I am not a scalper. I am not buying up shelves to flip for triple the price. I just really love Pokémon, and somewhere between “fun hobby” and “checking my bank account and feeling sick,” I lost track of how much I was spending.
Buying Pokémon Packs as a Kid: Why No One Checks Your Age
I got my first packs before I was old enough to understand what I was buying, ripping them open at the kitchen table and hoping for a holo before I even knew what a “pull rate” was. Nobody checks ID at the register because trading cards are sold like toys or collectibles. Cards are not regulated like betting or alcohol, so a ten-year-old can buy packs without the same barriers.
I had been doing a version of this for over a decade before I stopped to think about what it felt like: craving it, losing control of the amount, feeling compelled to keep going, and continuing despite the cost. Those are the four signs mindyourmind lays out on its addiction page. None of that crossed my mind until I was an adult buying booster boxes with my own credit card instead of allowance money.
Is Buying Pokémon Packs a Form of Gambling?
Paying real money for a random chance at something valuable, with no guarantee you get it, can share some of the same chance-based mechanics as gambling. With card packs, the pull rate for one specific chase card may not always feel clear to the person buying, which can make it harder to know when to stop.
Research has linked paying for randomized in-game items, like loot boxes, with problem-gambling behaviour in young people.¹ That tracks with how packs can feel too: every pack could be the one, so it never really feels like the moment to stop.
I was not buying pack thirteen because it was more likely to have the hit than pack one. I was buying it because pack twelve did not.
Why Selling Duplicate Pokémon Cards Didn’t Fix My Spending
Selling and trading duplicate cards is a normal part of the hobby, and I got into it too. I listed extras online, shipped them out, and watched the offers roll in.
The problem was that I started using that money to fund more packs instead of topping up my collection budget. It felt responsible, like I was breaking even, but really it meant every dollar from a sale turned straight back into more risk instead of becoming actual profit.
Signs of Compulsive Buying I Saw in My Own Card Collecting
Checking marketplace listings before bed. Blowing past what I meant to spend every time. Feeling like I had to keep going even when I was not really enjoying it anymore. Reselling just to buy more instead of stopping.
All four signs lined up pretty exactly with my own pattern.
How I Learned to Collect Pokémon Cards Without Overspending
I started using Bringing Home the Bacon to set a real monthly amount for cards. I also switched to buying the one card I actually wanted as a single online instead of gambling on packs to pull it.
I still collect. I just buy differently now. When the urge to keep spending gets loud, Self-Care & Coping Resources has other ways to reset that do not involve my wallet.
References
- Wardle, H. & Zendle, D. Loot Boxes, Gambling, and Problem Gambling Among Young People: Results from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33103911/