Pokémon trading cards have once again exploded in popularity, and the Pokémon Company is struggling to keep up with demand. Prices are surging for new packs thanks to scalpers and resellers as a result.
“We’re aware that some of you are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game products due to very high demand and global shipping constraints impacting availability,” the Pokémon Company wrote today. “We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are working to address it where it is within our control.”
To help alleviate price gouging and address the concerns of unhappy collectors, the Pokémon Company wrote it is “actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity,” and will try to get these reprinted cards to stores as soon as possible.
We’re aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon TCG products due to very high demand. In response, we are reprinting impacted products at maximum capacity to ensure more fans can enjoy the Pokémon TCG.
More info here: https://t.co/sClZo3BXsp
— Play Pokémon (@playpokemon) February 10, 2021
The news comes as people have descended upon McDonald’s restaurants across the country in order to scoop up new promotional cards from Happy Meals celebrating Pokémon’s 25th anniversary. It’s pissed off a lot of fans who just want to get some of the packs for their collection but are finding them already selling out.
But the card shortage isn’t just connected to the McDonald’s promotion. Booster packs for the recent Vivid Voltage and Champion’s Path sets are also in extremely short supply. Boxes of boosters are sold out at a lot of big U.S. retailers like Target and Walmart, and are being re-sold on places like Ebay for much higher prices. A Vivid Voltage Elite Trainer Box retails for $50, but is being sold on Ebay for $100 and over in some cases. Of course, second-hand markets open up opportunities for all sorts of extra scams and counterfeits.
[referenced id=”1205065″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/02/mcdonalds-pokmon-card-packs-are-selling-out/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/10/ruuymz7hxxlkmrxecgni-300×157.png” title=”McDonald’s Pokémon Card Packs Are Selling Out” excerpt=”To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pocket Monsters, Mcdonald’s is including card packs in Happy Meals. It seemed like a good idea! Others thought so, too.”]
The latest explosion in hype around Pokémon trading cards comes at a time when older, rarer cards have been selling for record-breaking prices at auction, like the Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram card that sold for over $US350,000 ($452,620) just last month. The hobby’s newfound attention also seems due at least in part of the pandemic, with people stuck at home looking for new things to collect and potentially speculate on. Opening new packs on Twitch and YouTube is also very popular, helping to drive the hype around new releases and the search for rare cards. This has also led some fans to criticise streamers and YouTubers for contributing to shortages by buying dozens of packs in order to fuel the content for their channels.
Even if boosting supply helps fix some of these issues, it’s not exactly clear how fast the Pokémon Company can both produce and ship more packs. Meanwhile, the trading card game’s latest set, Shining Fates, is set to officially launch on February 19, and lots of stores are already listing pre-orders for those sets as out of stock.
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