I was a kpop fan since 2005 and I have seen the trend in collection change over the years. Back in 2005, people collected posters that came with purchasing an album. In 2015, fansites dominated the kpop social media space and sold their own slogans, photobooks and season greetings. Now in 2025, photocards are what people collect. Albums now include more than one photocard. Almost every single merchandise comes with a photocard. From POBs, to lucky draws and fansign/fancall pcs - photocards have been the in thing for a few years now. After going through all the phases of collecting while being a kpop fan, I am finally tired of it. I enjoyed every second of it, and though people can say it's a huge amount of money wasted, it was my hobby and collecting posters, albums, merchandise and photocards since 2005 have brought me so much joy. I however am starting to feel more fatigued with collecting photocards, especially when they're now no longer easy and cheap to collect. Market value for some photocards are in the hundreds and I can't justify myself spending that amount of money anymore. I am starting to feel stressed out mentally and financially from collecting photocards when it shouldn't be this way anymore. Companies have also been greedy with release one item through different sites that has different POBs to increase sales. I am feeling mentally tired and financially drained, and I feel quite upset that I have been feeling this way for months now because I loved collecting so much. So I have finally made a decision to stop collecting albums, photocards and most merchandise - with the exception of plush keyrings because those aren't released often and they're too cute to resist and of course, concert tickets. I hope to travel more with the extra funds that I can finally save up - be it with my partner for a vacation or for a concert overseas. I admire those who are able to keep up with this hobby, especially knowing how expensive it can get. To those who envy others with an extensive photocard collection, remember that these are materialistic things and not collecting photocards doesn't make you any less of a fan. Besides there are great alternatives like finding photocard scans and printing them on your own if you really want a photocard to display on your bag! Anyways, it has been a fun journey for 20 years now, and I have experience so much of kpop since then. Though I am sad about making this decision, I know that this is the right thing to do for myself. submitted by /u/Alone_Collection1507 [link] [comments]
