Snoozle's Adventures in Pokémon Land

I've wanted to write an entry here for a while but couldn't decide upon a subject.

I recently returned to the Pokémon brotherhood after a long absence, and spurred on by seeing some of the collections of other users on these forums, decided that I would revisit and increase my own.

As of this moment, I have spent £200 on various items, including games, figurines, strategy guides, trading cards and other related merchandise.

This is a serious investment, but if I look at it as just that, an investment, it actually doesn't seem like as big of a waste of money as it might otherwise. At least these are tangible goods that can give some pleasure and have a chance of increasing in value in the future, rather than true moneysinks such as fags and booze.

As of right now, my top 3 desired items are:

1. Pokémon Green GB JP
2. Pokémon Crystal GB EU or US
3. Pokémon Sapphire EU or US

This doesn't mean that I won't be buying anything else that catches my fancy along the way, of course, but that I'll probably be prepared to pay a little extra for these particular items instead of just putting hopeful low bids on things I don't prize so much.

One thing that is interesting to observe over a period of time is the ranges of prices that certain items sell for.

Over the past week I've seen people paying up to £25 for the Pokémon Monopoly game, which led to a massive influx of listings for said game, no doubt in an attempt to cash in on the sudden surge of bids. Of course, with the supply suddenly outweighing the demand, it opens up opportunites for wily bastards such as myself to put in low bids in an attempt to sneak a win under the shadow of other popular listings.

It so happens that I won my auction for a complete Pokémon Monopoly set at a price of £6.20 including postage, and have today witnessed the bidding again ramping up to £20+, so it definitely pays to keep on top of things in order to get bargains!

Another thing I've noticed is the sheer laziness or possibly their burning desire to outbid other people, so much so that they are willing to pay prices that would allow them to actually buy the items brand new from retail outlets rather than getting second-hand copies.

Sometimes things are just inexplicable, such as how I managed to successfully win an auction for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team including the official strategy guide for just 99p, when there were other bids for the game by itself (sometimes without box or instructions) for £5 or more. I guess sometimes it's just luck of the draw, and people get sucked into bidding high on auctions days before they end and then can't back out to bid on the lower-priced and earlier-ending ones. (Ironically, it was a bid such as this that won me the auction at the low price, up until that point I was regretting my decision but sometimes it just works out in your favour :D)

I'll update this with my latest acquisitions and any bargains or trends that I've noticed lately. It may be interesting or useful to some people, but actually I'm just happy to be writing something, as I feel like my mental capacity and capcability have been slowly draining since I started work.

It is a sad decline, and the saddest thing of all is that I just can't seem to find the will and desire to do anything about it. Such is the fate of the modern human.