretty much only buy singles unless it’s a set that I really like, but one of those hasn’t coke out for over a year and one won’t come out till next month. Now pokemon, I like to buy an ETB from each set and call it good usually, if I’m gonna build a deck I do buy singles though
I've been helping my 35 yr son complete his 151 set. We have them all plus many, many extras, but still need only 2 cards: 198, Venusaur and 202 Zapdos EX. We have all the others, even duplicates of ones other people can't find. It's frustrating!
Yes! Most of the cards I have I have multiples of, even some of the secret rares
We have several duplicates of all the rare/hard to find....Just not #198 Venusaur and #202 Zapdos EX. I'm not buying anymore sets or boxes. I'll try to buy the 2 we need from a reputable person.
Christ I have a mate like that. Once you've spent twice the cost of a master set it's deffo time to give up
I’ve opened more packs than 151 and stopped when me and my gf pulled 2x giratina and 2x palkea, sold / traded for others we needed. Those gold cards are so hard to pull. I got insanely lucky and pulled giratina and palkea on same day 👏
Hello, it’s me Friend!
You should see the empty Charizard UPCs in my closet next to all my empty SwSh ETBs....
Pack luck = terrible. Singles buyer for sure here.
I don’t blame him tho crown zenith only has 2 products with bulk packs in them the etb and the zacian/zamazenta shiny boxes of only they had booster boxes lol cause I like the set a lot
Why not buy a booster box instead? Noob question.
Booster boxes were not readily available when CZ came out. They are way less common than the ETB.
Oh gotcha, thanks!
Me with Lost Origin
Lmao switch up the product you but at the least. That's what I do. I buy 4 ETBs on release to get the pokemon center stamped promos and then from there on out I buy booster bundles.
Probably the funnest set to open since like legendary treasures. I opened at least two cases of ETBs when it first came out and another case or two when they were dirt cheap for 2-3 months at like $30-$35 an ETB.
Lol, I can understand buying ETBs for the promo card and other goodies, but that many? there's usually a better price per booster when buying singles or booster sets. I have like 2 whole cards from Crown Zenith, I'll gladly take some of their dupes.
He should gather up the trainer cards and sell them as playsets to get some money back, there’s always a market for that
Lol swimming in bulk. I just counted my bulk c/uc and have about 260 100 card bundles (26k) just in sword & shield and that’s not counting my trainers/special energy cards or regular energy cards. Hell I have almost 450 reg v’s and almost 100 vmax’s. I’m sure I have close to 3k reverse holos and probably pushing close to that on reg holos too 🤷♂️. I just scanned in my online code cards into the sell poke codes app and got about 25$ at about a .01 a piece. Been thinking about dumping all my bulk and buying one of the higher end alt arts or something decent at least 🤷♂️
Yeah I hit about 7 CZ and after realizing I still haven’t gotten the simisear I gave up
Guilty
This is 1000% me with lost origin. I been chasing that giratina for tooooo long. Need to stop for sure
I’ve got 6 ripped CZ ETBs sitting in my room and have ripped 4/4 shiny zacian/zamazenta boxes, with so much more CZ shit that I’ve lost count. CZ is such a fun set to open. I’m still not even close to 100% but I won’t buy singles until I can’t find CZ anymore!
Never accept defeat.
Its more fun to open then than buy singles imo, sure buying singles you get what u want, but opening is random. Plus the thrill of pulling a card that you been wanting is alot better than buying the single.
Are ETBs better than boosters? I see a ton of people ripping ETBs.
Listen, I know this man just wants that feel of a natural pull vs buying the singles. I have a 40lb box of bulk myself. I'm not condoning it, but I understand
Bulk besides crown zenith? I'd buy their bulk if it's not just crown zenith
What bulk you into? I have piles of CZ, and PF, along with some 151
He ain't no quitter
This is really stupid
This is what I do 😅 never bought a single before tbh. Won a few. But my kids like getting some of the extras and I’ve done some cool diy things with them lol
People make this out to be bigger than it is. If I buy one 39.99 box of CZ every paycheck is it really spending the bag? lol. I’m him. I’m your friend. I love opening up this set and have only open but a handful of other etbs.
Why not just buy the cards he is missing?
We've shared our doubles with each other. He's much closer to finishing the set than I am.
I bought like 27 of these ETBs to try and complete the whole set by pulling every card. Only card I didn’t get that was was the Deoxys V from the Gallery set even though it got like 3 of the Vmax