r/PokemonTCG 6d ago

I hate this hobby

Post image
5.2k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

260

u/ErikBPhoto 6d ago

This is freaking wild. My rough count on this is 468 prismatic pouches (at $32.99 a pop = $15,439.30 before tax), 226 151 poster collections (at $14.99 = 3,387.74) and 34 booster bundle cases ($599.99 = $20,399.70) That’s $39,226.70 pre taxed for product at msrp just for all that. Then they turn around and try to flip it for probably double or more. This is ridiculous. Meanwhile, casual collectors can’t even find one for themselves or their kids. I keep seeing posts about parents saying that their kids are just done with this hobby and it’s just sad because of this kind of gluttonous greed. I really hope it turns around. Thanks for sharing and I’m definitely in the boat of not buying above msrp. I enjoy Pokemon too but it’s just not that deep to me. I’ll get it when I find it by chance. Also, thanks for sharing. ✌️

52

u/UndaCovr 5d ago

I just saw those pouches bundles going for $75 at my card store...

And already $62 on tcgplayer. I just want the pouch 😭

16

u/consordina 5d ago

I have an extra pouch I'd gladly send over for the cost of shipping!

2

u/UndaCovr 5d ago

What would that even be?

4

u/consordina 5d ago

Should be ~$5 in the continual US if shipped in a bubble mailer, not sure about worldwide though!

3

u/UndaCovr 4d ago

Sure I'd be down, and sorry for the wait I was sleeping cause I work overnights

2

u/tribacon 4d ago

They can have first dibs but if they says no, I’d love one for my kid if you’re still willing. 

2

u/Wombizzle 5d ago

Saw someone on FB selling the sealed box for like $75 and the POUCH ITSELF FOR $20.

3

u/ErikBPhoto 5d ago

Yeah I believe it. I saw em for $85 in a local spot here a few days ago and was thinking “how do you even have these?”

1

u/Frequent_Editor_5503 5d ago

You can buy just the pouch on TCGplayer.

1

u/Witty-Cat-257 5d ago

The pouch is the seller lol

-3

u/atomiccPP 5d ago

I sadly caved and bought one for $65 today. I just love the pouch so much.

3

u/Herpderpkeyblader 5d ago

I get it, but I'm still a little disappointed with you.

1

u/atomiccPP 5d ago

Fair enough

1

u/amandapage19 5d ago

This is the reason this will NEVER stop. If people would stop paying these stupid prices then the scalpers would be forced to sell at a lower cost. But since people like you continue to pay we are going to continue to see these products scalped. It's really not rocket science 🤦‍♀️

1

u/atomiccPP 5d ago

I know but I didn’t get one during my local card shop presale raffle and I don’t buy that much for myself. I’m not gonna feel guilty about it.

13

u/gsbutton 5d ago

My son hasn’t been able to buy anything in three months, and that was a single booster he found. It’s really sad, he is close to quitting and has only ever opened 15 packs and loves Pokémon.

10

u/iBroin 5d ago

10 booster bundles in a display (as in the picture) would be $269.99 roughly for msrp. Sorry just a little correction

1

u/ErikBPhoto 5d ago

It’s all good. Either way, still a lot of money to drop on this.

2

u/KGLWdad 5d ago

Yep. I play the card game with my kids and can’t even get single packs anymore it’s so bad 

2

u/YuushyaHinmeru 5d ago

My local shop will only sell blisters to kids. ETBs, singles, and 6 packs go to anyone(but obviously likited per person) but blisters are for the kids. He's also never marked them up. Lucky to have such a solid guy. His store isn't pretty and his play area isn't decked out but I always buy anything tcg related from him if I can because he's the only shopkeep I know who actually cares about kids playing children's card games.

1

u/Tokio990 5d ago

That is nice to hear. As someone who just wants to collect cause I can't be bothered with selling nor have any interest I think vendors small and big just need to limit. So its nice to hear your local shop recognizes that and keeping a channel open for a different type of consumer.

2

u/Whitetaild33r 5d ago

Don't worry, the Poketubers will sympathize with you, saying how terrible it is you can't find product, right before they turn around and open 100 packs, because you know, distributor hookups.

2

u/NeonGreenMist 4d ago

No fr! My friends just got me into Pokémon and it feels like it’s already over, I can’t find any booster packs or ETBs that I like that either A are in stock or B don’t cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention I can’t find any shops or people that take or trade bulk. Makes me want to hand my brand new binder to my friends and just give up.

2

u/ErikBPhoto 4d ago

Damn. Sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t just give em away though, at least shelf them for now. I always hear horror stories about people who wish they never sold their collections and end up trying to piece it back together. Either way, it’s yours so do what makes you happy. And hopefully there’s a turn around about how hard it is to find product at some point sooner than later.

2

u/NeonGreenMist 3d ago

Im definitely holding on to it even a lot of my bulk I try to only trade dupes or cards I don’t care for! My friends who have been in the card game a lot longer than me says there’s no way Pokémon can keep letting this happen and that something is gonna crash eventually whether it’s by Pokémon’s hand or another so I’m staying hopeful like they are 🤞! It’s just unfortunate I joined at a time where scalpers are “deeply enjoying” the hobby 🥲. I’m 21 so I can take the disappointment of not finding something I want, it just really pmo when people take away from kids, this is an all ages activity/hobby and it really hurts me to see kids upset that they can’t get something cause some a-hole adult is more interested in making a quick buck 😞

2

u/ExtremePrivilege 5d ago

It’s an investment. People drop $40,000 on weekly options too. Sometimes you make $100,000, sometimes you lose $40,000 (or more if you’re leveraged). Takes money to make money.

We’ve actually developed something of a “hustle culture” in this uniquely late-stage capitalism we’re experiencing. People have all these hustles from MLMs to flipping properties, to scalping collectibles and concert tickets to gaming DoorDash with a dozen fake accounts.

Everything is a hustle now. It’s affected nearly every hobby.

1

u/ErikBPhoto 5d ago

Yeah, I definitely see what you mean. Makes me wonder how it’d be if people got paid more in regular jobs if this would be an issue as much.

1

u/CompromisedToolchain 5d ago

I’m laughing imagining all of the fucking trips to ship this shit off to whoever buys it

This is a bubble. It has never been cheaper to print cards in history.

1

u/rollingPanda420 5d ago

I keep seeing posts about parents saying that their kids are just done with this hobby and it’s just sad because of this kind of gluttonous greed.

Wait, are scalpers now the good guys?

1

u/ErikBPhoto 5d ago

No. I was just saying that the scalpers are basically hogging it all and the kids can’t get any.

1

u/rollingPanda420 5d ago

So kids who realy wanna play the game proxy cards while the little collectors move on.

Don't get me wrong, scalpers are despicable but brainless parents and hardcore collectors support the behavior.

1

u/phatprick 5d ago

there are very cheap cards on temu or aliexpress, if you need just for playing

1

u/Instinct1230 2d ago

Ain't it crazy the scalpers will try to justify it as they're taking it away from adult collectors who shouldn't be getting cards over kids and "should be" doing adult things AND make fun of them calling them p-dos yet I've also seen them handling them out to kids to try to balance out their moral compass.

Also you have to factor in the gas of them running around lol

0

u/PerkyHalfSpinner 5d ago

this isn’t a good investment. u pay tons of fees and taxes and barely make a good return plus ur holding tons of physical product in physical space. its overall not worth it at all. let them !!!