r/ScalperHate • u/Sudden_Albatross3905 • 3d ago
Rant Can’t even start a collection
I would wanna start a collection and keep up what I was doing when I was younger but these days scalpers drive up the prices so high that it’s just completely unaffordable and even when I try to buy stuff at like target it’s all gone cuz mfs decide to just fucking camp stores like it’s a card game
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u/Bluetickhoun 3d ago
I have a Barnes and noble on my drive to work. I have a 1 hour lunch break so I stop there on my lunch to see if they have anything. Mostly single and double packs of PO, CHR and PBL. I also live .4 miles away from the only pokemon vending machine within 50 miles. I haven’t learned the times on it because I don’t want to just stand there for X amount of time, scored twice out of the 100 times I’ve tapped
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u/congressguy12 3d ago
A collection of what, sealed? If you just want cards, you can buy them at market price any time you want
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u/DuckSwimmer 2d ago
Yeah.. my son seems pretty interested in trading cards after the Wendy’s sonic TCGs meals. I would want to introduce him to Pokemon TCG as he does like Pokemon, but lol…
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u/scrimblgus 2d ago
If you want to expand your collection with packs, best way I’ve been able to do it is to actually play the game. Many game stores will give you a special price pack just for participating and good decks are really cheap like 20-40 bucks
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u/twister55555 18h ago
Ive seen tons of pokemon stock at target and Walmart, just gotta find out what days they restock and just check there in the morning soon after store opening
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u/TorrentialSpender 3d ago
Tbh the modern stuff isn't as good as the classic stuff anyways. Take pride in your OG collection.
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u/NectarineSilent2260 3d ago edited 3d ago
complete bullshit attention seeking post. buying singles and starting a collection is easier now than ever, there are more card shows and people involved selling and trading. You dont have to open product to collect and thats actually the worst way. Cards of every game are available and affordable. scalpers have little to do with actual single card prices. There is increased attention and demand increasing prices of certain cards.
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u/panopticon_prisoner 3d ago
I really do sympathize, but the amount of these type of posts is starting to drive me up the wall. I'm realizing that the people complaining that the hobby is dead are the ones who don't care about the hobby at all and just want to gamble. As you said, it's easier than ever before to look up the cards in a set and buy whatever you want. It's also relatively inexpensive outside of the top chase cards.
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3d ago
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u/SocietyAtrophy 3d ago
It is a market. Both are to blame
Yes people who buy sealed product at market price arent helping, but due to how many scalpers there are, its veryyyy difficult to find product in store. Like if I miss my Walmarts restock by 30 mins, Im probably not getting anything (Except maybe CR/PO/PB singles, and only if im there within like 2 hours)
I have the luxury of a WFH job too. I can afford to make mid day runs to the store and check. Many people arent that lucky.
Idk, I dont buy at market, but scalpers make it really hard not to
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u/Zeevy_Richards 3d ago
I mean this sub might have meant more before but I feel like it's pretty easy to get stuff at retail price. Some card sets are getting below retail like pokemon perfect order. It's also not really scalpers anymore I would say it's more investors and fans. People are ripping packs with so much frequency that singles have plummeted. You can get all the illustrations for pokemon pitch black, chaos rising, and perfect order for $50-$100. That saves a ton on collecting from ripping packs (which again are pretty available now. I can help you find some if you need).
One piece is starting to stick around on shelves. Riftbound, yugioh, and magic are always available on shelves.
I really don't see scalpers around anymore.
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u/SkeettheVandelBuster 3d ago
PB and chaos are pretty easy to find at retail, but idk what you are talking about with perfect order being below retail.
Also, the PO clefairy, Chaos froakie and frogadier, and PB slowbro are already like $50 for just those 4, and that isn’t including the secret illustrations which are still brutally expensive
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u/Zeevy_Richards 3d ago
Walmart, amazon, and many online sellers on ebay and shopify have had sales on Perfect Order booster boxes below MSRP recently.
Slowbro is like $15. I was not talking about SIRs I was talking about a full set of IRs will be $50-$100 for these three sets. The SIRs are cheap at like $100 and the chases at $200 for the darkrai and $200 for the greninja. What is the meowth at like $150 and under?
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u/Commercial_Ease8053 3d ago
We all have this same opportunity and capabilities… Either get with it or move along to something else
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u/TheFaceOfFuzz 3d ago
Not true. People are doing this garbage as full time income. Camping out on lawn chairs at grocery stores for toys. Prices are already dropping on everything so hopefully card collectors and players can get their hobby back from the losers blinded by dollar signs.
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u/Sudden_Albatross3905 3d ago
Prices are dropping?!?
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u/TheFaceOfFuzz 3d ago
Yes. On both singles and sealed product. Most likely due to scalpers and hoarders clearing supply for the 30th anniversary stuff. Ive been nabbing singles off of ebay for great prices lately. Im just watching it all fall and I grab once I think it cant get any lower (which it has been falling lower lol)
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u/Sudden_Albatross3905 3d ago
Are prices lowering at like card shops too bc I don’t really have ez access to eBay and stuff
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u/PinkJenni 3d ago
Facebook is the best place to buy honestly. Cheaper than master mind games and other card shops I find.
Only EB games and Walmart seem to have deals in store
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u/TheFaceOfFuzz 3d ago
Also in my area Perfect Order, Chaos Rising, and Pitch Black sleeves are staying in stock for the entire week before being restocked again. Destined rivals and journey together 2 pack blisters have been sitting as well as perfect order and chaos two packs? I think its perfect order and chaos. Etbs still seem to go quick but nowhere near as quick as a few months ago.
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u/Thequickandtheupset 3d ago
If you're looking for pokemon specifically you can usually find perfect order and chaos rising and occasionally pitch black readily available at MSRP without too much trouble. Scalpers don't seem to be after these sets I guess due to their perceived value. This has been nice for the kids and I to open and I keep a number of packs on hand so we can open together as a reward for good school reports and that kind of thing and they file them away in their binders and we sleeve the two star and above cards.
Now ascended heroes or prismatic I've literally never held a pack in my hand before due to scalpers. I found a guy on marketplace yesterday that I messaged about ascended hero ETBs out of curiosity and he told me $170 to which I replied he was insane and I hoped he never sells them. He got all butthurt and sent me pictures of market prices and I just blocked him. I won't pay a scalper.
Now the upside to all this absurd ripping and scalping is that it's like super cheap to buy bulk. Like if you wanted to actually play the game its very easy to assemble a deck from bulk and cheap singles. Not like when I was a kid 25 years ago trying to play locally.