1st Edition BASE Set - To bother, or not to bother?

[Zero Gravity]

Recently I came across a 1st edition Poliwrath from Base set 1, practically mint condition.
In my collection for.... I don't know how long... years has been a 1st Edition Venusaur from the Base set.

While these cards can fetch me a nice $100 on TnT or somewhere else. I was thinking. Should I collect the original set in 1st edition? One can only guess as to how much in value the set could grow over years (unlikely but a nice thought).
Now, I'm down with a challenge in collecting an entire set.
But...
CHARIZARD.

1st edition Charizard is the bane of my existence, while I'm willing to purchase other 1st edition cards at a reasonable/under valued price, Charizard is one that I really don't want to have to cut off a hand for.
My question is simple.

Considering Charizard would stop me dead in my tracks (Unless I won the friggen lottery).
Should I bother collecting the 1st edition base set or just go about my business?

 

[Politoed666]

No. No, no, no.

Yeah, Charizard will run you a pretty penny, but so will everything else. Have you checked the price on Blastoise lately? Even a lowly Magneton will set you short $30 or more. The commons and uncommons (and there are a lot of them) are about $2-$3/ea. Assume an average of $35/ea on the holos with the exception of Charizard, $5/ea on the rares, and $2/ea on the c/u, and you'll realize that they all quickly add up. And those prices are cheap. Another problem with collecting complete sets, especially pricey ones, is that there's really no point to it unless you truly have the complete set. This means Charizard. I mean, who wants a nearly complete Base Set?

In my opinion, there are far better things to collect. Try completing the gold star collection... it's easier to do, and won't cost you as much. Try getting every Lv.X card. That's a very realistic goal. I've never collected a complete set in my life, and I don't intend to start. Lots of trouble, lots of money, and not as sparkly as lots of other stuff. This is all just my opinion, though; do what you find satisfying.

 

[7777777]

I have a 1st edition base set charizard. I got it in a booster pack I got for christmas. I consider it special because not only is it rare but it represents the last christmas I got to spend with both my parents. No you can't have it.

 

[mudkip99]

If you are going to, try and set a budget. See what a complete set is worth (£1000 plus I would guess) and spend no more than that. I'm collecting 1st edition neo genesis set at the moment. I have 4 cards left to get and have spent £125. I reckon it will cost £150-£160 for the full set. This is about what it costs to buy the full set so perhaps It would save you a lot of effort if you just buy the complete set (If there are any for sale!) in one go? OR think about the expense, then think what else you could buy with that money instead. £1000 worth of cards is a lot! thats certainly several complete sets (1st edition if you want). Balance it up- would you rather have a complete 1st ed base set or 5 other complete 1st ed sets??? Personally if your gonna spend the money i'd maybe go for something more readily available like 1st editon neo destiny? Probably worth a similar amount what with all those shining cards... I know this wont have really helped make up your mind but I'm just putting some thoughts out there.

 

[Iceboob]

I think it depends whether you are concerned about the condition of your cards or not. If you want MINT cards, it would be a very expensive collection to build, but if you are satisfied with good/excellent condition cards, your total cost for collecting has just decreased by 1/3