When you see sold-out pre orders in less than 30 minutes with loads of server issues and see those same items posted to eBay, not even hours later, with 600%+ markups, it is absolutely sickening.
I really appreciate these kinds of videos. It’s hard to not get frustrated but it’s refreshing to hear these things, hearing how it’s been this way in the past and how it has been fixed. How everyone is having the same problem, not just me. Thank you Danny for always being you, and staying sane in these crazy times!
My younger son who has been collecting for over 15 years now and I were at Sam's Club before Christmas and saw a couple of Sea & Sky Crown Zenith boxes that were left over. Out of the 11 or 12 that remained, we picked 4 which we thought were lucky (they weren't) and placed them into our cart. As we grabbed a few items in the bakery and produce section, another middle-aged male customer walked to our cart and helped himself to our 4 boxes. Even when I yelled at him, he pretended not to hear and proceeded to walk away. When I tapped him in the shoulder, he turned around and said that he didn't know they were ours. He said that he thought they were extras that were headed back to be stocked. Sadly, these are the times that we live in.
@@DannyPhantumpWhen it comes to Pokemon content, there really isn’t anybody I’d rather watch. Danny, your videos help me explain economics to my kids- one of whom is entering Macroeconomics in college. You work really hard, and that comes through in the videos. You support your viewers , you give away a ton, and it matters. I teach kids to play Pokemon every week at the library in part because of you. I hear your frustration, and it hurts. But know that we’re praying for you. And I am taking a group of kids to their first GLC this week- because of you. Thank you, Danny. Thank you very much.
Great video!! My kid and I just got into Pokemon and I want to use the word disgusting to describe how this hobby is right now. I actually had an adult try to steal an ETB out of my kids hands when we were at Target. Scalpers and investors are killing the fun out of Pokemon.
If the demand wasn't there then scalpers wouldn't be able to sell what they sell for and would likely make them stop. I think the main concern are bots buying out everything and nothing is being done about it by Pokémon. It feels like a one-sided relationship where I've been giving my heart for years and then she leaves because she is a gold digger.
If everyone stopped buying from the scalpers that would begin to fix the supply issues. There is going to come a day when the market corrects and demand drops. At that time you are going to see a ton of over leveraged scalpers and short term "investors" (flippers) get absolutely wrecked.
If a scalper beats me to a store and buys out a product, it sucks but I’ll get over it. They put the time in to get there and be there so whatever. I can’t fricking take the bots online. Everything is sold out on seconds. With the technology and infrastructure of these companies, it’s BS that there are no anti-bot software loaded. I can’t even get the chance to get product.
@@EskimoLegend1997 Ticketmaster has anyi-bot software and it doesn't help. If anything it flags regular people who try to refresh and get better tickets as bots and then locks you out.
uhhhhh. i think the amount of new stores and shops now asking for pokemon is the issue not scalpers lol the demand is out weighing supply this is how a market works..... you wait new printing factories will come up stuff will be over printed and end up stuper cheap.
It’s not just bots though, yes they are a problem but there is so many people willing to throw money at Pokémon rn it’s insane. If I could afford 10 blooming waters boxes you bet your butt I’m buying them, same mentality with everyone else.
If Pokemon can’t keep up with demand, why bring out so many sets, limit the amount of sets per year and then they have time to print enough product for everyone.
Agree. Too many sets and not enough print. That said, I thinks scalpers and resellers are a big issue. When videos show people taking entire displays. It's a problem.
Thats actually a really good idea. Esp with the amount of repeat mons or even specifically repeat cards. Its ridiculous that SV1 had 3 different lechonks/pawmis. Cant remember exactly but i remember sorting my binder like wtf is this
I’ve always thought TPC releases too many sets. Take a break and just reprint everything they can do it right now if they want. They do this on purpose to raise demand
Thank you for this video Danny, its not always easy but it is important to address this. Cards are wonderful and they feel important but sometimes we have to step back and make sure that we don't treat it like it is the most important thing in the world.
You’re one of my favorite UA-cam creators, I apperciate that you’re able to give us all the other information behind what’s actually going on just at the store front level!
Danny, I appreciate you dropping the curtain and vocalizing your frustrations. You're a real one and an amazing advocate for the people out there in the hobby
They really need to reprint everything in large quantities. Almost every set from the SV era could warrant a large reprint. The market will gobble it up and having sets in stock for the next couple of years is also not a bad thing
I am literally sitting in my car with my head on the steering wheel outside of Gamestop. I tried to order online yesterday and didnt make it in time to gamestop to preorder in store. All of its gone. And my local tcg stores are charging extra for preorders. I feel so defeated. I couldnt get my hands on enough surging sparks, prismatic evolutions, blooming waters, and now journey together. This sucks.
Worst thing to do is fomo into a new set. This stuff is literally going to be available on every store shelf a couple weeks after release. Unless you care about the stamped pokemon center etb, or opening product day 1, everything else is going to be available to everyone at some point in the near future.
Thank you for this video Danny. In the moment, there is a lot of FOMO and a lot of anxiety about the extreme demand. We need to remind ourselves to be patient or 'rethink' how we do this hobby. There is a lot of options out there, even within the Pokémon TCG. Things will calm down over time and will get better.
I am a store owner and I've never seen the hobby like this and it's not fun. I have went around over the past week just to see if there are Pokemon products anywhere since what I am getting through distribution is gone instantly, and I am telling you there hasn't been Pokemon product on store shelves for weeks across every store I went to in multiple states. My mind was blown.
Scalpers don’t exist where supply meets demand because there is enough. They smelled blood in the water starting with Surging and here we are. Danny’s right Pokemon should have printed more. I think they were operating in fear based on what happened with VV, Darkness Ablaze, and Shining Fates reprints as well as SV basically up to Twilight Masquerade. Plus the huge back stock (which is now basically gone.) Pocket is hands down the largest contributor to this which they should have predicted would have had an impact, so yes it’s all on Pokémon everything else is just a byproduct of not enough stock.
I just moved to the middle of Nowhere... I'm over an hour drive to the nearest Best Buy / Game Stop... I can only rely on online shopping for Pokemon Cards... I have a feeling that due to my location and ONLINE STORES BEING GREEDY AS HECK I'm going to retire from collecting.
Walmart Sams clubs costco Bjs hell even some Ace's hardwares have em but yea thats rough and totally understandable. Logically youre not gonna spend like 160-300 on a single new set ETB from the internet places it just doesnt make any sense what so ever.
What's frustrating was yesterday 1/9/2025 my friend called a gamestop to see if they had pre orders still for Journey together set and they said yes. We get there and then they say that they got word from higher ups that 20 min late because they hard stopped pre orders both online and in person. We found it very suspicious and disappointing when my friend called literally before hand to make sure
Problem is they should make a certain allocation be in-store pre-orders only. You know there were people calling all the gamestops around placing pre-orders for cases.
Y’all broke Danny. Even as an investor/collector I really do hope Pokemon prints these new sets into the ground or at least have anyone get a set at or below MSRP for at least 3-6 months
They can print the set into the ground but the pull rates is what drives demand no matter what. Specific SIR from Prismatic evolutions is estimated to be 1/2000 packs similar to evolving skies alt art pull rates.
So far for every S&V set release day, I've taken the morning off of work to go around with my daughter to find some of the new set to open with my wife and daughter. Just something fun to look forward to. I'm not sure if I should even take her out for Prismatic, which is just frustrating and sad.
I was an avid sports card collector, and pretty much stopped completely because this type of stuff became the norm. The last straw was my local shop going out getting blasters and selling them marked up like they were hobby boxes.
no, it does not feel like it's gonna be okay. I feel like all this year, all sets are gonna be crazy high, and I am so sad cause this is one of the things my daughter and I bond over. it's gonna be hard to collect and have fun if the prices don't come back down
It’s not going get better this year only just like house market and other goods Pokémon is going hit much harder, I sold all my collection to leave the hobby and honestly I can tell you it feels so good now, cause I am enjoying myself by going vacations and spending time with my family and now I am saving more money and not worrying about asking for my boss for a raise because we are in a hard time right now. Good luck with those investors
Same. My son and daughter and I bond over pokemon, play at league, and collect many sets. Daughter is excited for Prismatic but I keep telling her it's gonna be super hard to find any. Hard to understand for an 8 and 9 year old. Hard enough for me, as an adult.
Prices aren't coming down in 2025, after JT it's a team rocket set and after that a mega evolutions set... hype is only going to continue to grow, maybe will die down some in 2026 but who knows.
yeah, this sucks cause how many sets are we gonna miss out on just because of pricing? because if we can't get them now, then the singles are just gonna be extremely high as well. Hopefully it does die down cause if not I might have to take a break for a while
There is not a Walmart within 100 miles of me that has any pokemon cards. My local walmart is always picked clean. This is not just walmarts either its all retail, the demand is worse than you actually think.
You nailed it, Danny. Im not having as much fun as I used to. I'm more stressed by not being able to find anything and just sad that people who dont care about the Hobby are trying to make a quick buck
UA-camrs opening thousands of packs a month before release date doesn't help. You're bang on tho Danny. Everybody is right, and wrong. Hype dies down eventually. True fans will always be the winners, because true fans will always be here.
The market has Phanny in the fetal position lol. Appreciate the input and work you do! I firmly believe history repeats itself and the market will correct itself in time. Until it does, I don't mind watching from the sideline and enjoy my collection where it is now ❤
I'm a bit frustrated with the way people buy up the product and upsell it. I'm primarily talking about 151 and Prismatic Evolutions and I won't get product release date which is fine but I'm worried I won't be able to buy MSRP. That's what's frustrating for me. But Pokemon is fun to open
I was able to order Surging 5 boosters 95$ per 4 PC etb not a case got the 4th on restock 2 reg etb for like 38$ Prismatic no deal but all msrp prices 2 PC etb cases 5 etb mix of gamestop & walmart 3 3pk blister 9 binder -Walmart & gamestop 10 poster -safari zone & gamestop 2 surprise box 5 bundles -gamestop Journey 2 PC etb 1 booster at $161 not from PC -forge &fire ROCKET 1 booster at $161 not from PC 1 ETB at 40$ I think -forge and fire So pre orders are definitely the way to go in my book if you don't want to over pay I'd follow some restock pages too also it may help to have a friend or family member who doesn't care about pokemon and is on a different wifi so you can try and beat the bots that's how I ended up with 2 Prismatic cases my mom got one and I did and we didn't know till like an hr after when the site stopped crashing
I've been collecting since I was a kid. It was frustrating during covid, but it was understandable to an extent. Now its just all about greed. There has been zero enjoyment in TCG for about 4 or 5 months now. seeing scalpers and resellers swipe up all the product, and certain youtubers opening an immense amount of product before it's even out is just exhausting and deflating. I think I am just gonna focus on the few singles I really want, and maybe send cards in to get graded.
I feel seeing Danny this broken should be a turning point for this hobby. ❤ To you Danny you look so sad. The Pokémon company needs to print more and just keep pumping it out. Somehow, somewhere this has got to end.
I just started collecting again, and most likely due to the hype of pocket just like everyone else. Last time I bought cards were during the diamond & pearl era, I remember playing with my friends in college during lunch time. Those were some good times. Now I'm just here to collect, but it's probably the worst time to jump back into this hobby with all the crazy scalping, price gouging etc. I've decided to just grab a binder and focus on the original 151 kanto pokemon, not even gonna bother if they're from the same set, whether they're all the same rarity, or whatever. As long as I can get a card for each pokemon, even it's just a common rarity, just want to have that goal first. Just like you said, gotta find my own happy first and foremost. Thanks for your videos Danny, love that they're always honest and keep up the good work. I hope all us genuine collectors can get through this hobby.
Danny, consistently the GOAT. Biggest lesson he's taught me is it's okay to miss a chase, there will always be more chases. Don't get caught up in the one that got away and the market now is a prime example of it! Like he said, find your happy!
It is a pokemon issue; however, it probably is intended. Ive seen many companies do similar things to restructure the market into a position that provides them with capacity. You can either build capacity or your can price capacity. This feels so much like a pricing capacity exercise. If the printers are working 100% and things are getting sold out immediately, i would do the same. Have the market reset the base price for me due to demand, and then ill release future products at an elevated price to back off demand while still making the same amount of profit. Now i have both, profit and capacity due to the higher price point ive manipulated the market into creating.
I know and understand why everyone is upset. It's a bad year to buy new pokemon sets. We are having fun, being back in the hobby. We opened some Temporal Forces, Paradox Rift, Twilight Masquerade etbs, and Japanese 151. We have been organizing our bulk and learning how to sell on ebay (and got some really kind reviews!). We have pulled some cards that we feel will be great to hold on to, and have a plan to pick up singles every month that we really like. We are collecting like we never have before, and It's so much fun. But we understand the concerns for pokemon product releasing this year. We are worried there will be sets where we have to just buy singles and pray for reprints (and maybe a slight cooldown in hype). It's bad, and we believe pokemon will have to respond to the market's concerns.
I felt your pain through this video. But keep going your content is great. It just seems like they make it hard to complete sets for capital gain. But we are here to enjoy. Me and my 6 year old son are trying to complete shrouded fable because we havent got a completed a set yet. Keep it up!
Ahh you ordered the empty spots. I was going to offer to donate a single or two you were missing. You're so great for doing that. This whole preorder then reselling on ebay is incredibly disgusting....
I feel you Danny. I got back into collecting back in 2020 and yeah the pandemic made certain times challenging but the past couple months have somehow felt worse than those times. Borderline debating taking a break because of the ridiculousness. Hoping things get better because a children's card should not be frustrating and stressful.
My biggest frustration is the exclusive products. I wouldn’t mind waiting for general product or buying singles for an overhyped set but the exclusive etbs become impossible to get without paying ridiculous prices. Some sort of print to order solution needs to happen for exclusive products that are gone forever once they’re sold out if not I think I’m finished, it’s just not worth the disappointment or the money.
Didn’t know the preorders were up for journey together until half way through the work day and by the time I saw it was all gone. Going to have to be on PC the night before release to refresh and hopefully get one etb on release day if they restock even if for just a few minutes because I refuse to pay the resale prices. It’s crazy
18:28 This is great! This is what the community needs. Encourage ppl to enjoy the hobby again by just focuing on what they can do. Finish that master set you started, revisit older sets, buy some singles, etc. You are awesome! 😎 Such a positive person to so many that need it! 💕
Danny hears a "knock knock" on his door, then he hears, "This is pokemon center, open up!" Danny proceeds to open door...two Machamps walk in, pick him from his chair while he's shooting this video. Danny is never to be seen again.... Just something that came across my mind...lol...
Tbh I think bots are ruining the hobby too. Not just bots buying up everything but also the fact that sooo many people are using discord restock bots. GameStop doing in store preorders is a great step in the right direction. And for the love of god why can’t Pokemon center announce a set, take orders for the PC ETBs for a few days then print to order demand.
Something tells me that Pokemon Company is currently printing at capacity and they don't want to over correct by adding too much more print capacity. They have seen how there has been peaks and valleys with demand and are ok with there being times like this in order to save on their bottom line during the periods with low demand for product.
This is sometimes the downside of buying pre-orders and before you know it, its sold out! Espcially if is limited in small volume. I have a hard time finding the chase booster packs that i wanted and i dont make scalpers fool me buying on their prices just to make more dough. If only they learn their lesson.
Things suck right now but everyone who knows how market cycles works knows whats coming. The scalpers and investors can enjoy the short term gain but so many newer ones are going to get absolutely destroyed.
At the end of the day there truly is no one to point the finger at even the people that get the product early ahead of time I do strongly agree that it's the Pokemon company itself they couldn't care less if it was bots for people that know people of the company at the end of the day it falls on the shoulders of the Pokemon company itself as long as they're making money they don't care what the politics are
I feel like I’m in a cycle with pokemon cards. I’m enjoying the game in collecting, then everything blows up with pokemon go. I stop for a few years then come back after it’s settled. Next Covid blows everything up so I leave and wait a bit. I came back almost a year ago, enjoying myself and the game then it blows up again. Singles I’ve had on my to get list are up 50-100% and there’s no way to get any product in my small town. This cycle has been rough for such a fun card game
Also, the fact that big retail raised the prices of Pokemon products again is not helping. I just found paldean fates 3 packs and they are now charging $15.99 instead of 14.99. ETBs are now $49 for 9 packs , $60 for 11 packs. This is getting ridiculous
Supply and demand are really causing emotional issues. It really sucks that people buying product online to flip last year when things were abundant and cheap, are doing the same exact thing now but being called scalpers. Can we please save that term for the "shelf swoopers"??
I returned last summer after 25 years away, became very enthused over where the art has gone from the first WOTC sets and started to collect again. Maybe a little too enthusiastically, but I'd been happy rejoining the collecting part of the hobby. Yesterday was disappointing, especially because of how broken the website was. I got through my cart up to needing to enter CC info, then the site broke, and I never got back to the cart. I'm really hoping things are better next week for those still needing a PC ETB of Prismatic Evolutions at MSRP, and even better in March so I can grab a PC ETB of Journey Together at MSRP.
At the end of the day, the shelf can either have pokemon cards… or not have Any Pokémon cards! It’s nice to see prices go up, but the people who are buying them, well…. WE are those people
I play the TCG and collect the cards. My only sealed is for products that I liked the artwork of. Year of Eevee has to mean they print Prismatic Evolutions into the ground.
Well said…. A simple update statement from Pokemon would go a long way. Maybe people would stop paying the crazy prices and maybe the scalpers would move on to something else if everyone knew Pokemon had a plan.
Man I was so looking forward to Journey Toegther with the return of Trainer cards but I just have no words for the lack of supply and lack of pre orders available
Starting with Twilight Masquerade I feel like Pokemon turned the printers off to artificially boost demand. Its was clear that Pokemon wanted boxes to sell at MSRP at release and boy did they accomplish that goal
I've basically given up on collecting modern. My son is collecting Crown Zenith and weve been able to find that without too much hassle. For me I've grabbed my old binders and decided to finish vintage sets. So I'm not opening packs, but I'm at least able to find cards and hunt for deals.
I think people should know the scale of how popular pokemon is... It is worse than the 2020-2021 boom. At the end of 2022 there were around 43 billion pokemon cards ever printed... By the end of 2024 it was 68 billion... 1/3 of all Pokemon cards that were ever printed in existence occured in the last 2 years... no wonder there is supply issues, it's not like they are trying to short print things, they just can't keep up with the demand, they have printed tons and tons of product. It doesn't help that scalping actually works, people buy the expensive stuff so they keep doing it.
The new pokemon sets look good, but this problem for pokemon shouldnt be continuing the way it is. Its been years and they still have really fixed anything. The good news is, Mythik TCG doesnt have these problems and its a tcg you can go pickup right now. :)
This sucks for me as a player because I can’t even get access to the new cards. Starting off the new rotation with a set that players can’t even buy is just sad
I was reliving childhood and bought about $2,000 worth of cards over the past 3 months, but I think that's going to come to an end simply because this stuff takes up too much space. It is a fun hobby, but I don't think this demand can last too much longer
The thing is its not that people are buying insane ammounts of products its that there are more people in the hobby and not enough to go around. When you have allocation for 50 people but have 200 to supply alot of people gonna go without. and even if they could make it to where everyone could get some it would be spread so thin that youd never collect a set. What people need to do right now is save their money and when a preorder happens buy what you wanna rip right then. There were a ton of drops yesterday and even some gamestops are still doing in store. If you want cards you gotta work a little harder right now. Yesterday i was able to get 2pc etbs, 3 booster boxes and 10 bundles but i had to be quick the moment i seen it dropped. Also i think walmart still has theirs to drop so be ready.
Thank you for this content. I've been a pokemon fan since the beginning, but only now getting into collecting and man did I choose a terrible time to start. That being said, you made a great point about finding your happy place with this hobby and I've discovered the wonder of Japanese cards. From what I'm seeing that market is feeling a similar pressure, but clearly not to the same extent. On top of this, the pull rates made Terastal Fest such a joy to open up. At the very least I feel like I can enjoy those recent sets while I wait for this hype to die down. The pull rates of international sets are just not worth their current costs. Side Note: Japanese cards are just printed at better quality. It's very noticeable. Please get better printers TPCi
I just started collecting again since i was a child and it is definitely not something you want to do in this market right now. You cant get any of the new stuff without paying inflated prices. And its disheartening for people who do this as a hobby. I feel a lot of people may stop collecting due to the prices and scarce quantity of products that can be got for normal prices. And that just sucks.
Love the video and work that goes into it! I think Pokemon should slow down on the releases and focus on getting more product out for everyone. 6 new sets a year is too much for the average collector to try to complete each set. If they slow down to 4 sets a year and get good amounts of product out there, I think it would be a win for everyone
Pokémon cards are released in a way that encourages both players and collectors to buy and trade cards, but also ensures that certain rare cards maintain their value over time. Would be interesting to see if this (Prismatic) becomes the most valuable set in SWSH + S&V or perhaps it will be Rocket?
I've seen distributors scalp. Say out of stock on release but Monday after they call saying they have some at current market price. Saw it with surging Sparks
I got back into the hobby 2018, months before the pandemic I was buying so many Booster Boxes for 99.99 89. Some even lower and was ripping pack for the love it. It’s wild how expensive it is now
I've started collecting XY era full arts/megas lately. A lot of bangers for really reasonable prices out there. a lot less stress than trying to collect modern stuff
You are so so right. It is 100% TPCs fault. And the thing is they wont change it one bit. It's gonna stay like this because it is safe and easy money for them
I’ve been collecting for years and I’ve never seen it this bad. I mean in 2020ish my local Walmart couldn’t keep cards in stock, but feels so much worse. The only way to beat scalpers is to not pay scalper prices. But it seems like there’s always someone willing to pay those scalper prices.
You got this! No this isn’t fun. Should have some bot protection by now. Find your happy place and focus on that! So good! Great breakdown! You’re a real one Danny! Do you think along with supply- people seeing evolving skies hit the price it’s at pushes the next Eveelutions set this high?
I’m worried I won’t be able to find any prismatics. The scalpers literally stand camped outside vending machines and then buy everything other than stellar crown and Twilight masquerade
It's not going to be fixed overnight, but I doubt this will continue considering Pokemon Pocket has just pulled in a ton of new customers. Pokemon Company is going to be forced to change supply.
I'm having the second most fun I've had with this hobby and I started out a gen 4 gen. 6 was my most fun gen. Gen 9 I got to meet my you tube friends that's what makes it so special.
2023 is really fun, I bought most of my card cheap. 151, and sword and shield, Pokemon go set. The seller looks want to sell everything out, 151 ETB is $35, 151 mew UPC is $75. Everything is 30%-50% off the MRSP.
One of the reasons I'm buying Korean boosters to rip. That market does not seem to be has affected at the moment. The quality is about the same as English as well. Although sets are released a little later than English so you need to wait a little on newer releases.
It’s most likely true that there’s not enough product to meet demand. However, it’s important to recognize that scalpers artificially raise demand, and by a dramatic amount. Consider that scalpers aren’t buying the product because they want it, they’re buying it because other people want it. This means every case of booster boxes a scalper buys is six collectors that now cannot get those cases from Pokémon, which makes it seem like more people want the product than what’s available. More simply, let’s say there’s a product that is being made to demand fairly well. The company makes 100 units of this product for the people who typically buy it. If scalpers realize this group will pay a good amount more for it they will decide to buy as much as they can to try and rip off the normal customers. In this scenario now there’s 100 orders from the regular customers and 100 orders from scalpers. Demand has doubled but it’s not the real demand, the demand from the people who actually want the product is unchanged and those people now just have to go to the second hand market instead. The company in this case had produced an appropriate amount of product to meet the true demand but it’s impossible to predict how much scalper demand will wipe out that product.
Man, before surging sparks then going into the next two sets, I don’t understand how all the other sets just went up. When I was collecting to master set s&v base set(which was 6months ago), my local card shops couldn’t give the packs away. I was buying those for $2/pack. Now, booster boxes are way too high. I’m not too happy with the gouging. Saw the same thing with sneakers. If it wasn’t for outlets, I wouldn’t be a sneakerhead.
When you see sold-out pre orders in less than 30 minutes with loads of server issues and see those same items posted to eBay, not even hours later, with 600%+ markups, it is absolutely sickening.
Spot on.
I really appreciate these kinds of videos. It’s hard to not get frustrated but it’s refreshing to hear these things, hearing how it’s been this way in the past and how it has been fixed. How everyone is having the same problem, not just me. Thank you Danny for always being you, and staying sane in these crazy times!
I want Pokémon to address the issue. That's my biggest frustration.
My younger son who has been collecting for over 15 years now and I were at Sam's Club before Christmas and saw a couple of Sea & Sky Crown Zenith boxes that were left over. Out of the 11 or 12 that remained, we picked 4 which we thought were lucky (they weren't) and placed them into our cart. As we grabbed a few items in the bakery and produce section, another middle-aged male customer walked to our cart and helped himself to our 4 boxes. Even when I yelled at him, he pretended not to hear and proceeded to walk away. When I tapped him in the shoulder, he turned around and said that he didn't know they were ours. He said that he thought they were extras that were headed back to be stocked. Sadly, these are the times that we live in.
That Prismatic master set..... I.....good luck Danny.
You're by far my favorite pokemon UA-camr. You're awesome and I appreciate your content. Thank you ❤️
That means a ton. Thank you so much!
@@DannyPhantumpWhen it comes to Pokemon content, there really isn’t anybody I’d rather watch. Danny, your videos help me explain economics to my kids- one of whom is entering Macroeconomics in college. You work really hard, and that comes through in the videos. You support your viewers , you give away a ton, and it matters. I teach kids to play Pokemon every week at the library in part because of you. I hear your frustration, and it hurts. But know that we’re praying for you. And I am taking a group of kids to their first GLC this week- because of you. Thank you, Danny. Thank you very much.
Great video!! My kid and I just got into Pokemon and I want to use the word disgusting to describe how this hobby is right now. I actually had an adult try to steal an ETB out of my kids hands when we were at Target. Scalpers and investors are killing the fun out of Pokemon.
I’ve been collecting since S&M Lost Thunder but I think I’m finally going to take a break. The pandemic boom didn’t even frustrate me this much
jeez this broke you? lol mental.
Insert the Chapelle clip of having a weak constitution. 😂
@@darthsaint7743 I don’t think a booster box pre order has ever sold out in under an hour before.
@@darthsaint7743scalper much? Go to another server scalper
@@Jojo18898insert a picture of a 50 year old scalper in his pajamas with 2 kids that he doesn’t even open cards with
If the demand wasn't there then scalpers wouldn't be able to sell what they sell for and would likely make them stop. I think the main concern are bots buying out everything and nothing is being done about it by Pokémon. It feels like a one-sided relationship where I've been giving my heart for years and then she leaves because she is a gold digger.
If everyone stopped buying from the scalpers that would begin to fix the supply issues. There is going to come a day when the market corrects and demand drops. At that time you are going to see a ton of over leveraged scalpers and short term "investors" (flippers) get absolutely wrecked.
If a scalper beats me to a store and buys out a product, it sucks but I’ll get over it. They put the time in to get there and be there so whatever. I can’t fricking take the bots online. Everything is sold out on seconds. With the technology and infrastructure of these companies, it’s BS that there are no anti-bot software loaded. I can’t even get the chance to get product.
@@EskimoLegend1997 Ticketmaster has anyi-bot software and it doesn't help. If anything it flags regular people who try to refresh and get better tickets as bots and then locks you out.
uhhhhh. i think the amount of new stores and shops now asking for pokemon is the issue not scalpers lol the demand is out weighing supply this is how a market works..... you wait new printing factories will come up stuff will be over printed and end up stuper cheap.
It’s not just bots though, yes they are a problem but there is so many people willing to throw money at Pokémon rn it’s insane. If I could afford 10 blooming waters boxes you bet your butt I’m buying them, same mentality with everyone else.
If Pokemon can’t keep up with demand, why bring out so many sets, limit the amount of sets per year and then they have time to print enough product for everyone.
Agree. Too many sets and not enough print. That said, I thinks scalpers and resellers are a big issue. When videos show people taking entire displays. It's a problem.
There’s an idea. Show down the hype train.
Bruh they can print everything they want, they just dont do it
Thats actually a really good idea. Esp with the amount of repeat mons or even specifically repeat cards. Its ridiculous that SV1 had 3 different lechonks/pawmis. Cant remember exactly but i remember sorting my binder like wtf is this
I’ve always thought TPC releases too many sets. Take a break and just reprint everything they can do it right now if they want. They do this on purpose to raise demand
It’s so frustrating how fast journey together sold out..I wish they would print to order.
They need to print these next few sets to oblivion to counteract the fact that nobody can get product, even at the high prices they’re at
Do you think this would actually fix the issue though? I feel like they would just buy more stock til its empty shelves again lmao
This would work I think but they'll never do it whilst they are making so much money. And the stores won't want loads of stock sitting around
They just should do the Pull Rate the same like they did with Crown Zenith. Is it that hard to understand?
Facts. No investor or collector can logically disagree with that.
A couple of bad sets is more likely to do the trick. Time for Rebel Clash part 2!!!
Thank you for this video Danny, its not always easy but it is important to address this. Cards are wonderful and they feel important but sometimes we have to step back and make sure that we don't treat it like it is the most important thing in the world.
You’re one of my favorite UA-cam creators, I apperciate that you’re able to give us all the other information behind what’s actually going on just at the store front level!
Danny, I appreciate you dropping the curtain and vocalizing your frustrations. You're a real one and an amazing advocate for the people out there in the hobby
They really need to reprint everything in large quantities. Almost every set from the SV era could warrant a large reprint. The market will gobble it up and having sets in stock for the next couple of years is also not a bad thing
I am literally sitting in my car with my head on the steering wheel outside of Gamestop. I tried to order online yesterday and didnt make it in time to gamestop to preorder in store. All of its gone. And my local tcg stores are charging extra for preorders. I feel so defeated. I couldnt get my hands on enough surging sparks, prismatic evolutions, blooming waters, and now journey together. This sucks.
Worst thing to do is fomo into a new set. This stuff is literally going to be available on every store shelf a couple weeks after release. Unless you care about the stamped pokemon center etb, or opening product day 1, everything else is going to be available to everyone at some point in the near future.
@Karmaless I still can't get surging sparks.
@@Karmaless thats what they said about ss
@@shelbycornell9482 try to learn your dates on when they restock. also be ready for walmart and target preorders they still havent happend.
@@shelbycornell9482 you will at some point, they about to print that lil mouse until he's sub $200 card.
Thank you as always Danny, I love these videos when you keeping it real and with all the information thank you for trying to calm down the hype
Thank you for this video Danny. In the moment, there is a lot of FOMO and a lot of anxiety about the extreme demand. We need to remind ourselves to be patient or 'rethink' how we do this hobby. There is a lot of options out there, even within the Pokémon TCG. Things will calm down over time and will get better.
I am a store owner and I've never seen the hobby like this and it's not fun. I have went around over the past week just to see if there are Pokemon products anywhere since what I am getting through distribution is gone instantly, and I am telling you there hasn't been Pokemon product on store shelves for weeks across every store I went to in multiple states. My mind was blown.
Scalpers don’t exist where supply meets demand because there is enough. They smelled blood in the water starting with Surging and here we are. Danny’s right Pokemon should have printed more. I think they were operating in fear based on what happened with VV, Darkness Ablaze, and Shining Fates reprints as well as SV basically up to Twilight Masquerade. Plus the huge back stock (which is now basically gone.) Pocket is hands down the largest contributor to this which they should have predicted would have had an impact, so yes it’s all on Pokémon everything else is just a byproduct of not enough stock.
I havent watched pokemon content in a solid year. Im glad to see you still making content! Ill be around. Happy Collecting!
I just moved to the middle of Nowhere... I'm over an hour drive to the nearest Best Buy / Game Stop... I can only rely on online shopping for Pokemon Cards... I have a feeling that due to my location and ONLINE STORES BEING GREEDY AS HECK I'm going to retire from collecting.
Walmart Sams clubs costco Bjs hell even some Ace's hardwares have em but yea thats rough and totally understandable. Logically youre not gonna spend like 160-300 on a single new set ETB from the internet places it just doesnt make any sense what so ever.
What's frustrating was yesterday 1/9/2025 my friend called a gamestop to see if they had pre orders still for Journey together set and they said yes. We get there and then they say that they got word from higher ups that 20 min late because they hard stopped pre orders both online and in person. We found it very suspicious and disappointing when my friend called literally before hand to make sure
I went to reserve yesterday afterwork and the manager told me that they didn’t think it would last until friday, which turned out to be the case.
Problem is they should make a certain allocation be in-store pre-orders only. You know there were people calling all the gamestops around placing pre-orders for cases.
Y’all broke Danny. Even as an investor/collector I really do hope Pokemon prints these new sets into the ground or at least have anyone get a set at or below MSRP for at least 3-6 months
They can print the set into the ground but the pull rates is what drives demand no matter what. Specific SIR from Prismatic evolutions is estimated to be 1/2000 packs similar to evolving skies alt art pull rates.
@@drizzhodark times ahead
It is frustrating times to be a Pokémon fan, but you’re always here to shine some light on the fans. So thank you for that Danny 🙏🏼
So far for every S&V set release day, I've taken the morning off of work to go around with my daughter to find some of the new set to open with my wife and daughter. Just something fun to look forward to. I'm not sure if I should even take her out for Prismatic, which is just frustrating and sad.
I was an avid sports card collector, and pretty much stopped completely because this type of stuff became the norm. The last straw was my local shop going out getting blasters and selling them marked up like they were hobby boxes.
no, it does not feel like it's gonna be okay. I feel like all this year, all sets are gonna be crazy high, and I am so sad cause this is one of the things my daughter and I bond over. it's gonna be hard to collect and have fun if the prices don't come back down
It’s not going get better this year only just like house market and other goods Pokémon is going hit much harder, I sold all my collection to leave the hobby and honestly I can tell you it feels so good now, cause I am enjoying myself by going vacations and spending time with my family and now I am saving more money and not worrying about asking for my boss for a raise because we are in a hard time right now. Good luck with those investors
Same. My son and daughter and I bond over pokemon, play at league, and collect many sets. Daughter is excited for Prismatic but I keep telling her it's gonna be super hard to find any. Hard to understand for an 8 and 9 year old. Hard enough for me, as an adult.
Prices aren't coming down in 2025, after JT it's a team rocket set and after that a mega evolutions set... hype is only going to continue to grow, maybe will die down some in 2026 but who knows.
yeah, this sucks cause how many sets are we gonna miss out on just because of pricing? because if we can't get them now, then the singles are just gonna be extremely high as well. Hopefully it does die down cause if not I might have to take a break for a while
Thank you for your videos, Danny! I've been watching you since I got back into the hobby!
There is not a Walmart within 100 miles of me that has any pokemon cards. My local walmart is always picked clean. This is not just walmarts either its all retail, the demand is worse than you actually think.
You nailed it, Danny. Im not having as much fun as I used to. I'm more stressed by not being able to find anything and just sad that people who dont care about the Hobby are trying to make a quick buck
UA-camrs opening thousands of packs a month before release date doesn't help. You're bang on tho Danny. Everybody is right, and wrong. Hype dies down eventually. True fans will always be the winners, because true fans will always be here.
Poke rev just posted he had a case of etb yesterday of prismatic evolution
The market has Phanny in the fetal position lol. Appreciate the input and work you do!
I firmly believe history repeats itself and the market will correct itself in time. Until it does, I don't mind watching from the sideline and enjoy my collection where it is now ❤
I'm a bit frustrated with the way people buy up the product and upsell it. I'm primarily talking about 151 and Prismatic Evolutions and I won't get product release date which is fine but I'm worried I won't be able to buy MSRP. That's what's frustrating for me. But Pokemon is fun to open
Yeah the in demand stuff is crazy right now. It will get better. It has to
You gotta pre order man the market has changed I've been able to get everything up to rocket at msrp or under with surging sparks
I was able to order
Surging
5 boosters 95$ per
4 PC etb not a case got the 4th on restock
2 reg etb for like 38$
Prismatic no deal but all msrp prices
2 PC etb cases
5 etb mix of gamestop & walmart
3 3pk blister
9 binder -Walmart & gamestop
10 poster -safari zone & gamestop
2 surprise box
5 bundles -gamestop
Journey
2 PC etb
1 booster at $161 not from PC -forge &fire
ROCKET
1 booster at $161 not from PC
1 ETB at 40$ I think
-forge and fire
So pre orders are definitely the way to go in my book if you don't want to over pay I'd follow some restock pages too also it may help to have a friend or family member who doesn't care about pokemon and is on a different wifi so you can try and beat the bots that's how I ended up with 2 Prismatic cases my mom got one and I did and we didn't know till like an hr after when the site stopped crashing
I totally agree with you Danny. It is almost depressing what's going on right now. Almost no product to be found at a normal price.
I've been collecting since I was a kid. It was frustrating during covid, but it was understandable to an extent. Now its just all about greed. There has been zero enjoyment in TCG for about 4 or 5 months now. seeing scalpers and resellers swipe up all the product, and certain youtubers opening an immense amount of product before it's even out is just exhausting and deflating. I think I am just gonna focus on the few singles I really want, and maybe send cards in to get graded.
Your videos are a light in the darkness brother. Always glad to hear your insight and perspectives on things in the hobby. Thank you!
Thank you Danny for being a positive light in these bleak times! I do think it will get better. It's just a matter of time.
I am a bit frustrated too. I came back to this hobby not so long ago just to find out that it is ridiculously hard to get your hands on anything.
I feel seeing Danny this broken should be a turning point for this hobby. ❤ To you Danny you look so sad. The Pokémon company needs to print more and just keep pumping it out. Somehow, somewhere this has got to end.
I just started collecting again, and most likely due to the hype of pocket just like everyone else. Last time I bought cards were during the diamond & pearl era, I remember playing with my friends in college during lunch time. Those were some good times.
Now I'm just here to collect, but it's probably the worst time to jump back into this hobby with all the crazy scalping, price gouging etc. I've decided to just grab a binder and focus on the original 151 kanto pokemon, not even gonna bother if they're from the same set, whether they're all the same rarity, or whatever. As long as I can get a card for each pokemon, even it's just a common rarity, just want to have that goal first.
Just like you said, gotta find my own happy first and foremost. Thanks for your videos Danny, love that they're always honest and keep up the good work. I hope all us genuine collectors can get through this hobby.
Danny, consistently the GOAT. Biggest lesson he's taught me is it's okay to miss a chase, there will always be more chases. Don't get caught up in the one that got away and the market now is a prime example of it! Like he said, find your happy!
It is a pokemon issue; however, it probably is intended. Ive seen many companies do similar things to restructure the market into a position that provides them with capacity. You can either build capacity or your can price capacity. This feels so much like a pricing capacity exercise.
If the printers are working 100% and things are getting sold out immediately, i would do the same. Have the market reset the base price for me due to demand, and then ill release future products at an elevated price to back off demand while still making the same amount of profit.
Now i have both, profit and capacity due to the higher price point ive manipulated the market into creating.
Spot on imo. Pokemon hires some of the best marketers in the world. They know exactly what they’re doing
I know and understand why everyone is upset. It's a bad year to buy new pokemon sets.
We are having fun, being back in the hobby. We opened some Temporal Forces, Paradox Rift, Twilight Masquerade etbs, and Japanese 151. We have been organizing our bulk and learning how to sell on ebay (and got some really kind reviews!).
We have pulled some cards that we feel will be great to hold on to, and have a plan to pick up singles every month that we really like. We are collecting like we never have before, and It's so much fun.
But we understand the concerns for pokemon product releasing this year. We are worried there will be sets where we have to just buy singles and pray for reprints (and maybe a slight cooldown in hype). It's bad, and we believe pokemon will have to respond to the market's concerns.
I felt your pain through this video. But keep going your content is great. It just seems like they make it hard to complete sets for capital gain. But we are here to enjoy. Me and my 6 year old son are trying to complete shrouded fable because we havent got a completed a set yet. Keep it up!
Ahh you ordered the empty spots. I was going to offer to donate a single or two you were missing. You're so great for doing that.
This whole preorder then reselling on ebay is incredibly disgusting....
I feel you Danny. I got back into collecting back in 2020 and yeah the pandemic made certain times challenging but the past couple months have somehow felt worse than those times. Borderline debating taking a break because of the ridiculousness. Hoping things get better because a children's card should not be frustrating and stressful.
My biggest frustration is the exclusive products. I wouldn’t mind waiting for general product or buying singles for an overhyped set but the exclusive etbs become impossible to get without paying ridiculous prices. Some sort of print to order solution needs to happen for exclusive products that are gone forever once they’re sold out if not I think I’m finished, it’s just not worth the disappointment or the money.
Didn’t know the preorders were up for journey together until half way through the work day and by the time I saw it was all gone. Going to have to be on PC the night before release to refresh and hopefully get one etb on release day if they restock even if for just a few minutes because I refuse to pay the resale prices. It’s crazy
The Hobby is crazy right now. Appreciate your insights !
18:28 This is great! This is what the community needs. Encourage ppl to enjoy the hobby again by just focuing on what they can do. Finish that master set you started, revisit older sets, buy some singles, etc. You are awesome! 😎 Such a positive person to so many that need it! 💕
Danny hears a "knock knock" on his door, then he hears, "This is pokemon center, open up!" Danny proceeds to open door...two Machamps walk in, pick him from his chair while he's shooting this video. Danny is never to be seen again....
Just something that came across my mind...lol...
Tbh I think bots are ruining the hobby too. Not just bots buying up everything but also the fact that sooo many people are using discord restock bots. GameStop doing in store preorders is a great step in the right direction. And for the love of god why can’t Pokemon center announce a set, take orders for the PC ETBs for a few days then print to order demand.
Something tells me that Pokemon Company is currently printing at capacity and they don't want to over correct by adding too much more print capacity. They have seen how there has been peaks and valleys with demand and are ok with there being times like this in order to save on their bottom line during the periods with low demand for product.
This is sometimes the downside of buying pre-orders and before you know it, its sold out! Espcially if is limited in small volume. I have a hard time finding the chase booster packs that i wanted and i dont make scalpers fool me buying on their prices just to make more dough.
If only they learn their lesson.
Things suck right now but everyone who knows how market cycles works knows whats coming. The scalpers and investors can enjoy the short term gain but so many newer ones are going to get absolutely destroyed.
It is going to be a blood bath
At the end of the day there truly is no one to point the finger at even the people that get the product early ahead of time I do strongly agree that it's the Pokemon company itself they couldn't care less if it was bots for people that know people of the company at the end of the day it falls on the shoulders of the Pokemon company itself as long as they're making money they don't care what the politics are
Danny’s the best! The hobby is in good shape with you in it!
Thank you Danny! I hope someone who really deserves it gets that master set!
Me: “What is this, TPCI, some kind of funhouse?!” TPCI: “Why, having fun?”
The fact that surging sparks BB is being resold at $200+ when the set only came out 2 months ago is ridiculous
I feel like I’m in a cycle with pokemon cards. I’m enjoying the game in collecting, then everything blows up with pokemon go. I stop for a few years then come back after it’s settled. Next Covid blows everything up so I leave and wait a bit. I came back almost a year ago, enjoying myself and the game then it blows up again. Singles I’ve had on my to get list are up 50-100% and there’s no way to get any product in my small town. This cycle has been rough for such a fun card game
Also, the fact that big retail raised the prices of Pokemon products again is not helping. I just found paldean fates 3 packs and they are now charging $15.99 instead of 14.99. ETBs are now $49 for 9 packs , $60 for 11 packs. This is getting ridiculous
Supply and demand are really causing emotional issues. It really sucks that people buying product online to flip last year when things were abundant and cheap, are doing the same exact thing now but being called scalpers. Can we please save that term for the "shelf swoopers"??
I returned last summer after 25 years away, became very enthused over where the art has gone from the first WOTC sets and started to collect again. Maybe a little too enthusiastically, but I'd been happy rejoining the collecting part of the hobby. Yesterday was disappointing, especially because of how broken the website was. I got through my cart up to needing to enter CC info, then the site broke, and I never got back to the cart. I'm really hoping things are better next week for those still needing a PC ETB of Prismatic Evolutions at MSRP, and even better in March so I can grab a PC ETB of Journey Together at MSRP.
At the end of the day, the shelf can either have pokemon cards… or not have Any Pokémon cards! It’s nice to see prices go up, but the people who are buying them, well…. WE are those people
I play the TCG and collect the cards. My only sealed is for products that I liked the artwork of.
Year of Eevee has to mean they print Prismatic Evolutions into the ground.
Well said…. A simple update statement from Pokemon would go a long way. Maybe people would stop paying the crazy prices and maybe the scalpers would move on to something else if everyone knew Pokemon had a plan.
Man I was so looking forward to Journey Toegther with the return of Trainer cards but I just have no words for the lack of supply and lack of pre orders available
Starting with Twilight Masquerade I feel like Pokemon turned the printers off to artificially boost demand. Its was clear that Pokemon wanted boxes to sell at MSRP at release and boy did they accomplish that goal
Thanks for the great content Danny I appreciate the candor!! God bless you and the family!!!
Definitely not having fun. Prices are insane
It’s not the prices. It’s the people going crazy and buying everything up! It’s really not fun anymore. I don’t even care to stay up on what’s new.
I've basically given up on collecting modern. My son is collecting Crown Zenith and weve been able to find that without too much hassle. For me I've grabbed my old binders and decided to finish vintage sets. So I'm not opening packs, but I'm at least able to find cards and hunt for deals.
This is sad I just got back into a year ago and I just can't believe it keep up the videos are amazing! Love it so much!!!;🎉🎉🎉
I think people should know the scale of how popular pokemon is... It is worse than the 2020-2021 boom.
At the end of 2022 there were around 43 billion pokemon cards ever printed... By the end of 2024 it was 68 billion...
1/3 of all Pokemon cards that were ever printed in existence occured in the last 2 years... no wonder there is supply issues, it's not like they are trying to short print things, they just can't keep up with the demand, they have printed tons and tons of product. It doesn't help that scalping actually works, people buy the expensive stuff so they keep doing it.
It’s all a part of the hobby. Wish I could help lift your spirits Danny!
Ya just rip shrouded fable or paradox rift or trick or trade.... It is literally people investing in sealed
The new pokemon sets look good, but this problem for pokemon shouldnt be continuing the way it is. Its been years and they still have really fixed anything.
The good news is, Mythik TCG doesnt have these problems and its a tcg you can go pickup right now. :)
When Danny says it's a problem, then you know it's a huge issue.
I’m having fun. Everywhere online was sold out but GameStop in store was selling preorders. Bought mine at 4pm on release day.
This sucks for me as a player because I can’t even get access to the new cards. Starting off the new rotation with a set that players can’t even buy is just sad
I was reliving childhood and bought about $2,000 worth of cards over the past 3 months, but I think that's going to come to an end simply because this stuff takes up too much space. It is a fun hobby, but I don't think this demand can last too much longer
The thing is its not that people are buying insane ammounts of products its that there are more people in the hobby and not enough to go around. When you have allocation for 50 people but have 200 to supply alot of people gonna go without. and even if they could make it to where everyone could get some it would be spread so thin that youd never collect a set. What people need to do right now is save their money and when a preorder happens buy what you wanna rip right then. There were a ton of drops yesterday and even some gamestops are still doing in store. If you want cards you gotta work a little harder right now. Yesterday i was able to get 2pc etbs, 3 booster boxes and 10 bundles but i had to be quick the moment i seen it dropped. Also i think walmart still has theirs to drop so be ready.
There's also the fact that people don't want 1 ETB each, they want 3 cases each. Which is understandable but it's just not going to happen.
Thank you for this content. I've been a pokemon fan since the beginning, but only now getting into collecting and man did I choose a terrible time to start. That being said, you made a great point about finding your happy place with this hobby and I've discovered the wonder of Japanese cards. From what I'm seeing that market is feeling a similar pressure, but clearly not to the same extent. On top of this, the pull rates made Terastal Fest such a joy to open up. At the very least I feel like I can enjoy those recent sets while I wait for this hype to die down. The pull rates of international sets are just not worth their current costs.
Side Note: Japanese cards are just printed at better quality. It's very noticeable. Please get better printers TPCi
I just started collecting again since i was a child and it is definitely not something you want to do in this market right now. You cant get any of the new stuff without paying inflated prices. And its disheartening for people who do this as a hobby. I feel a lot of people may stop collecting due to the prices and scarce quantity of products that can be got for normal prices. And that just sucks.
Love the video and work that goes into it! I think Pokemon should slow down on the releases and focus on getting more product out for everyone. 6 new sets a year is too much for the average collector to try to complete each set. If they slow down to 4 sets a year and get good amounts of product out there, I think it would be a win for everyone
Pokémon cards are released in a way that encourages both players and collectors to buy and trade cards, but also ensures that certain rare cards maintain their value over time. Would be interesting to see if this (Prismatic) becomes the most valuable set in SWSH + S&V or perhaps it will be Rocket?
I've seen distributors scalp. Say out of stock on release but Monday after they call saying they have some at current market price. Saw it with surging Sparks
I got back into the hobby 2018, months before the pandemic I was buying so many Booster Boxes for 99.99 89. Some even lower and was ripping pack for the love it. It’s wild how expensive it is now
I've started collecting XY era full arts/megas lately. A lot of bangers for really reasonable prices out there. a lot less stress than trying to collect modern stuff
You are so so right. It is 100% TPCs fault. And the thing is they wont change it one bit. It's gonna stay like this because it is safe and easy money for them
I’ve been collecting for years and I’ve never seen it this bad. I mean in 2020ish my local Walmart couldn’t keep cards in stock, but feels so much worse.
The only way to beat scalpers is to not pay scalper prices. But it seems like there’s always someone willing to pay those scalper prices.
You got this! No this isn’t fun. Should have some bot protection by now. Find your happy place and focus on that! So good! Great breakdown! You’re a real one Danny! Do you think along with supply- people seeing evolving skies hit the price it’s at pushes the next Eveelutions set this high?
I’m worried I won’t be able to find any prismatics. The scalpers literally stand camped outside vending machines and then buy everything other than stellar crown and Twilight masquerade
It's not going to be fixed overnight, but I doubt this will continue considering Pokemon Pocket has just pulled in a ton of new customers. Pokemon Company is going to be forced to change supply.
I'm having the second most fun I've had with this hobby and I started out a gen 4 gen. 6 was my most fun gen. Gen 9 I got to meet my you tube friends that's what makes it so special.
2023 is really fun, I bought most of my card cheap. 151, and sword and shield, Pokemon go set. The seller looks want to sell everything out, 151 ETB is $35, 151 mew UPC is $75. Everything is 30%-50% off the MRSP.
One of the reasons I'm buying Korean boosters to rip. That market does not seem to be has affected at the moment. The quality is about the same as English as well. Although sets are released a little later than English so you need to wait a little on newer releases.
It’s most likely true that there’s not enough product to meet demand. However, it’s important to recognize that scalpers artificially raise demand, and by a dramatic amount. Consider that scalpers aren’t buying the product because they want it, they’re buying it because other people want it. This means every case of booster boxes a scalper buys is six collectors that now cannot get those cases from Pokémon, which makes it seem like more people want the product than what’s available.
More simply, let’s say there’s a product that is being made to demand fairly well. The company makes 100 units of this product for the people who typically buy it. If scalpers realize this group will pay a good amount more for it they will decide to buy as much as they can to try and rip off the normal customers. In this scenario now there’s 100 orders from the regular customers and 100 orders from scalpers. Demand has doubled but it’s not the real demand, the demand from the people who actually want the product is unchanged and those people now just have to go to the second hand market instead. The company in this case had produced an appropriate amount of product to meet the true demand but it’s impossible to predict how much scalper demand will wipe out that product.
Man, before surging sparks then going into the next two sets, I don’t understand how all the other sets just went up. When I was collecting to master set s&v base set(which was 6months ago), my local card shops couldn’t give the packs away. I was buying those for $2/pack. Now, booster boxes are way too high.
I’m not too happy with the gouging. Saw the same thing with sneakers. If it wasn’t for outlets, I wouldn’t be a sneakerhead.