TLDR: The heart picks and the mind decides.

Collecting items has always been, at its core, a personal hobby. 

They are the toys that define a childhood, they’re the most outrageous merchandise printed with our favorite sports icons’ faces, they’re the unboxables that spark joy just because. 

The collection is essentially an extension of the collector, not so much because the latter owns the former as it is because, this assortment of kept items – regardless if it’s old or new, rare or regular – materially expresses what makes the person behind it giddy and geeky.

In a chat with known sports commentator and passionate card collector Chuck Araneta, the Joakim Noah super fan gave useful collecting tips, like sticking to a budget, and why at the heart of this hobby there always must be the plain old reason of ‘it brings me joy.’

The heart picks. 

Collecting must start as a personal source of joy. 

“The first is to have fun talaga,” Araneta, now the Marketing and Business Development manager of the collectors trading platform XURE, told GMA Regional TV News in an interview after the all-in-one app’s press conference in San Juan on Friday, July 17.

Chuck explained that while some people enter the scene with a return incentive, “hoping they’d make a lot of money right away,” those who have actually made money out of their hobbies “actually started out as fans and pursued collecting because they actually love it.”

He pointed out that accumulating these hobby-based items, or ‘collectibles,’ must be done first and foremost out of the fact that it is a source of genuine enjoyment.  

“That’s my advice for you– whatever you collect, do it because you actually love it, and it brings you joy,” Chuck recommended, even sharing from his personal experience as a Joakim Noah super fan (and avid collector) that he never really minded extraneous reasons for stacking up Joakim cards over the years. He’s been doing it simply because it “brings me happiness.”

“My favorite player is Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls. He has no value at all in the card hobby. [Friends say] ‘Bulls fan ka diba, dapat [Michael] Jordan or Derrick Rose yung nasa collection mo,’ pero hindi eh. My favorite player has always been Joakim, so when I get his cards it brings me happiness, because that’s the kind of player that I like… Again it’s really just about having fun about it,” he added. 

The mind decides.

Chuck’s second advice is more for checks-and-balances, an important caveat to ensure that nothing goes overboard in terms of one’s purchasing power. 

“It’s also about sticking to a budget first,” reminded Chuck, “because you may be tempted to buy anything and everything.”

After all, collecting as a hobby can trigger a chain of uncontrolled purchases if it goes unchecked. It has the possibility to go from 0 to 100 based on one’s impulse. And so the seasoned events host and sports commentator cautioned starters to always be patient and be mindful.

“Stick to a budget and go for the things you want, but take your time. Yung card naman na gusto mo, it’s not going anywhere…so stick to a budget, collect what you love. You won’t go wrong in that situation,” he concluded.

FOR FANS, BY FANS

As the collectibles industry garners more attention and attracts a stronger market in the Philippine hobby scene, the need for more secure transactions with fellow hobbyists also becomes increasingly paramount.

Araneta said that XURE – a thriving digital platform for collectors, traders, and merchants that went live in 2023 – addresses these safety and security concerns by employing only experts-verified users, particularly the sellers. 

“I am sure some of us have had bad experiences purchasing on the marketplace, on social media, andiyan lagi at the back of your mind yung ‘scammer ba to?’ On XURE, each seller that we see right now selling on the app are verified by experts, meaning they are people we actively sought out because we actually know that they have a good reputation in the hobby, be it pokemon, basketball, or any other trading card game (TCG),” Araneta shared when asked of the security measures in place.

Koji Bulahan, XURE’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), added that the platform has in-app verification mechanisms that check off security needs in buying and selling these collectibles. He described these as basic but necessary measures.

“There have been instances where a sale was made outside this app, the payment was made but the [trading] card never came, or the card was sent out before the payment was actually received. So these things are verified within the XURE app also, so if payment was received, was the card received? Mga ganyan, very basic, you would think na dapat may ganyan na, pero social media wasn’t created to cater to collectors needs, that’s why we built this app,” Bulahan explained.

XURE also aims to provide a “safe space” with safety nets to prevent faulty transactions conducted on messaging platforms and third-party payment gateways outside the confines of the app, 

“Here in XURE, obviously we will be assessing, we won’t even be necessarily accepting all the cards for example sent to us but we will assess and we will be doing the process of verifying also based on market value, et cetera. That’s number one – yung receiving pa lang ng cards and items, we are a third party platform that can be relied upon by both buyer and seller,” Bulahan added.

XURE also announced during the press conference its “One of One” auction happening on August 8, a live trading card auction that will bring together premium collectibles and real-time bidding through the XURE app.

The action listings will kick off on XURE’s digital app on August 1, and will run for a week before the live finale on August 8.

The live hobby auction is set to feature tradeable cards from sought-after games and brands like Pokemon, One Piece, NBA, and Magic: The Gathering.