Card scalpers called the bane of Pokémon fans

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People said to be scooping up cards to be resold at inflated prices

emilie wren, contributor

Scalping collectibles like Pokémon cards isn’t an honourable way to make a living, it just isn’t.

From my point of view, there are too many people trying to pretend that it is. Which is why scalpers need to be told to take a hike.

Card collecting has existed since the 1800s, with tobacco companies selling sports cards with their products. Since then, it has grown, with a major spike in sales since the 1990s, when trading card games began hitting shelves. 

At the end of the day, card collecting is a hobby, no matter the types of cards you collect. 

In the case of Pokémon, there is also a game part tied into the same collectible cards. It is designed for kids.

Seems to me there are way too many fully-grown men who are buying up all of the stock of this children’s card game just for the sake of a fast profit.

I have loved Pokémon for over 10 years now. That’s getting close to half of my lifetime. When I fell into that fandom and hobby, it was super easy to collect cards. Sure, I didn’t have much money at that time, since I was a child (you know, the intended audience), but I could still access cards if I worked for it. One good round of vacuuming my parents’ cars was sure to do the trick.

After that, I could easily walk into a certain big box store to pick out my favourite pack of cards, pay the retail price of $6, and walk out the door.

It was simple. It was fun.

I loved collecting cards from all of the different series. I would take the time to admire the artwork. I would go crazy and jump for joy when I pulled a rare card. I would be jealous of my little brother whenever he got a rare card that I wanted. Regular things that you would expect from a child.

And guess what? I still do that. Even as a grown-up 10 years later.

Now, I’m lucky. As an adult, I have actual adult money to be able to purchase Pokémon cards whenever I want. I could very easily just go crazy and spend $100, money that I should probably be saving for something more important. 

Now, I should be able to easily walk into that big box store and pay that same low, suggested retail price for a pack of cards. Better yet, I should be able to walk into a local card store, like Sanctuary Games in Moose Jaw, to pay the retail price to someone who isn’t a giant megacorporation.

But for some reason, I can’t!

It’s something that frustrates me to no end.

Pokémon scalpers, I’m convinced, are snapping up the product and ruining the hobby. 

These are not the kind of business people deserving of praise.

Reselling Pokémon cards at outrageous mark-ups is not cool. I would say the same thing for anyone who buys up all of a single product just so they can live out their Monopoly dreams.

During the 2020 lockdowns, there was a significant boom in the Pokémon card market. Influencers like Logan Paul helped spark the sudden popularity. Prices for cards skyrocketed, from vintage sets and rare cards from newer sets. Considering that people were looking for new hobbies and different sources of income during that same period, it made sense that there would be people trying to make a business out of the card game. 

However, scalpers came on the scene, buying up any Pokémon card products they could find and then listing them online at much-inflated prices.

The scalping has only gotten worse over the years, with all sorts of quick-buck artists getting into the practice.

Videos are floating around on the internet featuring people caught in stampedes in a Costco just to get their hands on a new Pokémon card set.

Thieves have driven cars into the doors of local card shops. People have been in fist fights inside stores.

 I should not be paying $40 for a single pack of Pokémon cards. Not when they are priced at $6 a piece on the official Pokémon Center website.

Mind you, old sets can sell for a profit and I’m fine with that. But it does not make sense that sets that have only just been released, like the latest Prismatic Evolutions, are being sold at a 400 per cent markup.

There is nothing wrong with selling things at market price. Or if you happen to stumble upon an old pack sitting in your parents’ basement and then decide to sell it at the current market price. Sets like the original Base Set or Jungle Set do sell single packs at a pretty hefty price tag. But those are vintage and hard to find.

Instead, we have scalpers buying up all the stock in a single area, and even online directly from the source by using bots to make bulk orders. The ordinary collector isn’t able to access even a single pack for $6.

Greed is ruining this hobby. It’s impossible to have fun here anymore. People are just too selfish. They are choosing to hyperinflate these prices.

This has got to end.

My parting shot to card scalpers everywhere: if you find yourself fist-fighting people in a big-box store over a children’s card game, you really need a new vocation.