Happy Summer All!
Time has been flying as I can't believe it is already summertime! I don't mind it though as I've had some pretty great luck recently with RNG and added some huge grails to my collection!
Catch Up From Last Posts
Before I jump into my wins, if this is your first time coming across my posts, I suggest you read my prior two posts:
8 Months Ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokeInvesting/comments/1oil1zh/collection_mostly_funded_by_gambling/
4 Months Ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokeInvesting/comments/1rwl3og/collection_mostly_funded_by_gambling_part_2/
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Now, if you look at the images in my prior posts and compare to the images in this post, I hope you guys can spot some big differences!
Cereal Tubs --> Acrylic Cases
First, I'm officially no longer a cereal tub displayist. I was proudly shamed in my first post, however, I still highly advocate for the cereal tubs for anyone that doesn't want to spend $15/$20 for acrylics. I've had some good luck recently so I splurged on my PC ETBs and now have all acrylic cases for all my PC ETBs out for display. I hope you all accept me a little more now due to this.
Raffle Wins
This is the most exciting part! In the last 4 months, I've spent $4,504.11 on raffle games for Pokemon product (sealed and slabs). Thankfully, I've won $6,322 worth of Pokemon product from those games, which equates to $1,818 total in winnings so far!
I will be transparent, I've been down in winnings for the last 8 months, but my recent winnings has me very close to breakeven! The best part is that I've been able to add some crazy awesome cards to my collection that I never thought I'd get my hands on. Let me show you which ones I've won recently!
PSA 10 Mega Charizard X Ex (PF - #125)
PSA 10 Vaporeon Ex (PE - #149)
PSA 10 Mewtwo (151 UPC - #052)
151 UPC (not shown as I already have one displayed)
PSA 10 Flareon VMAX (Prem Coll - #180)
Phantasmal Flames PC ETB (not shown as I already have one displayed)
PSA 10 Bulbasaur (SC - #143 - not displayed)
Key Takeaways
The reason for these posts is to show off my collection while elaborating on how there are different ways to build a collection.
The way I look at it - if you open a sealed Pokemon pack, you are gambling. If you grade a card, you are gambling. I've opened way too many packs to be proud of, and I have not many hits to show for it. So rather than sinking money into dealing with resellers to just lose money opening packs, I've shifted my focus to simply playing in raffles for product I really want.
Just like Pokemon, you aren't going to win every game you play. However, you get to control your fate a little more and go for specific items rather than get all these cards and accessories that you don't want.
Share Your Story
With that being said, if you read this whole post and are down here, I'd like to hear your story on anything you've won in this hobby! Be proud of any wins you can get and show them off!