Exchange between collectors and customers interviews #1

Here is a new article format that we would like to introduce to you : the interview of our customers !

Since we are a team of passionate people, we want to share and exchange around the Japanese cards and the different tcg we propose and collect.

What better way to do that than to get to know you : Cardotaku.com customers.

Who's the collector of the day?

It's Manon, a 27 years old collector who is passionate about Japanese Pokémon cards.

We take advantage of this blog post to introduce her officially : she is our new marketing employee !

Let's start the interview !

"Hello Manon and welcome again to Cardotaku. Can you tell us how you got the urge to collect?"

I started my collection when I was very little, like many children born in the late 90s ! Pokémon had just come out and it was true that it was crazy in the playground, between the rubber band game and Pokémon, my heart was rather conquered by these funny monsters.

 

You couldn't really call it collecting, but anyway I loved playing with the cards, trading them (and often getting ripped off by my elementary school colleagues). In any case, I keep very good memories of my grandmother going to buy "Télé Z" at the bookstore and taking me a Dunkin, Wizard or Pokéball booster with a figurine and a candy inside.

Growing up, like many, I sold my cards at flea markets. There was even a Christmas when I didn't have a gift planned for my brother so I gave him all the rest of my card collection. I guess you could say it took a while for karma to kick in, but it sure caught up with me !

"Why did you take over your collection?"

In 2019, so a year before the Pokémon hype started, I took a trip to Japan and rediscovered the joy of buying Pokémon boosters. Japanese Pokémon cards were very affordable in terms of budget and I rediscovered the pleasures of collecting. A few weeks later, I went to the USA for travel and there the stock was crazy : many different sets, everywhere and at a price much lower than in France. So, I went back to 1000% !

"Do you collect anything else than Pokémon cards?"

 

 

I stay in Pokémon, but I also collect sealed items. I find new sets, displays, and other products to be MAGNIFICENT and I always get a twinge of excitement when I open one. Now I try to buy the products I like in duplicate : one to open and one for my seal collection.

"What's the most important thing about collecting?"

You could say it's kitschy but with all the hype lately, I'd say "passion": having fun opening, looking for the right opportunities and most of all enjoying yourself! There are 1000 different ways to collect but for me, as long as you have fun, that's all that matters :)

"What is your TOP 3 cards in your collection?"

Oulaaaaah, it's going to be hard to choose only 3 Pokémon items/cards... Already, the ones I tend to prefer are the Japanese Pokémon cards. I find them much more beautiful, worked and I like the fact that they are very exclusive.

Then, to pick just 3, I would say:

• Gold Charizard from the SM12a expansion : it's at the top of my list because besides being beautiful, it's the first Japanese secret card I picked in my very first videos on Youtube. It's a great memory.
• Vmax Rainbow Pikachu from the S4 expansion : it's super beautiful and it's a gift from my husband, he gave it to me on a special occasion so I'm very fond of it.
• The trio of based set boosters in french : exceptionally, it's not the Japanese Pokémon cards but it's clearly my "madeleine de Proust", much too mythical !

"What are your dream cards?"

There are still a lot of cards I want to have in my collection, but first priority would be :

• Pikachu promo 279/XY-P : No need to say why, it's beautiful, includes the first generation starters and was released in Japan for the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon license.
• Charizard promo 276/XY-P : Same thing, this card is clearly for the beauty of the illustration !
• Carddass pokemon no.000 : We stay in the Starters side but with a nice vintage touch ! It is a card that I find really very very nice!

"Thank you very much for this interview. We wish you great adventures in your collection, find the cards of your dreams and make you happy."

If you also want to participate to the interviews of Cardotaku, contact us by email via the contact form :)

As a reminder : Who are we ?

We are an online store of Japanese cards offering several mythical licenses like Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic or new licenses like Shadowverse, Z-X or Build Divide.
Our office is based in Kawachinagano, Osaka prefecture in Japan.

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