You may have heard that Pokémon card prices have been going nuts lately, and you may have been thinking, "hm, I should probably try to get in on that." Well, it's already too late — Pokémon card scalpers have already taken them all.
Earlier this year, we saw a man forging ice cream sticks, and scalpers and collectors (and, notably, not children) buying up McDonald's Happy Meals, both in attempts to get free Pokémon cards. Eventually, The Pokémon Company was forced to address the issue of these limited-edition cards being repeatedly taken by scalpers, saying that they would take measures to make sure that everyone would be able to get these cards.
Well, it happened again. After announcing back in March that certain cereal boxes would contain three Pokémon cards, out of a set of 14 in total, it seems like people have been opening cereal boxes in the supermarket to get to the cards.
Some people have been buying up boxes of cereal by the pallet, like Trevor Joe, a "real estate investor" and wholesaler who calls it an "investment", or the tweet above, which shows one "wealthy" family's huge stash of already-opened boxes for sale. What a totally normal thing to do!
The rarest card from the set — Galarian Ponyta — is already showing up on eBay (alongside many duds), and some enterprising scalpers are selling sealed sets for way more than their initial cereal investment.
It's worth noting that already-opened cereal boxes are almost certainly going to get thrown out by the supermarket, since they can't sell goods that have been tampered with.
Garbodor isn't a role model, folks.
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[source polygon.com]
Comments 39
People are going Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs
Wow. Just wow. Shouldn't be surprised, yet here I am.
Thanks Logan Paul, for ruining the Pokemon TCG for everyone!
Nintendo:Just as planned.
Why doesn't TPC just, you know, put toys in there for kids to play with? It would solve a lot of problems. But if nothing else they could put common cards so that there's little to no incentive to open the boxes without paying.
Madness. I can't help but be reminded of the scene in Willy Wonka with the entire factory of workers all opening Wonka bars to find the golden ticket for Varuca Salt.
The whole situation is all just a bit cereal.
Yeah I bought like 10 boxes myself.
@OldManHermit I THOUGHT THE SAME THING
I have a yellow iPhone with a clear-backed case...in which I carry the Pikachu card. Blends right in, lol.
Think he's guaranteed to show up in each pack so he probably isn't worth much, but eh. He's cute though!
Welp, so we've officially hit the petty theft stage here. Why am I not surprised?
Dang, and I thought people went too far with the Happy Meal fiasco. What some people will do out of greed.... /Facepalm
Not just scalpers though, kids have routinely been prying boxes open since even when I worked in retail for the little trinkets.
Fruit loops stealing Froot Loops.
They should just turn all this Happy Meals and Cereal box rare cards into common cards that anyone can easily get, that way all those scummy scalpers can cry after "investing" so much money for cards that became so common their values are below mere dollars or less, that will teach them.
The way to halt some of this is to use pre-generated codes that only work once, like a key code and make the cards mail order only.
I don't quite mind it as much here because here it seems like it's entirely a blind bag except in cereal so your cards will be extra expensive no matter if you buy it from scalpers or from the cereal. If you want them all then you'll probably be off cheaper going for scalpers here to be honest.
Not that I like what scalpers are doing of course. This needs to stop. I just mind it less here because this is not good practice to begin with if you ask me.
Imagine doing this and continuing to tell yourself that you're a well-adjusted member of society
Sucks that Congress and Senate are doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to curtail scalpers. The Better Online Ticket Sales Act seriously needs to be expanded to include other high-demand items like Pokemon cards.
"Almost certainly" they ARE going to be thrown out. Especially if the cards are inside the cereal.
That would definitely be a health code violation to knowingly sell.
If the cereal itself is still sealed in a plastic bag, I think it could still be sold, but probably fewer people would want to buy it.
@misterflipnote It could also be theorized that petty theft incidents like this is used by some people as a means to try and make a few extra bucks, because costs of living are so expensive. I know I scalped some of the original Amiibos when they first launched for extra cash.
I'm not excusing theft but my guess is the reason is multifaceted.
@Chibi_Manny I mean, modern cards aren't even worth as much as these people think as well. It's only really the base-set cards that are worth much.
@misterflipnote Sadly, they couldn't care less, since while it's hurting consumers, the product's still being bought.
I work at a Walmart and on more than one occasion I have witnessed some ***** buying 2 full carts of the cereal boxes with cards in them. I just wanted to deck him, or pour gasoline on the boxes and torch them. Hope he at least donates the cereal after yanking the cards.
I doubt these wealthy pieces of crap even need the money. It almost seems like scalpers are just being sadistic now. It makes me want to beat the everliving hell out of them with bats wrapped in razor wire.
The state of the Pokemon TCG right now is unbelivable. Not only have I not been able to find product in actual stores since about last August, but I went on the official Pokemon Center website today.
They are completely sold out of EVERYTHING Pokemon card!
Booster packs, tins, pin sets, elite trainer boxes, full size booster boxes, even theme decks!
You can't even buy Pokemon cards FROM POKEMON!
If I wasn't so scared of this ruining the game for good, I'd be rooting for it to collapse and for the filthy scumbag scalpers to lose money bigtime.
But I am actually scared this is going to kill the game off. Most people aren't able to buy cards and play at inflated prices. And even those who are aren't necessarily willing.
Even people who can afford spending 50%-300% over RRP aren't likely to be happy about it.
I can understand limited edition products and out of print sets shooting up with prices. There's only so much out there and no more is getting made. But we are way beyond that. Between the PokemonCenter website being sold out, and major retail stores being sold out, it's almost impossible to get product right now at a fair price.
Some people say "oh just go to your local card shop" as though they have some magic secret supply and are gonna sell on the cheap. And as if every town has one of these shops.
Spoiler: neither of those things are the case!
The tweet makes it clear that they own a card store, an industry which is already not doing all that well due to covid, despite the recent surge in interest in TCG's. The boost in popularity is seemingly superficial and has inspired more to invest rather than play. Suddenly everyone is trying to make money off cards and legitimate hobby stores are taking a hit as a result. It might seem a bit scummy but if your livelihood is based on selling cards, I don't see much of a problem here. They should have donated the cereal or done something with it rather than letting it go to waste though.
It's not just Pokémon cards that are flying of the shelves... https://twitter.com/nhlstroll/status/1388843919547551745?s=20
I lose a little bit more hope for humanity every time I read something like this. And people wonder why I’m an introvert...(I’m not, in all actuality...)
Moments like this make me cringe about how childish* people my age and older can be.
If only this situation was akin to Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Today is May 3rd, 2021 and I can still see that game in stores.
*may not be the word I'm looking for.
@Nookingtons know that all too well, I still want some games but lately the prices of many I wanted went through the roof because "reasons"
Very sad thing.
Next time do a deal with cereal kids will actually eat like Special K and Corn Flakes!!!!!11!!!!
see the joke is that...
They're not scalping, they're just enjoying the cereal surprise mechanics.
@SwitchVogel Does matter you're a well-adjusted member of society when you have a Galarian Ponyta? Didn't think so.
If cards are so hot now just sell them to those who actually like cards instead of trying to reach new fans also stop creating limited editions.
I'm getting more and more ashamed by the day for being a Pokemon fan. This is disgusting and it's all people my age I bet, 90's kids.
We had our fun, there were no horrible 'grown ups' stealing our freebies when we were little were there? now let this generation enjoy it for goodness sake.
@VoidofLight Logan Paul ruins the planet in all fairness hahahaha
I'm certain that there's a special place in hell for people like this. I mean scalping from adults is one thing, but from kids? I wonder how these people live with themselves..
"Garbodor isn't a role model, folks."
amazing writing
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