Has the collecting craze gone too far? From Pokémon cards to Labubus to Sonny Angels and many more, fans have been going to great lengths to obtain these collectibles this year. Some people collect them because they are “cute” or “cool,” while other collectors like the gambling excitement of opening a blind box and seeing the trinkets or cards you receive. 

With the current popularity of collecting, fans are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on these products. However, for the past year and a half, stores have struggled with keeping these items in stock. Fans will line up for hours, some people will buy cases upon cases if they get the chance. A lot of smaller businesses have started to limit them per person. 

What’s the hype?

The enjoyment that collectors feel when they finally complete their collection or finally get the item they have been looking for is one of the many reasons why people collect. That one rare card or figurine that could cost hundreds of dollars is what people find exciting about collecting, or other fans might just be collecting just to see which one of the displayed collectibles they are able to get

PSA (Professional Sports Authentication) is a way to grade your collectible cards and how much they could sell for. They grade all types of cards, from Pokémon to Yu-Gi-Oh! and sports cards. Grading helps a collector determine how much their card is worth based on the condition and balance of the card. One example is the Pokémon Prismatic Evolution cards. People want “god packs,” which have every single full-art Eevee evolution card that goes for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. It’s exhilarating to pull. But even a minor line difference can knock your card down a rank. PSA is ranked out of ten, worse being one and best being ten. Even though rating your cards can cost you, it could be worth it in the long run, with older cards becoming more expensive. 

For other collectibles, like figures/blindboxes. Fans love the standout look and what makes them different and unique from one another. Sonny Angels are babies that wear various types of hats. As for the brother series Smiskis, they are little green, or sometimes blue, guys who are doing different actions. There is also a variety of collectibles made by the brand Pop Mart. Labubus, Hironos, Peach Riot. While the same company makes all collectibles, they all have their uniqueness that makes them “cute” or “pretty” to their collectors. 

Scalping, how it has ruined the fun of collecting

Since these products are in such high demand, people who aren’t interested in collecting them will line up with other collectors to try to buy out the whole stock and resell it either online or to the people behind them in line, leaving nothing for others. Have you ever seen videos where a person buys the whole stock in-store or in vending machines? Those are scalpers.

Scalpers will try to resell these to either double or triple the amount they paid. It is like an infinite loop; collectors will feel desperate, so they buy from these resellers, and with the money resellers earn from scalping, they buy more products to resell because they know people will buy them.

The hunt for Sonny Angels and Smiskis has become pricier, with Dreams Inc. announcing that the sales price for Sonny Angels will now be raised from $10.00 a blind box to $11.25 for the regular figurines and $11.50 to $12.75 for the hippers. With this change, stores have been raising their prices even if they are already selling it for a high amount. Stores like Southcenter Mall are selling Sonny Angels and Smiskis for 40 to 60 dollars a blind box.

One Washington-based collector named Kat mentions that they collect mainly Sonny Angels.

“I started collecting in July of 2023. I mainly collect pink sonnies, bunnies, and cats. I think it’s challenging to start collecting now because of how many collectors there are now. But when I first started collecting, I didn’t have that much difficulty with getting what I wanted. People now talk about how much they like my collection, and they often assume I paid a good amount of money. The reality is that I mainly paid retail for all of my items and some change. I think that you should do what makes you happy. If collecting makes you happy, I don’t think it’s crazy. I’ve had my fair share of rushing to the store and getting the new sonnies, and I’m not shy about admitting that!” 

Student Christian Lubong (12) collects Pokemon cards.

“I started collecting Pokemon cards in elementary school. As I grew older, I stopped, but one of my friends convinced me to start collecting again. In the current state of collecting Pokemon cards, collecting casually is more challenging due to the demand. However, if you are consistently looking and passionate about collecting, making connections will always make it easier. Scalping is a problem, but I don’t think it is that crazy. The problem is that people are willing to pay the inflated price. They are looking at it more as a way to make money, not as a hobby anymore.”

I started collecting Sonny Angels in February 2022. When I went to New York, I found Sonny Angels in every Teso Life, Miniso, and Kinokuniya I went into, and they were stocked up, but now when I went back to those same stores, every sign I saw was “Sonny Angels Out Of Stock.” I am happy that more people have gotten into collecting, but some fans have taken collecting to another level. Selling out stores of their stock and not leaving anything else isn’t fair to others.