Pokemon TCG investors deemed “parasites” by divided community

Em Stonham
Parasect from Pokemon anime.

What do you think about people investing in Pokemon cards? Frustrated TCG collectors took to social media lately to blast the “parasites” hanging onto cards for future rewards.

The debate over investing in valuable Pokemon cards has always been a divisive one in the TCG community. Some consider it a smart investment to pick up old sets and hang onto them, some view it as hoarding, and others are completely divided on the matter.

A frustrated Pokemon TCG collector took to r/PokemonTCG recently to blast “parasite” investors, sharing a screenshot of a Pokemon investor talking about Eevee Heroes.

In the caption, OP expanded on their annoyance, saying, “As someone who likes collecting the actual cards [these] people make it impossible” and bringing up the Moonbreon card from Evolving Skies as an example.

This topic always splits the TCG community in two and predictably, people were up in arms about the post.

Some were on the side of the original poster, with one declaring, ” If you are buying a product with zero intention of enjoying, just for the sake of selling at a higher price, then that’s super predatory on the people who actually enjoy the hobby.”

Others accused investors with large amounts of boxed cards of “artificially inflating prices” and said that it made the hobby trickier to get involved with.

On the other side, some defended the practice of buying boxes with the intention to hold them for years. One person in the comments joked, “I can’t believe someone else bought the product and is enjoying it how they want to!” and another stated, “If they buy the product they can do whatever they like with it.”

A few fans tried to find a middle ground, with a reader noting that they wouldn’t buy up scores of boxes to hold onto, but that they’d happily get an expensive duplicate graded “with the intention of selling when/if it appreciates in value”.

Your perspective on investing in Pokemon cards will generally depend on your own personal experience with the hobby. If you’ve never tried to hunt down a valuable card, for example, chances are that you won’t mind investors so much – it’s an argument with interesting points on both sides.

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About The Author

Based in Reading, England, Em is a Pokemon writer who joined Dexerto after working for sites like Only Greats, Sleeve No Card Behind, and Diamond Lobby. They cover everything from Pokemon cards to Pokemon GO, and you can email them at em.stonham@dexerto.com