As a casual collector and tcg player. I’ve been completely priced out of the hobby. As much as I could, I just won’t spend double or triple over msrp. People come to the stores and fight with each other for boxes, then resell the product for wild prices. And that’s if I can even find it. I’ve given up completely on the hobby. It’s way too discouraging.
😢 with this particular sent me and my brother got lucky that we pre-ordered it. It’s just crazy that people do that. They’ll just buy up all the product and then turn around and sell it for double triple the cost of what they spent but people have seen that they can make money off of it until someone steps in and says something is gonna keep going and it’s not against the law. That’s really the only way that that would stop if there’s a law against itthat’s why you have to do your due diligence and do your research when looking for stuff online the only exception I could think of of buying a card for super expensive as if it’s a very rare card and there’s limited numbers of that card out in the public but some of the stuff I would probably hold onto that like if I had autographs of like celebrities and stuff. I’m gonna hold onto that as long as possible. The only reason I would sell it as if I had emergency where I needed money and I didn’t have enough for like a surgery or something.
Same for me. I collected for a couple years in 2015-2017, took a break and got back into it around 2020-2021. I've spent less on sets here and there because they've been hard to get but I think with these last couple, I'm just done. I know I'll probably still buy now and then for the fun of opening because the kids love bulk at Halloween and there's still space in my binders. But I'm done watching sets for my chases, trying to collecting the base cards and building decks. The constant disappointment at how adults treat kids toys in the name of capitalism is exhausting.
I’m upset to see streamers not taking responsibility as well.. they hold a lot of responsibility in hyping sets and keeping scalpers in business for the sake of content. Also regarding LCS I understand trying to make a little money but the problem is that the ones near me are pricing packs at scalper prices
Content creators are buying in bulk and in turn motivate others to do the same. They are part of the problem as well. It is also Pokémon’s responsibility to account for this and print more than they are.
Yet you all pay for it through their rip and ships they have businesses to run as well. They are not the problem it's pokemon company not printing much and lowering pull rates.
@ I mean you’re not wrong, thankfully some of them offer packs at discounted prices. As of lately I’d rather give them my money if I like their content then support scalpers but yeah the rip n ships aren’t helping the cause
TPC is the head of the snake and well aware how people work, specially after covid. Most others in line smell money, or need to cover up losses. And then there are a handful that do their best limiting purchases, cutting seals etc to make it fair.
The best thing the community can do is not buy above msrp. Yes I know that people want this set, i really want this set, but we gotta decide collectively, do we care enough about the future of Pokémon TCG products to have the self control to not give in to FOMO?
@ I’ve always been a fan of Eevee and the Eeveelutions. I also like the Pokemon/trainer lineup and I know it’s an unpopular opinion but think the stained glass look some of the full art/illustration rates are nice. But again, even tho I like it i refuse to be apart of the problem community and treat pokemon like literal high limit gambling and enable the resellers who take advantage of the gambling obsessions
@@ChaosSwissroIlumbreon is my fav. I love the new masterballs too. But make no mistake. I’m not spending a dollar above MSRP. Normally at release I don’t even buy from big box stores as you could get ETBs for way less than MSRP.
You are 100% correct. If everyone stopped buying above MSRP then prices will go down and all the people who recently came in to make money will go away.
I mean your app rare candy is nothing but scalping collectors. Surging sparks got an etb and booster box, 135. The next set coming out. 300. You as the owner of rare candy needs to control that aspect otherwise nothing will ever change.
For the last few months, there’s been tons of product in my local stores. Then all of a sudden this set comes out and today every single Pokémon card product is completely sold out in my town.
It's sad to see this the scalpers and FOMO with the hobby that has brought joy to me as a child and now to my family as an adult. As a community, we need to stop buying into the secondary market and paying these scalpers.
Yes all the money needs to be in the hands of billion dollar corporations that are selling you lottery tickets in the form of shiny cardboard make believe animals. Maybe you should just stop collecting worthless crap and grow up. Do something actually meaningful with your time and money.
@@jeff330 christ your life must be so boring to watch a video SPECIFICALLY about a certain hobby and then waste your time commenting and hating on it. Maybe you should do something better with YOUR time and be a useful member of society instead of spreading meaningless hate online.
People who treat Pokemon cards as monetary assets on youtube and social media have contributed a lot to this. I don't think people should display values of cards in their videos anymore.
I think the reason they do that though is because there are people that really wanna know and like the numbers I don’t know there’s just so much that goes into all of this that you could probably make several videos on it
It’s a marketplace app, there are third party sellers that overcharge people on there, but the stuff sold directly by rare candy is usually at or close to MSRP
I know of a local card shop where I'm from that will go out to the local game stops target, etc, to buy all the product to sell them at their store for a higher price at their shop. I have stopped buying products lately and have started to try and finish a few of my older sets. Good luck everyone!
That is what I am doing, but it takes so much time. I wouldn't mind spending MSRP and ripping until I get the card(s) I'm after, but even SWSH has gone up so high so I am buying singles that I like or need to complete a set. The best time to buy the newer hyped up cards is 4-6 months after release. The hard part is that it takes so much time find a card that is not OC, full of print lines, scuffs, roller marks, scratches and dings. I like to have only certain cards slabbed, but the others raw... so it takes time finding sellers that truly know what NM/MINT is. Good luck with your collection :)
Yea alot of local shops are just scalpers who have a physical store. If they can't stay in business without scalping maybe they shouldn't be in business
@ right!! I was a small channel just trying to make video for fun and for the love of Pokemon! Now I’m stepping away from my channel because I can’t find product ! Best of luck !
@@ThePokeMonStation. I'm sorry to hear that. We totally sympathize with you. I think it's best we are patient and hope that Pokemon oversaturates the heck out of Prismatic
You left out that the main issue with Pokémon right now and it’s not the allocation. It’s the people who you showed right away in the video. The whatnot, ticktock sellers. They are the issue and people paying more are indulging them are as well.
I was shocked actually some of the local card shops were actually selling at MRSP or only a little higher but of course were all sold out as well. I just wanted a binder for my Eeveelution cards, but I'm not paying over $100 for it.
Really appreciate the way you are trying to talk to all the new people just getting into pokemon. You do such a good job of helping new people understand. Even though I've been around for a long time, it's great to be reminded about the ins and outs crystalized like this.
My local Gamestop attempted to put limits, but the scalpers then decided to break down the door and steal all the Pokemon cards and PS5s. The stores sometimes have to be careful of scalpers who become robbers.
@@DJGoozerhe is right , if they were to print and stock more that way every person that wants packs to open has them , everyone in the actual chain makes money , the ones who don't are the scalpers
As soon as I saw people fist fighting at my local target over the new set I got the hell out of there. Imagine deciding to assault someone over Pokémon cards. I was able to get my hands on a couple of packs and that was good enough for me. Good video and insight on the situation leonhart.
You can not stop scalpers. But to do online shopping. Forcing everybody to Pokémon ID to sign in to buy products. Send more to smaller stores who have Pokémon leagues. Forcing more card and comic stores to have a league.
I mean, it's not just scalpers. It's you content creators who are also contributing to the issue. You guys buy up tons of ETBs or packs for content And like, yeah, you're better than the scalpers because you're actually using the product, but it still means that no one else can buy anything
Thanks Leonhart. I will add that customers need to STOP Buying SCALPER PRICES. Just stop and wait for Pokemon to oversaturate the market. I released a video about scalpers ruining the Pokemon hobby.
Another solution that goes along with your statement about patience is, people need to stop paying the inflated prices. Everytime soneone pays $150 for an etb they validate the price. If enough people refuse to pay the inflated prices everything will eventually go down.
There are so few joys in life these days. People are clinging to nostalgia at any cost, literally, just to feel something. Combo that with low paying jobs, the cost of living crisis and needing side hustles to make ends meet and you get insanity like this. People who have been in the community since the beginning know this isn’t the first time people have gone coco puffs for Pokémon cards and we also know it won’t be the last. Just buckle in and ride this wave, it’ll calm down eventually and we will get back to loving and enjoying this hobby again. ❤
It’s not nostalgia those idiots don’t know shit about Pokémon. They’re all scalpers that are gonna inflate the price for resale. When you see someone behave like this but pronounce it “Pokey-Man’s” that’s how you know they are scalpers. How you that much of a fan to behave that way but can’t even say it correctly 😂
What my local Target did for the Xbox and PlayStation shortage was to only offer them for pickup. So you would order it on the app and go get it. Makes it 100% limited. And removes the issue of physical violence.
Anyone remember when they put cards in the cereal boxes? Kids and adults ripped apart every box of those in multiple stores near me. Pokemon fans uniquely will do things for what would be no value cards for every other collector that would shock you.
When an entire generation can’t have the things they want like previous generations did they will go to crazy lengths to obtain those things. Imagine the mental state you have to be in to steal peices of shiny cardboard. Things are bad
I love how this man is able to 1. Get big sponsorships from The pokemon company international. But 2. Be honest and provide feedback to these corporations and also the community.
What needs to be done is give big box stores blister packs to sell and give booster boxes and specialty products, such as ETBs, to local game stores to sell, all with limits on how much one can purchase. Seeing grown men fighting over and buying up all these products is shameful and I can see it make younger people or people interested in the game lose interest.
You yourself leonhart are a part of the problem, sir. Firt off, you bought four mystery boxes that were one per customer, second you hyped up every set, and third, you pay above msrp for packs and sets. You act all high and mighty.
All stores need to place a 1 per person limit, and this crap is over. Also, make the act of "scalping" anything other than concert tickets illegal and we all good!
During 2020, local target were letting only buy 2 per person. People were able to come to the store only 5 at the time and there was employees standing at the door and at the shelfs to make sure its only 2 per person and check out was only available at customer service. After shelf were empty. They put products behind customer service and you were able to buy it that way. It felt safe way even if you were a scalper and even if they come second time they card would get declined and they had to pay either with different card or cash.
Thank you so much for this video! Me and my friends are in are mid 20s and just happened to start collecting and play the tcg in the beginning of 2024 again just like in the good old days and we were so hype for the upcoming sets. Such a shame that the prices have gone up so much and a lot of boxes are hard to find for casual folks , collectors, families and children. So infuriating!
The pokemon center website does preorders, they should take in preorders to meet demand, set limits per account if needed but they should not sell out of preorders. They can print to meet the demand, if they can't do it by release then mention it in the preorder listing saying that it may be delivered at a date later than the scheduled release date. They should never run out of preorders. Then if everybody can order from the website people won't need to panic and run to every store near them.
I understand he's trying to spread to everyone what's going on and what not. But him as a streamer who's concerned about this wouldn't you want to help the community? On his website he's selling the ETB's for $125😅
I think Costco can easily limit it. You have to scan your membership card to check out, so they could link it somehow. That or they will just stop selling them. The profit is not worth the potential lawsuits. If someone gets hurt or worse, it can cost them a lot more than the profit they are making. My local Walmart locks up the pokemon cards now, so an employee has to get them out for you, so they also could easily limit it. Costco I know already limits how many of things you can buy for alot of different things, mainly it's things that are on sale tho, even groceries.
As someone who works at Target in a big city I wish something like this happened at my store 😅 our release went by quick and smooth not a single person yelling or w.e lol
Same all my purchases were calm and civil with left overs..... The internet has like 4 clips and we are calling everybody in the hobby of what like 20 ppl did
This is what happens when you have every other influencer announcing how much each hit and cards in sets are worth exposing for all to see and just see dollar signs and not love for the hobby
Thanks for putting this out there, there’s been a lot of new people coming into the hobby and lots of people are angry at the wrong things. Majority of card stores are getting way too much heat
Pokémon TCG is not something that should be fought over. Whether for money, or unethical profit. It’s a game that is meant to be enjoyed by all and for fun in collecting. We as a community need to find some way to discourage scalpers for the foreseeable future because this isn’t right, and therefore may indirectly hurt people/disengage them from Pokémon TCG as a whole. Which I personally do not like seeing.
the worst part about scalpers is that : They been losing in life since middle school. They dont have a girlfriend. They have a poor mindset. They dont have a successful business. They havent achieved anything. They struggle to be motivated to grow as a person. They DONT make life changing profit nor a down payment for a house or business venture. They mess up the fun for actual collectors and KIDS. They make everyone in the community pin blame into different groups of individuals that actually love Pokemon. the best part about scalpers is that : ....
There's a new aspect here that we never had before. I think many of the MSRP buys are also from Whatnot Sellers who don't get any distributor allocation but depend on doing rip and ships for their business. Problem is that I'm seeing their rips at $15-20 a pack right now which kinda feels like indirect scalping. If it's auction per pack and people decide what they pay, that's fine... but pricing packs up is kinda ugly
I have honestly lost any interest in collection pokemon cards, the single blister pack has gone up in insane prices. Used to buy one just for the heck of it when I went shopping but now I just can't justify it.
This is what I think the solution can be to fix this: 1) print more and flood the set in big box stores 2) big box stores like target, Walmart, and Costco MUST limit product to 1 or 2 per customer, to allow more people to get the product 3) the Pokémon company must design their sets better. This set had too many SIRs that made people go crazy. If you split the set in two, where one set had the eeveelutions and the other had the rest of the SIRs, then the craze would mostly happen for one set, and if the previous 2 things do happen then maybe the hype can be controlled. 4) redesign pre orders. Instead of having like 1000 boxes for pre orders, open up the ability to purchase a set for a weekend and see how many orders of the set you have and produce that many for the pre orders and a similar amount for regular stores. It makes people have the chance to buy a box for themselves, and prevents bots to buy up all of the product. Maybe these solutions won’t work as I intend, or I didn’t explain them well enough, but it would make things more equal for everyone and give regular fans a chance to get a booster and their chase card.
1) They print more every 3 months or so and with print to demand, they will continue printing it as long as stores want to stock it. But like most first printings, scalpers will usually rush to buy and resell. You just have to wait for the next printing. The problem is that stores don't want to deal with excess product, so they limit their orders. Plus, the Pokemon people print all their own cards through their own subsidiary, so their printing capacity is actually quite smaller than other card games like Yugioh or Magic the Gathering who gets theirs printed by someone else. 3) SIRs happen in all card games, but people only go stupid for Pokemon for some reason. Not even serialized Magic the Gathering cards have this problem nor do other games like Cardfight Vanguard. Not even Force of Will's Vingulf 3 short printing made people this stupid. It's only happening because influencers are pushing pack openings and inflating their value by a factor of 10 in some cases. 4) You can sort of pre-order through your local game store. These card shops buy directly from the distributor and may take pre-orders to order more stock. The problem is that most stores won't do this unless you order a full case. Considering asking your store if you have one nearby.
HUGE THANK YOU to my local gaming pawn shop that opened the 3 packs and binder sets to sell the packs separately. I was able to get all the promos for cheap! I'm still hunting a common Budew, but that and the promos were the only cards I was interested in. The rest of the cards aren't that great imo. I would have been more hyped if they did illustration arts of the normal eeveelutions and or the cards looked more like what Akagi, SIE NANAHARA or AKIRA EGAWA have been giving us in previous sets. I hate the crystals and the hats, but those artists made them look GOOD!
Prismatic evolutions is the first set back into the whole tcg universe and actually buying cards and this was the worst timing I’ve ever had. A couple of things that really make me question if I even want to buy cards now is the prices. I make a ok amount of money but if one pack is worth 20 bucks it’s hard to keep up. Even when the prices did drop it’s elevating again. Another thing that I don’t really see people talking about is how often these sets come out. The English sets alone come out every 3 months and it’s hard for me to even just focus on one specific set. If they reduce how often new sets come out but still printed out enough card maybe that will help
Live in Australia here. The way our retail stores handled the release of Prismatic was mostly through setting limits on how many products you can get. We still had people lining up before stores opened but no fights occurred. I think the argument that limits won't work is just not true especially having seen how successful it has been in my country. Now yes people still missed out on getting the set but that's more on stock restrictions. We had no fights and no one was really walking out of stores with 10 boxes of Pokémon cards. It made sure people who wanted the set to open it, got at least one box, and resellers were only stuck getting one box rather than sucking the stores dry.
Another solution is to only print sets as normal sets and not special sets, then you get booster box’s, that you don’t with special sets. Another solution is to slow down the release rate of new sets so they can build up more stock of the set before it releases. Those two combined imho would be the best solutions to the current issues, but it’s a Pokémon cash cow so they won’t as the profit is all they care about.
Im so happy my local card shops has been really organized when distributing these sets it makes me have hope that people who actually love pokemon get at least one product compared to getting push aside if they were to go to a place like target
Because of the value people place on the cards. It's called greed. Hell, a first edition base set Charizard grade 10 sells for enough to change someone's life.
how is a card being expensive greed?? if someone wants to buy a card for a price and the seller wants to sell it for that price I don't understand how thats greedy
@Stonebagmcgee what makes the card worth so much is how hard it is to find. A card from 1996 in perfect mint condition? Find anything from 1996 in literally perfect condition, I dare you
HEAR ME OUT. IF THEY MADE SARS MORE COMMON THEN IT WOULD HELP KEEP POEPLE FROM RESELLING AND IT WOULD MAKE THE KIDS HAVE MORE FUN. I WANT THEM TO GET SUPER COOL CARDS THAT WILL LOOK GREAT 30 years later. Not more full art trainer cards.
the pokemon company should also add rules that distributors themselves cant do rip and ship aswell, especially the weeks leading up to release, that probably aided so much in the limited availability
Another dynamic between big box stores and local game stores that puts extra pressure on locals when supplies are limited is diversity. Big box stores don't need tcg product in the end all tcg's combined maybe equate to 0.3-0.4% of their total profits. For your local game store that could be anywhere from 20-100% of total profits.
That's not how distribution works. Local game stores are given a list to order from and they say how much of a product they want. The big streamers often have enough money to purchase a case outright, which is why it may look like distributors are selling to them directly, but it's not. You can do the same by pre-ordering a case through your local game store if they offer it and it comes out significantly cheaper. Most local game stores will not order as much product the first time around because they do not know how well sets are going to do, so they play it safe by maybe stocking only 4 cases. If they sell out, then they order a second round and adjust accordingly. The exception is something like Magic the Gathering, which may require stores to order a certain amount of product and host tournaments to maintain special discounts. Pokemon has the benefit of being print to demand, which means they will continue to print cards for as long as necessary in about 3 month blocks.
@ohnosmoarlulcatz what you're saying is how distribution is supposed to work. What i'm telling you what is really going on. There were streamers who have been on less than a year, selling hundreds of packs 2 weeks early. They said they got them from distribution for $110 per etb.
@@TheGoorru Whoever said 110 is full of crap. 110 is closer to what you would pay for a full booster box, not an etb. And if a booster box was selling for 110, they would be losing money because it costs more than that to get it from the distributor. It sounds like they bought it from someone who had access to the store rooms of a big box retailer that got the shipment early by paying the scalper mark up.
@ohnosmoarlulcatz It was 2 weeks before release and the packs were selling for $30 to $35 each pack. Sone Distributors are very very leaky. I've heard this from multiple sources.
Stuff like this is kind of ruining the hobby for me, I got back into it I feel at the wrong time. I might have to get into a new hobby that won’t break the bank or make me poor. I can’t spend all my money or my paychecks on cards, I have bills and expenses I need to pay first. I work two jobs but am still scraping by. I’ve got a Major surgery in March I need to prepare for. That is also extremely expensive and stressful. I’m going to put Pokémon on the back burner for awhile.
As a former pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh collector, our community is not what it was. TCG community has fallen down badly affecting younger generation from purchasing new products. If we actually cared as a community we wouldn't deprive others from new products. I've seen videos of people on Instagram doing exactly that, telling everyone to rush the TCG section which in my opinion is not the way to do things. These items should be removed from the aisles and be sold like if it was a preorder. No one should be getting hurt nor be threatened over cardboard.
I’m trying to get back into it after 25 years. I can’t believe how ridiculous it’d become. Trying to get my kids into it, but not all packs are created equal, as they were back in day. “Vendors”, now just hold the cards hostage at inflated prices, a 3rd party rating system holds power over what cards are worth!? Stupid
honestly the answer is to get more of a supply with local card shops. The problem that pokemon/ distributer has is that local businesses can be shaky and go under. Beyond that card shops would be able to monitor sales at least locally a lot easier. easier said than done
Big box stores should be giving out tickets with certain products. You have an allocated time, its one per person, two max per family. Then come back at the end of the business day if you want extra.
I don't understand why stores cant go directly to the Pokémon company to buy cases for them to sell and then Pokémon prints to fulfill orders. Its really not fair that distributors are giving 90% of the inventory to large stores who wont put order limits so scalpers/bots can buy them all. I will now only be buying sealed product from GameStop since they are the only big store to place and enforce limits for each location.
I realized that i was mostly into pokemon for the investing but its too volatile. I feel like the bubble will pop soon. This is why I went to gold and silver. This economy is going to tank and many scalpers will be left holding the bag (shiny card board).
They just have to print an insane amount so the value doesn’t skyrocket, the problem is they print a “normal” amount which causes “investors” to join the hobby and it ruins the prices of everything and makes product impossible to find now
I'm gonna be completely honest, I didn't know local sellers as described in this video were still a thing. I can't say I've ever encountered one. The only places I've ever sourced cards from is Walmart or Target.
Just hearing that places sell out within minutes of opening is crazy and disappointing. I tried to get to a few stores to get all the items that were released on Friday and they were either sold out completely or they were selling them at 2.5 to 3 times msrp (I went to both local and big box stores). This is the first time since I got back into collecting that I could not get anything. I saw the inventory and/or the prices and just walked out especially since many stores had lines before they opened. It’s disgusting and I don’t open too much.
As a casual collector and tcg player. I’ve been completely priced out of the hobby. As much as I could, I just won’t spend double or triple over msrp. People come to the stores and fight with each other for boxes, then resell the product for wild prices. And that’s if I can even find it.
I’ve given up completely on the hobby. It’s way too discouraging.
😢 with this particular sent me and my brother got lucky that we pre-ordered it. It’s just crazy that people do that. They’ll just buy up all the product and then turn around and sell it for double triple the cost of what they spent but people have seen that they can make money off of it until someone steps in and says something is gonna keep going and it’s not against the law. That’s really the only way that that would stop if there’s a law against itthat’s why you have to do your due diligence and do your research when looking for stuff online the only exception I could think of of buying a card for super expensive as if it’s a very rare card and there’s limited numbers of that card out in the public but some of the stuff I would probably hold onto that like if I had autographs of like celebrities and stuff. I’m gonna hold onto that as long as possible. The only reason I would sell it as if I had emergency where I needed money and I didn’t have enough for like a surgery or something.
Im right there with you, my son and I just dont care much anymore since its never in stock to buy
Same here. Done for now
Same for me. I collected for a couple years in 2015-2017, took a break and got back into it around 2020-2021. I've spent less on sets here and there because they've been hard to get but I think with these last couple, I'm just done. I know I'll probably still buy now and then for the fun of opening because the kids love bulk at Halloween and there's still space in my binders. But I'm done watching sets for my chases, trying to collecting the base cards and building decks. The constant disappointment at how adults treat kids toys in the name of capitalism is exhausting.
Just take a pause until the tourists leave.
The Lawyer in him came out 😂
i always forget Lee is a lawyer
I’m upset to see streamers not taking responsibility as well.. they hold a lot of responsibility in hyping sets and keeping scalpers in business for the sake of content. Also regarding LCS I understand trying to make a little money but the problem is that the ones near me are pricing packs at scalper prices
Content creators are buying in bulk and in turn motivate others to do the same. They are part of the problem as well.
It is also Pokémon’s responsibility to account for this and print more than they are.
Yet you all pay for it through their rip and ships they have businesses to run as well. They are not the problem it's pokemon company not printing much and lowering pull rates.
@ I mean you’re not wrong, thankfully some of them offer packs at discounted prices. As of lately I’d rather give them my money if I like their content then support scalpers but yeah the rip n ships aren’t helping the cause
Yup
TPC is the head of the snake and well aware how people work, specially after covid.
Most others in line smell money, or need to cover up losses.
And then there are a handful that do their best limiting purchases, cutting seals etc to make it fair.
The best thing the community can do is not buy above msrp. Yes I know that people want this set, i really want this set, but we gotta decide collectively, do we care enough about the future of Pokémon TCG products to have the self control to not give in to FOMO?
Genuine question; Why do you want the set? I had a look at the cards and think the artwork on almost every single card is average or below average.
@ I’ve always been a fan of Eevee and the Eeveelutions. I also like the Pokemon/trainer lineup and I know it’s an unpopular opinion but think the stained glass look some of the full art/illustration rates are nice. But again, even tho I like it i refuse to be apart of the problem community and treat pokemon like literal high limit gambling and enable the resellers who take advantage of the gambling obsessions
@@ChaosSwissroIlumbreon is my fav. I love the new masterballs too. But make no mistake. I’m not spending a dollar above MSRP. Normally at release I don’t even buy from big box stores as you could get ETBs for way less than MSRP.
Shut upppp😊
You are 100% correct. If everyone stopped buying above MSRP then prices will go down and all the people who recently came in to make money will go away.
I mean your app rare candy is nothing but scalping collectors. Surging sparks got an etb and booster box, 135. The next set coming out. 300. You as the owner of rare candy needs to control that aspect otherwise nothing will ever change.
yep. Do as I say not as I do
@leonhart
He won’t cause he makes more money.
I like how no one is talking about how Journey Together has also been sold out since it's announcement and will likely never see MSRP prices either.
The real problem set is going to be Rocket.
At least Journey Together's Market Prices are lower than Surging Sparks...
For the last few months, there’s been tons of product in my local stores. Then all of a sudden this set comes out and today every single Pokémon card product is completely sold out in my town.
I haven't seen anything since Surging Sparks came out
It's sad to see this the scalpers and FOMO with the hobby that has brought joy to me as a child and now to my family as an adult. As a community, we need to stop buying into the secondary market and paying these scalpers.
people with money don't really care about this, which sucks
Yes all the money needs to be in the hands of billion dollar corporations that are selling you lottery tickets in the form of shiny cardboard make believe animals. Maybe you should just stop collecting worthless crap and grow up. Do something actually meaningful with your time and money.
@@jeff330 christ your life must be so boring to watch a video SPECIFICALLY about a certain hobby and then waste your time commenting and hating on it. Maybe you should do something better with YOUR time and be a useful member of society instead of spreading meaningless hate online.
@@eddy9895 THIS. we need to stop buying scalper prices. I just made a video about this. SCALPERS are ruining the hobby
@ I'm surprised with him too hahaha XD im not even angry it's hilarious
People who treat Pokemon cards as monetary assets on youtube and social media have contributed a lot to this. I don't think people should display values of cards in their videos anymore.
I think the reason they do that though is because there are people that really wanna know and like the numbers I don’t know there’s just so much that goes into all of this that you could probably make several videos on it
People fighting is the final straw this has to be ended.
@@PetSimDude99 it is so sad. We need to talk about the safety of Pokemon customers more.
This is not new
@@KronicDaydreamZ been like this since 1999 Step ya game up ☠☠
yo ps99 and pokemon? best combo
Making this video is CRAZY work when you yourself are involved with an app that overcharges consumers
Guys like this on TH-cam, making videos like this makes me laugh. Complete hypocrite
Let me correct you a little rare candy dropped product to sale on their site at msrp I think it crashed the site from the traffic tho
It’s a marketplace app, there are third party sellers that overcharge people on there, but the stuff sold directly by rare candy is usually at or close to MSRP
@@JJzero0 I mean that’s good and all but the fact is, that app and other harbors third party scalpers and sellers 🤷🏻♂️
@@JJzero0 bingo. everything leonhart and his team send out has always been fair market. only the 3rd party resellers are over msrp
I know of a local card shop where I'm from that will go out to the local game stops target, etc, to buy all the product to sell them at their store for a higher price at their shop. I have stopped buying products lately and have started to try and finish a few of my older sets. Good luck everyone!
This is shocking to hear 😮
That is what I am doing, but it takes so much time. I wouldn't mind spending MSRP and ripping until I get the card(s) I'm after, but even SWSH has gone up so high so I am buying singles that I like or need to complete a set. The best time to buy the newer hyped up cards is 4-6 months after release. The hard part is that it takes so much time find a card that is not OC, full of print lines, scuffs, roller marks, scratches and dings. I like to have only certain cards slabbed, but the others raw... so it takes time finding sellers that truly know what NM/MINT is. Good luck with your collection :)
Yea alot of local shops are just scalpers who have a physical store. If they can't stay in business without scalping maybe they shouldn't be in business
How about not allowing people to sell prismatic evolutions etb for $119.99 on your rare candy app. To me, that’s price gouging.
I have been opening pokemon cards since the beginning… and this is disappointing to see how much the hobby has fallen.. scalpers have ruined the tcg.
@@ThePokeMonStation. THIS! Scalpers are ruining this game for all of us. I just made a video about this.
@ right!! I was a small channel just trying to make video for fun and for the love of Pokemon! Now I’m stepping away from my channel because I can’t find product ! Best of luck !
@@ThePokeMonStation. I'm sorry to hear that. We totally sympathize with you. I think it's best we are patient and hope that Pokemon oversaturates the heck out of Prismatic
@ I appreciate! I hope Pokémon can get back on track ! I love this franchise! Thanks for the comment as well ! 🔥
You left out that the main issue with Pokémon right now and it’s not the allocation. It’s the people who you showed right away in the video. The whatnot, ticktock sellers. They are the issue and people paying more are indulging them are as well.
I was shocked actually some of the local card shops were actually selling at MRSP or only a little higher but of course were all sold out as well. I just wanted a binder for my Eeveelution cards, but I'm not paying over $100 for it.
Really appreciate the way you are trying to talk to all the new people just getting into pokemon. You do such a good job of helping new people understand. Even though I've been around for a long time, it's great to be reminded about the ins and outs crystalized like this.
People selling single packs on tiktok and youtube for 25 bucks a pack is absolutely ridiculous.
My local Gamestop attempted to put limits, but the scalpers then decided to break down the door and steal all the Pokemon cards and PS5s. The stores sometimes have to be careful of scalpers who become robbers.
they need to overprint so the values go dirt cheap. that way collectors can collect and resellers suffer
Mm, no
@ you must be a scalper then 🤷
@@DJGoozerhe is right , if they were to print and stock more that way every person that wants packs to open has them , everyone in the actual chain makes money , the ones who don't are the scalpers
@@TheRealSkrullthat will hurt collecting as well
@@emarivz It really wont you're just a £$ value andi
DO NOT BUY FROM SCALPERS. If the community didn’t buy from them, they’d stop doing this crap.
Scalper = Rare Candy
As soon as I saw people fist fighting at my local target over the new set I got the hell out of there. Imagine deciding to assault someone over Pokémon cards. I was able to get my hands on a couple of packs and that was good enough for me. Good video and insight on the situation leonhart.
You can not stop scalpers. But to do online shopping. Forcing everybody to Pokémon ID to sign in to buy products. Send more to smaller stores who have Pokémon leagues. Forcing more card and comic stores to have a league.
really pokemon id ? wtf is wrong with you man ? you don't think we give out too much data to companies ? are you a communist ? wtf
@MazterP28 Pokemon id sounds great actually! I know that Whatnot uses state id's too for identity purposes.
@@bngreveals that's pretty fascist and dystopian .
@NotCollectingCards it is actually and it's just an idea to combat bots. Im sure there are better approaches though!
That falls no where even close to fascist, more like some crazy form of socialism and dystopian. But I get what you are saying.
I mean, it's not just scalpers. It's you content creators who are also contributing to the issue. You guys buy up tons of ETBs or packs for content
And like, yeah, you're better than the scalpers because you're actually using the product, but it still means that no one else can buy anything
Thanks Leonhart. I will add that customers need to STOP Buying SCALPER PRICES. Just stop and wait for Pokemon to oversaturate the market. I released a video about scalpers ruining the Pokemon hobby.
This will usually happen by October or November where there's been about 3 reprints and special reprint products get released for the holidays.
Another solution that goes along with your statement about patience is, people need to stop paying the inflated prices. Everytime soneone pays $150 for an etb they validate the price. If enough people refuse to pay the inflated prices everything will eventually go down.
He forgot to mention the most important thing to do! And that is not to purchase from these places selling at 3x MSRP or the issue will never go away.
There are so few joys in life these days. People are clinging to nostalgia at any cost, literally, just to feel something. Combo that with low paying jobs, the cost of living crisis and needing side hustles to make ends meet and you get insanity like this.
People who have been in the community since the beginning know this isn’t the first time people have gone coco puffs for Pokémon cards and we also know it won’t be the last. Just buckle in and ride this wave, it’ll calm down eventually and we will get back to loving and enjoying this hobby again. ❤
It’s not nostalgia those idiots don’t know shit about Pokémon. They’re all scalpers that are gonna inflate the price for resale. When you see someone behave like this but pronounce it “Pokey-Man’s” that’s how you know they are scalpers. How you that much of a fan to behave that way but can’t even say it correctly 😂
Everyone is making good points. I will add that we need to STOP buying Scalper prices
So you are taking no blame? I feel like with your app and opening up some and driving that hype you have some of the blame for stuff like this
What my local Target did for the Xbox and PlayStation shortage was to only offer them for pickup. So you would order it on the app and go get it. Makes it 100% limited. And removes the issue of physical violence.
Walmart, Costco, Target… all have pickup. This could be a viable solution
Anyone remember when they put cards in the cereal boxes? Kids and adults ripped apart every box of those in multiple stores near me. Pokemon fans uniquely will do things for what would be no value cards for every other collector that would shock you.
When an entire generation can’t have the things they want like previous generations did they will go to crazy lengths to obtain those things. Imagine the mental state you have to be in to steal peices of shiny cardboard. Things are bad
I love how this man is able to
1. Get big sponsorships from The pokemon company international.
But
2. Be honest and provide feedback to these corporations and also the community.
What needs to be done is give big box stores blister packs to sell and give booster boxes and specialty products, such as ETBs, to local game stores to sell, all with limits on how much one can purchase. Seeing grown men fighting over and buying up all these products is shameful and I can see it make younger people or people interested in the game lose interest.
That’s a stellar idea!!!
You yourself leonhart are a part of the problem, sir. Firt off, you bought four mystery boxes that were one per customer, second you hyped up every set, and third, you pay above msrp for packs and sets. You act all high and mighty.
All stores need to place a 1 per person limit, and this crap is over. Also, make the act of "scalping" anything other than concert tickets illegal and we all good!
Good idea but unrealistic
During 2020, local target were letting only buy 2 per person. People were able to come to the store only 5 at the time and there was employees standing at the door and at the shelfs to make sure its only 2 per person and check out was only available at customer service. After shelf were empty. They put products behind customer service and you were able to buy it that way. It felt safe way even if you were a scalper and even if they come second time they card would get declined and they had to pay either with different card or cash.
Don’t wish to say this as I have been watching you for a few years but sadly to say, you have a part to play to this issue.
Thank you so much for this video! Me and my friends are in are mid 20s and just happened to start collecting and play the tcg in the beginning of 2024 again just like in the good old days and we were so hype for the upcoming sets. Such a shame that the prices have gone up so much and a lot of boxes are hard to find for casual folks , collectors, families and children. So infuriating!
Jesus listening to guys with a house full of sealed products is so tiring. Never have I seen so much hypocricy.
But how much of his stuff was sent? Let’s just be honest there.
The pokemon center website does preorders, they should take in preorders to meet demand, set limits per account if needed but they should not sell out of preorders. They can print to meet the demand, if they can't do it by release then mention it in the preorder listing saying that it may be delivered at a date later than the scheduled release date. They should never run out of preorders. Then if everybody can order from the website people won't need to panic and run to every store near them.
I understand he's trying to spread to everyone what's going on and what not. But him as a streamer who's concerned about this wouldn't you want to help the community? On his website he's selling the ETB's for $125😅
Guys like this are the root of the cause. They’re the ones buying crate loads of Pokémon cards
It sucks that you cannot enjoy things without scalpers ruining it TCG's and hotwheels are going through it right now
I think Costco can easily limit it. You have to scan your membership card to check out, so they could link it somehow. That or they will just stop selling them. The profit is not worth the potential lawsuits. If someone gets hurt or worse, it can cost them a lot more than the profit they are making. My local Walmart locks up the pokemon cards now, so an employee has to get them out for you, so they also could easily limit it. Costco I know already limits how many of things you can buy for alot of different things, mainly it's things that are on sale tho, even groceries.
As someone who works at Target in a big city I wish something like this happened at my store 😅 our release went by quick and smooth not a single person yelling or w.e lol
Same all my purchases were calm and civil with left overs..... The internet has like 4 clips and we are calling everybody in the hobby of what like 20 ppl did
This is what happens when you have every other influencer announcing how much each hit and cards in sets are worth exposing for all to see and just see dollar signs and not love for the hobby
Thanks for putting this out there, there’s been a lot of new people coming into the hobby and lots of people are angry at the wrong things. Majority of card stores are getting way too much heat
Pokémon TCG is not something that should be fought over. Whether for money, or unethical profit.
It’s a game that is meant to be enjoyed by all and for fun in collecting.
We as a community need to find some way to discourage scalpers for the foreseeable future because this isn’t right, and therefore may indirectly hurt people/disengage them from Pokémon TCG as a whole. Which I personally do not like seeing.
the worst part about scalpers is that :
They been losing in life since middle school.
They dont have a girlfriend.
They have a poor mindset.
They dont have a successful business.
They havent achieved anything.
They struggle to be motivated to grow as a person.
They DONT make life changing profit nor a down payment for a house or business venture.
They mess up the fun for actual collectors and KIDS.
They make everyone in the community pin blame into different groups of individuals that actually love Pokemon.
the best part about scalpers is that :
....
lol mate you just described over half of the population in a nutshell.
There's a new aspect here that we never had before. I think many of the MSRP buys are also from Whatnot Sellers who don't get any distributor allocation but depend on doing rip and ships for their business. Problem is that I'm seeing their rips at $15-20 a pack right now which kinda feels like indirect scalping. If it's auction per pack and people decide what they pay, that's fine... but pricing packs up is kinda ugly
I have honestly lost any interest in collection pokemon cards, the single blister pack has gone up in insane prices. Used to buy one just for the heck of it when I went shopping but now I just can't justify it.
Things are getting crazy ty for the content. Been watching for years and love your passion.
My local card shop that is located in a old mill that has low stock gets sold out of the new set in 5 minutes by a group of adults
This is what I think the solution can be to fix this:
1) print more and flood the set in big box stores
2) big box stores like target, Walmart, and Costco MUST limit product to 1 or 2 per customer, to allow more people to get the product
3) the Pokémon company must design their sets better. This set had too many SIRs that made people go crazy. If you split the set in two, where one set had the eeveelutions and the other had the rest of the SIRs, then the craze would mostly happen for one set, and if the previous 2 things do happen then maybe the hype can be controlled.
4) redesign pre orders. Instead of having like 1000 boxes for pre orders, open up the ability to purchase a set for a weekend and see how many orders of the set you have and produce that many for the pre orders and a similar amount for regular stores. It makes people have the chance to buy a box for themselves, and prevents bots to buy up all of the product.
Maybe these solutions won’t work as I intend, or I didn’t explain them well enough, but it would make things more equal for everyone and give regular fans a chance to get a booster and their chase card.
1) They print more every 3 months or so and with print to demand, they will continue printing it as long as stores want to stock it. But like most first printings, scalpers will usually rush to buy and resell. You just have to wait for the next printing. The problem is that stores don't want to deal with excess product, so they limit their orders. Plus, the Pokemon people print all their own cards through their own subsidiary, so their printing capacity is actually quite smaller than other card games like Yugioh or Magic the Gathering who gets theirs printed by someone else.
3) SIRs happen in all card games, but people only go stupid for Pokemon for some reason. Not even serialized Magic the Gathering cards have this problem nor do other games like Cardfight Vanguard. Not even Force of Will's Vingulf 3 short printing made people this stupid. It's only happening because influencers are pushing pack openings and inflating their value by a factor of 10 in some cases.
4) You can sort of pre-order through your local game store. These card shops buy directly from the distributor and may take pre-orders to order more stock. The problem is that most stores won't do this unless you order a full case. Considering asking your store if you have one nearby.
Honestly, the way people are acting are pushing me away from collecting.
HUGE THANK YOU to my local gaming pawn shop that opened the 3 packs and binder sets to sell the packs separately. I was able to get all the promos for cheap! I'm still hunting a common Budew, but that and the promos were the only cards I was interested in. The rest of the cards aren't that great imo. I would have been more hyped if they did illustration arts of the normal eeveelutions and or the cards looked more like what Akagi, SIE NANAHARA or AKIRA EGAWA have been giving us in previous sets. I hate the crystals and the hats, but those artists made them look GOOD!
Also the distributers are only giving local card shops only getting 16 percent of the order they put in for there distributor.
The pokemon company will not print that much more becuase scarcity makes the product trendy, they do it on pourpose
A big problem is a LOT of local card stores sell things at market price so it’s honestly a lose lose at this point
People fighting over these packs are losers in life
Prismatic evolutions is the first set back into the whole tcg universe and actually buying cards and this was the worst timing I’ve ever had. A couple of things that really make me question if I even want to buy cards now is the prices. I make a ok amount of money but if one pack is worth 20 bucks it’s hard to keep up. Even when the prices did drop it’s elevating again. Another thing that I don’t really see people talking about is how often these sets come out. The English sets alone come out every 3 months and it’s hard for me to even just focus on one specific set. If they reduce how often new sets come out but still printed out enough card maybe that will help
Live in Australia here. The way our retail stores handled the release of Prismatic was mostly through setting limits on how many products you can get. We still had people lining up before stores opened but no fights occurred. I think the argument that limits won't work is just not true especially having seen how successful it has been in my country. Now yes people still missed out on getting the set but that's more on stock restrictions. We had no fights and no one was really walking out of stores with 10 boxes of Pokémon cards. It made sure people who wanted the set to open it, got at least one box, and resellers were only stuck getting one box rather than sucking the stores dry.
Another solution is to only print sets as normal sets and not special sets, then you get booster box’s, that you don’t with special sets.
Another solution is to slow down the release rate of new sets so they can build up more stock of the set before it releases.
Those two combined imho would be the best solutions to the current issues, but it’s a Pokémon cash cow so they won’t as the profit is all they care about.
Im so happy my local card shops has been really organized when distributing these sets it makes me have hope that people who actually love pokemon get at least one product compared to getting push aside if they were to go to a place like target
Because of the value people place on the cards. It's called greed. Hell, a first edition base set Charizard grade 10 sells for enough to change someone's life.
how is a card being expensive greed?? if someone wants to buy a card for a price and the seller wants to sell it for that price I don't understand how thats greedy
@yobxnes what makes the card worth so much? Greed. Supply and demand.
@Stonebagmcgee what makes the card worth so much is how hard it is to find. A card from 1996 in perfect mint condition? Find anything from 1996 in literally perfect condition, I dare you
@yobxnes you just answered your own question of why people do this. I rest my case.
2 box limits wouldn't hurt the stores at all they would still sellout in a day!
Its all ppl trying to buy them to rip for profit. Its made the entire thing unenjoyable to the point that I dont want to collect anymore
they don't even want to open them they're just scalping
0:17 GOSH I remember those VHS tapes & still have them put away lol
Saying that the Pokemon Company does not have to tell us what is going on from their end is wild. We are their customers. We are in fact owed that.
Shame to the weak-minded ppl buying from scalpers. Be strong and resist the urge to overpay!!
Most card stores are as bad as the scalpers. Send more product to retail stores for msrp
its refreshing to hear you talk honestly about the way pokemon is at the moment, keep it up because we appreciate it 👏🏻🙏🏻
I was going to say that these people are behaving like children but that is not fair to children
Love the new style of content where you talk and explain stuff more
This has been one of your best videos. Just true to life/real life experience.
Pokemon just needs to print an obscene amount of cards for all sets going forwards to create Pokeflation
HEAR ME OUT. IF THEY MADE SARS MORE COMMON THEN IT WOULD HELP KEEP POEPLE FROM RESELLING AND IT WOULD MAKE THE KIDS HAVE MORE FUN. I WANT THEM TO GET SUPER COOL CARDS THAT WILL LOOK GREAT 30 years later. Not more full art trainer cards.
This was really good Leonhart! Thank you for putting this video together.
I was supposed to be at the target buying cards when that guy pulled the gun, instead I decided to go to the other one nearby, kinda glad I did.
It's so annoying that scrappers are hoarding new sets now. It's nearly impossible to order any nowadays...
Big stores could probably cancel all online orders for certain products to counter the online shopping bots.
the pokemon company should also add rules that distributors themselves cant do rip and ship aswell, especially the weeks leading up to release, that probably aided so much in the limited availability
Another dynamic between big box stores and local game stores that puts extra pressure on locals when supplies are limited is diversity. Big box stores don't need tcg product in the end all tcg's combined maybe equate to 0.3-0.4% of their total profits. For your local game store that could be anywhere from 20-100% of total profits.
The problem is distribution, Distributors are selling to streamers way above msrp and are cutting supplies to local lgs's
That's not how distribution works. Local game stores are given a list to order from and they say how much of a product they want. The big streamers often have enough money to purchase a case outright, which is why it may look like distributors are selling to them directly, but it's not. You can do the same by pre-ordering a case through your local game store if they offer it and it comes out significantly cheaper. Most local game stores will not order as much product the first time around because they do not know how well sets are going to do, so they play it safe by maybe stocking only 4 cases. If they sell out, then they order a second round and adjust accordingly. The exception is something like Magic the Gathering, which may require stores to order a certain amount of product and host tournaments to maintain special discounts. Pokemon has the benefit of being print to demand, which means they will continue to print cards for as long as necessary in about 3 month blocks.
@ohnosmoarlulcatz what you're saying is how distribution is supposed to work. What i'm telling you what is really going on. There were streamers who have been on less than a year, selling hundreds of packs 2 weeks early. They said they got them from distribution for $110 per etb.
@@TheGoorru Whoever said 110 is full of crap. 110 is closer to what you would pay for a full booster box, not an etb. And if a booster box was selling for 110, they would be losing money because it costs more than that to get it from the distributor. It sounds like they bought it from someone who had access to the store rooms of a big box retailer that got the shipment early by paying the scalper mark up.
@ohnosmoarlulcatz It was 2 weeks before release and the packs were selling for $30 to $35 each pack. Sone Distributors are very very leaky. I've heard this from multiple sources.
I stopped 2 years ago trying to get cards. People in my community just ripped the cards out of the boxes. So I couldnt even purchase any. 😭
Stuff like this is kind of ruining the hobby for me, I got back into it I feel at the wrong time. I might have to get into a new hobby that won’t break the bank or make me poor. I can’t spend all my money or my paychecks on cards, I have bills and expenses I need to pay first. I work two jobs but am still scraping by. I’ve got a Major surgery in March I need to prepare for. That is also extremely expensive and stressful. I’m going to put Pokémon on the back burner for awhile.
As a former pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh collector, our community is not what it was. TCG community has fallen down badly affecting younger generation from purchasing new products. If we actually cared as a community we wouldn't deprive others from new products. I've seen videos of people on Instagram doing exactly that, telling everyone to rush the TCG section which in my opinion is not the way to do things. These items should be removed from the aisles and be sold like if it was a preorder. No one should be getting hurt nor be threatened over cardboard.
I’m just waiting for them to be easy to buy. Plus I live in Canada so people will be fighting over the other person getting it.
I’m trying to get back into it after 25 years. I can’t believe how ridiculous it’d become. Trying to get my kids into it, but not all packs are created equal, as they were back in day. “Vendors”, now just hold the cards hostage at inflated prices, a 3rd party rating system holds power over what cards are worth!? Stupid
honestly the answer is to get more of a supply with local card shops. The problem that pokemon/ distributer has is that local businesses can be shaky and go under. Beyond that card shops would be able to monitor sales at least locally a lot easier. easier said than done
Big box stores should be giving out tickets with certain products. You have an allocated time, its one per person, two max per family. Then come back at the end of the business day if you want extra.
I don't understand why stores cant go directly to the Pokémon company to buy cases for them to sell and then Pokémon prints to fulfill orders. Its really not fair that distributors are giving 90% of the inventory to large stores who wont put order limits so scalpers/bots can buy them all. I will now only be buying sealed product from GameStop since they are the only big store to place and enforce limits for each location.
I realized that i was mostly into pokemon for the investing but its too volatile. I feel like the bubble will pop soon. This is why I went to gold and silver. This economy is going to tank and many scalpers will be left holding the bag (shiny card board).
They just have to print an insane amount so the value doesn’t skyrocket, the problem is they print a “normal” amount which causes “investors” to join the hobby and it ruins the prices of everything and makes product impossible to find now
I'm gonna be completely honest, I didn't know local sellers as described in this video were still a thing. I can't say I've ever encountered one. The only places I've ever sourced cards from is Walmart or Target.
Just hearing that places sell out within minutes of opening is crazy and disappointing. I tried to get to a few stores to get all the items that were released on Friday and they were either sold out completely or they were selling them at 2.5 to 3 times msrp (I went to both local and big box stores). This is the first time since I got back into collecting that I could not get anything. I saw the inventory and/or the prices and just walked out especially since many stores had lines before they opened. It’s disgusting and I don’t open too much.
Stuff like this doesn't happen if the store sets a limit to one per customer.
My local Walmart just quit selling pokemon cards last month said they probably will not care them anymore 😢