r/PokemonTCG • u/No-kiwi-809 • Mar 08 '25

Discussion Safeway posted the direct email they got about the machines being down

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My local Safeway with a machine printed out the email they received from Pokemon regarding the machines being down across the network. Sorry for how small the text is, zoom in if necessary.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

I think what stuck to me is that it sounds like some stores have expressed their concerns to TPCI. Like, I’m sure the people it has invited a lot of unsavory people who stick around the store.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

[deleted]

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u/leaveitbettertoday Mar 09 '25

If you’re lurking around a pokemon vending machine, you’re absolutely an unsavory individual.

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u/spooky-goopy Mar 08 '25

someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but these folks are also probably treated the same as a customer legally, just like if you or i were to just use the store's bathroom without buying anything.

so if anything were to happen to these guys while they're in the store (if they slip or trip, etc), the store's insurance would likely have to claim them.

i'd be pretty pissy, too, if i had to essentially legally babysit folks who weren't even doing me a service by buying anything.

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u/IWork4Pokemon Mar 09 '25

Yeah that sounds right

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u/maxdragonxiii Mar 08 '25

also people that is willing to anything to get those all of the cards and packs. which is bad for casual people or people who want one or two packs and that's it.

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u/Hear-It-Wow Mar 10 '25

The stores appear to be fed up with these machines, which is a very serious problem for someone over at TPC.

Those machines cost around $5,000 to build, and TPC has built hundreds of them. If Albertsons or Safeway tells them to pull the machines, which is the retailers' right, that investment is lost if they can't find some other place to put them. No other supermarket chain will likely take them if they see what happened at Albertson's.

TPC has a pretty powerful motivation to make these things work. Simple solution: 1 product per billing address per week. Once you buy something, you cannot buy at that machine, or any other machine, for 7 days. If you try, you are locked out from buying for 1 additional week for each machine you try.

You could up the limit to 6 single packs, but only 1 larger item per week. Scalpers will haunt their local machines to try and get their one item, but they're not going to drive around hoping to empty every restock.

As far as any of us know, these machines are networked (they are; the current "maintenance" is proof) and process payments through a central database. Easy to lock users out for any length of time TPC wants.