Attack of the Scalpers

For almost 30 years, fans of the Pokemon Trading Card Game had a good thing going. You could easily find some of the last few years' worth of card packs at Walmart and Target. Dedicated game stores had plenty of booster packs for about $5 apiece. And for $50, you could get an Elite Trainer Box with lots of booster packs and other goodies.

And then, in 2025, the scalpers hit the Pokemon TCG fandom.

The first expansion to be released in 2025 was Prismatic Evolutions, a set focused around Eevee and its 8 evolutions. Nobody was surprised that it was popular--but when scalpers started re-selling unopened booster packs and ETBs for big bucks, all hell broke loose. Many card shops instituted limits on ETBS and booster packs, so that actual fans could still get cards. Walmart and Target were almost always picked clean, scalpers going in on the day shipments arrived and buying up their entire stock.

Pokemon TCG went from the cheapest collectible card game on the market, to an exclusive, difficult-to-buy game.

Worse, it's been a year and a half, and prices and demand still haven't settled back down. A booster pack is now $10, and an ETB $125. Shortages during COVID-19 were understandable and temporary. Shortages now are artificial, brought about by scalpers.

This is particularly nasty because of the average age of Pokemon TCG players. Magic: The Gathering, Lorcana, Union Arena, One Piece, are all mostly played by adults. But you know who I see the most of at mixed-age Pokemon TCG gatherings?

Children.

You have to be a real slimeball to look at a children's toy and say, "I bet I could make good money reselling this to the highest bidder." For every person who's willing to pay your inflated prices, there are more who can't afford them and have to give up a fun hobby because YOU wanted to make a quick buck. Scalpers are the enemy of fun.

It isn't even just Pokemon. Scalpers were always a problem in the Monster High doll collecting scene, but they've gotten far worse lately, with scalpers selling a $25 doll for $2-300. And again, adult collectors of Monster High dolls are outnumbered by the children that the dolls are actually marketed to and made for, and it is the children who end up not getting to have a doll of their favorite character because some scalper went and cleaned out the doll aisle.

I know that times are tough. But the solution is not to become a scalper! Petition Congress. Demand change from your state legislature. Push for higher wages across the board! But don't go around ruining children's dreams and collectors' hobbies for a quick buck.