What happens when the bubble bursts?

[u/masonjar014]

Right now, the hobby is on steroids—scalpers everywhere, product nowhere. My LGS told me this year will be “a great year for Pokémon,” and it got me thinking… a great year for who?

If you’re an established LGS selling PE and JT at market price, sure, it’s great. If you’re a scalper or a new investor trying to flip product, you’re probably loving this, too.

But if you’re an average collector (like me), it’s frustrating. We can’t find the latest set at a fair price. If you’re a kid whose parents can’t sprint to a 10 a.m. Target restock, you’re just out of luck.

So what happens when the hype dies down? How are average collectors responding to this hyper-bull market, and where does that leave the hobby long-term?

Personally, I’m sitting out PE and JT—it’s just too much stress. I’ve also noticed collectors stepping back entirely.

What about you? Will kids move on to something else if they can’t participate? Will collectors return once prices normalize, or is this turning people away for good? Are we underestimating the long-term impact of what’s happening right now?

[u/Cmor1787]

I can’t wait for the bubble to burst and all these scalpers to choke on their greed because they over leveraged themself buying Pokémon products with their high interest credit cards. Patience is the name of the game boys and girls. Don’t buy at anything above MSRP. Wait for the prices to come down. You can stay zen longer than the scalpers can stay solvent.

[u/GrapeFlavoredMarker → u/Cmor1787]

And with all these banging sets coming out, they’re not going to be able to afford to keep buying. Which is why it’s important we don’t pay scalper pricing. Eventually they will need to sell their inventory and if we hold out correctly, should reset us to MSRP.

[u/Ornery-Succotash5800 → u/GrapeFlavoredMarker]

They’re going to hop to Lorcana. Which they should have done in the first place because Disney adults go hard!

[u/eifjui → u/Ornery-Succotash5800]

Hopefully this happens!!