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Man with epic Pokémon collection gives it all away for free to one stunned young boy

This is what being a real fan is all about.

Coop's Collection giving a binder of cards to a little boy at a table while his dad watches.

Coop's Collection gave a whole binder of Pokémon cards to a new fan.

Photo credit: Coop's Collection
Erik Barnes
By Erik BarnesFeb 12, 2025
Erik Barnes
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A video making rounds on the internet is showing what proper fandom is all about. In the video, a young boy who is interested in Pokémon card collecting got a great head start thanks to a group of older collectors. The boy received a binder full of rare cards for free along with a graded card from a bystander that was at the booth!

The video shows Coop’s Collection, a vendor and collector of Pokémon cards, at a convention at Virginia Beach Field House. He’s approached by an avid Pokémon card collector with a binder full of holographic Pokémon cards before the event starts. He gives Coop the entire binder for free, hoping he would give the cards to a young collector.

- YouTubeyoutube.com

Minutes later, a young boy and his dad approach Coop’s booth, looking at Pokémon cards. The dad explains that his son is curious about card collecting, but had no idea where to start. Coop saw this as an opportunity to welcome the boy into his new hobby with an act of massive generosity. Coop gave the kid the entire binder of cards for free and pointed out the man who originally gave it to him. As the boy thanked the binder’s original owner, a person perusing the cards at Coop’s Collection gave the boy an additional graded card. The kid showed up with no cards but walked away with a giant haul to start off his new hobby. He and his dad continued to enjoy the convention with giant smiles on their faces, and a new collector had entered into the fold.

Pokémon trading card fandom hasn’t always been smiles though. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pokémon card collecting rose in popularity among collectors of all ages to the point in which it turned into more of a money-making scheme among the collecting community rather than a hobby. It got to the point that Target temporarily stopped selling Pokémon cards in 2021 after an incident involving a firearm occurred in one of their stores. There are also bad actors that scalp Pokémon cards or try to pass counterfeits as legitimate collector’s items today.

However, there are fans within the Pokémon trading card community that are fighting back against the actions of those toxic fans. Along with Cooper’s Collections, there are other vendors, fans, and content creators in the community that are welcoming newbies, especially youngsters, through generosity, accessibility, and wholesome videos sharing their hobby with young fans or fellow fans.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Every fandom, whether it is sports, movies, comic books, or Pokémon has its share of bad actors, worse fans, and folks gatekeeping their hobby or interest from specific groups of people. However, a great fan community like these Pokémon card fans knows that the best way to continue to nurture their interest and keep the hobby popular is to build a quality community through welcoming new people through generosity, good will, and basic kindness. It’s what helps young fans become old fans and helps old cards get new owners throughout all generations.

fanspokémonnerdsinspirationalfunkidsfeel good story

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