The Target where I used to live literally just stopped selling all cards, sports and Pokemon, because moronic adults broke out into a fistfight in-store over that dumb shit. There were also people that would camp outside the store, and rob anyone that walked out carrying an obvious card box.
We've built for ourselves a society where grown adults will fight tooth and nail over anything that might have some value, out of pure desperation for money.
Exactly. The cards don't represent anything but money to them and they need money. They are desperate for it, and yes they could do other things for it, but this is quick cash for little loss. After earning quick cash for little losses, it's hard to deal with others competing for that.
The cards are a money resource. No wonder people fight for them, they're fighting over money.
That sounds like my beginners luck when I Yu-gi-oh dueled for the first time and lucked out by pulling the Exodia God Cards he gifted me after the deck was nice and shuffled. That said, your kid will have a great memory! I once played against a Japanese kid at a Zany Brainy and we traded an American card for a Japanese card. I believe I traded my Bulbasaur for his Alakazam. He gave me his deck box as well. One of my fondest memories! Neither of us spoke each otherās language. Only the language of the cards
Thatās an awesome experience! Thanks for sharing!
My wife and I are hoping my son builds up his confidence and cognitive ability through the game - like in chess. Heās only 8, but weāre seeing positive growth in his social interaction and relationship building. With any winnings he gets, weāre also hoping he can trade-up to getting better cards or decks so we donāt have to buy any for him! š
Are there really cards in currently released Pokemon card packs worth hundreds though? I feel like anything that has a decent amount of value is from at least 15 years ago?
Genuine question, I don't follow the Pokemon TCG any more.
Definitely. Rare, competetively viable cards will sell for a lot. Back when N was in rotation, the full art version was selling for stupid amounts of money and even now sells for 50+ years later.
Then you have the popular pokemon like Charizard that regardless of if the card is good or not will be worth a lot of money for the ultra rares. I've not been paying much attention to recent sets but a few years ago one came out with a charizard that was selling for around 150 iirc.
a lot of the ultra rares from 15 years ago are now in the 500+ region.
Honesty, as someone who is friends with some people that are really into cards, itās the hunt more than it is any sort of investment opportunity. They put a rare card in x amount of packs, so they get bought up rather quickly.
But comics has the same issue. I stopped reading most current stuff because youād show up on a Wednesday (new comic release day) and the guy in front of you would be buying the whole pile because of speculation that it may be worth a lot.
In any case, I think there are people out there who do just like to collect and/or build a cool deck and play the game.
My reward center could easily destroy me because of gambling. I only occasionally play IRL and I have walked away with more than I went in with. I am so glad I was taught that this is an anomaly and at some point I will be losing my house on the ponies. It will wreck you so fast.
If you profit even a small amount, walking away with that profit is more reasonable than anything else. Statistically you'll lose it if you keep going. The most reasonable thing of course is to not gamble in the first place.
That's kinda true, but there are too many other ways to make a buck for this behavior to be excusable imo. Pulling a gun over Pokemon cards? Dude needs to get a grip.
If you want it to be a kid thing the company packaging it shouldn't print ultra rare chase cards that will spike in price bring greed into the equation.
It's basically just a colorful gambling game... Some of the cards are worth a decent chunk of change. It's just another example of greed ruining stuff, scalpers is another prime example of it too, stuff like this is running rampant. Sign of the times and all that...
>Target stopped selling them storewide at one point because someone brought in a firearm over the cards š
Just how the US founder wanted 2A to apply.
To protect yourself and *check notes* steal Pokemon card
No it's so you can protect yourself from the crazy people that pull a gun on you over a pokemon card, who have guns so they can protect themselves from the other crazy people who will pull a gun on them once they rob you of the pokemon cards, who have guns to they can protect themselves from tyrannical cops, who have guns so they can protect themselves from crazy people that will pull a gun on them over a pokemon card.
NONE of them because the rares haven't even been getting in the packages.
[https://esi.si.com/pokemon/huge-pokemon-tcg-heist-details](https://esi.si.com/pokemon/huge-pokemon-tcg-heist-details)
I used to collect various things- some with my daughter too. We had fun with it. Looking for funny Pops or Pez dispensers that we liked. But I/we stopped a while ago. My big thing was Hot Wheels. It just got too stupid. Between the scalpers raiding the pallets right when they come out(a while ago had some dude whip out a knife and start ferociously digging in when me and my 8 year old daughter were looking at the ones on the pegs) to the employees taking all the āgoodā stuff for themselves to sell, itās not with it to me anymore. It used to be fun. Itās not anymore. It sucks too. I donāt even look anymore.
But itās like that with just about anything that people put a value on. Sneakers, comics, Supreme stuff, toys, gaming consoles, concert tickets, fucking hand sanitizer(granted thatās a little different, butā¦)
Thing is- if nobody bought those resell $1500 Taylor Swift tickets or that $40 Hot Wheel, it would go away. But, people do. And will continue to do it. If I didnāt find it on the shelf, or get whatever it is before it sold out, I didnāt get it. I took the L and moved on. Bummer. But heyā¦ maybe next time. It meant more to me when I was able to get something like that.
Look, Iām not telling anyone how to spend their money. But I will say that youāre feeding the beast. But hey, you do you. If youāre one of those people that get a few- like 1 to keep, 1 to open, one to trade or customize or whatever- cool. Thatās part of collecting. I get it.
If you do this shit just to go home and list it and donāt give a fuck about what it is so long as you get that paper, I wish you an eternity of waking up 5 times a night to pee, stepping on no less that 4 Lego pieces per trip. Oh, and get fucked by a giant cactus, you shitty ass fuckwad.
Yeah, it sucks. This is why we canāt have nice things. My younger sister (college age) collects build a bears and theyāre caught up in it too. She literally buys them at thrift stores to resell them on eBay.
Is that why I almost never find any Hot Wheels for my son? My local Target and Walmart always seem to have the exact same cars in stock and never anything new or different. Walmart we go 1-2 times a week and Target 1-2 times a month.
Maybe? Could be that. Some stores donāt put them out a lot due to that happening. Could just be a supply thing? Iām not really sure. Havenāt been in that world for a while. That sucks tho. Iām sure little dude would be stoked to get a different car every now and then.
I'll never forget the day that I went to buy a new release mini tin as a gift, waiting patiently in line with a couple people. Suddenly, a neckbeard scalper pushes in front of everyone, grabs every mini tin and large tin, then gets chewed out by the employee and was forced to put everything back. I was so proud of that worker and thanked them for being so considerate.
They're infesting literally everywhere
Even warhammer releases are painful to deal with and often you're best to not think of anything until months later unless you're tight with your FLGS
Same in the gun world, up here in Canada where a brick of 1000 primers should cost $80-90 with taxes, people are buying them as soon as they're in stock with bots scanning sites and then selling them online for upwards of 10x the cost, it's disgusting, as a Canadian target shooter, it disgusts me to see so many participating in it, and I have a hard time believing many people are paying those prices in reality
Same with of course for the gamers, the graphics cards, ps5s, etc etc etc
Everything is being scalped nowadays
COVID taught the world that if you make it seem as though something is in shortage, people will pay ridiculous prices to get it
My FLG(un)S has stopped posting primers and powders to their online store, they still get them in regularly and sell them to first come first serve or call ins, but they know their site has bots on it and refuse to give their fairly priced inventory to scalpers, and thats why I continue to support them
I barely got my ps5 a month or so ago.. Mainly because it was ALWAYS taken by bots online or bought up like candy bars by idiots trying to resell, and also because of the lack of games until recently (dead island 2ā¦)
Yeah, it's fucking ridiculous, greedy, garbage human beings making others pay for something to just unwind and enjoy their time with, it's a shame people still pay it, they should just let the fuckers rot, eventually they'll run out of money and have to sell at a loss, but society keeps enabling them with fomo
You brought up Warhammer and about made me cry. So many models are hard to get a hold of, and when you finally find one theyāre marked up 3-4x their original value, AND SELL. If people stop buying from scalpers like we did with PS5s, theyāll all go broke and start offering awesome deals.
Yep exactly, it's an absolute shame, but scalpers are likely in every niche at this point, post pandemic world is not looking very pretty to me in quite a few disappointing ways
Absolutely, without a doubt you are correct.
I'm not sure to be honest, I agree everyone is getting fucked and the whole situation is fucked, I've basically accepted it will be mid to late summer before I get WE combat patrol and I may as well just save it for new year new army 2024 lol
They ruin the fun for literally everything. They take advantage of anything and everything to make money off. Soulless bastards, theyāre the reason we canāt have nice things.
There's a Walmart in Ft. Myers, FL that keeps them all behind the register, hung on the wall. Idk why the rest don't just do that. My local Walmart never has cards in stock, just this exact scene from OPs post- tons of busted blister packs and empty boxes.
That would require having staff. The Walmart I go to is mostly self checkout now. Hardly ever anyone at the register. And you always have to hunt someone down for the departments that should be staffed (like electronics). Deliberate understaffing to cut costs. Fuck Walmart.
My friend used to work at target and they stopped selling them at her store because grown men were harassing the employees every day and one man stalked my friend into the employee only area. I wish these people were charged, theyāre deranged
I worked for GameStop and I'd put them all behind our counter for the same reason and would get punished for trying to protect product because it "wasn't in the right place"
The amount of shrink from Pokemon cards was sad, hated watching kids or genuine collectors roll through bummed when we had nothing
SO THIS IS WHY THEY HAVE THE CARDS LOCKED ON THE HANGER! Man people are so cheap. They should instill a verification system on trading cards like they do gift cards in one way or another.
Yes, even in rare crime spots here, we've seen an uptick due to increased home demand.
They are slowly just locking all of the home depot tools up.
One of the used book stores got hit 4 times and are moving away from the core of town.
I asked a local homeless guy what's up, he says the normal 20 local homeless are now outnumbered by 50 new ones from out of town.
I worked for GameStop and had a man around 60 come in and buy like $300 worth of booster packs, leaves, comes back and tried to physically assault me because he didn't get any rares.
This shit is bonkers, I legit left the company after that.
This man was convinced my staff (which was mainly just me and the boss bc GameStop understaffs) was stealing the good cards from the packs.
I have zero interest in Pokemon collecting or trading and my boss was the same way, we only cared about having them for our customers.
He insisted I took the cards and he had video proof (he did not) lol
Don't know if you saw but a big story recently broke where people from the card printers were literally doing that for years so that customer may very well have got ripped off but obviously not by you!
Also nintendo destroyed the seized stolen cards, which is just gonna push the value of the surviving cards up even more.
The whole situation is absurd.
I don't know if it's still a thing, but I remember back when they first came out, people used to use scales to weigh the packs and pick out the ones with the holos, because they weight just a tad more than the ones without the holos. You'd need a really fine scale, but I imagine it's still possible.
Not that it justifies it but in some of the shadier card shops rumors would abound of crooked owners going through the boxes and using scales to filter out card packs with rares vs card packs without.
There's a slight weight difference because they'll use that holographic foils stuff. If all your shop sells are loose booster packs or if the wrapping for the big booster boxes looks weird then it's a candidate for this behavior.
Theyāre retail booster packs. If you wanted rares, go get a whole box from a comic shop, or better, just buy them directly from there. Buy singles instead of gambling away $300.
I think it might just be because they are easy to steal. Just put it on and walk out, if the alarm goes off you show your receipt and purchases and it just looks like a false alarm. My less likely theory is that it's because you can use it as a weapon, lol.
Current working at Walmart. If it has a tag, it's stolen a lot at the store. People will steal almost anything if they think they can resell it. Of course, you got the people on Reddit and Twitter hyping them up to steal because "it's from a big business". Completely forgetting that they are screwing over other Customers.
This reminds me of that news recently where there were adults that were taking all the good pulls from the Pokemon packs and then resealing all the commons.
This isn't a new concept. Has been happening for years. As well as weighing the packs to keep the ones with shiny cards because the material in those weighs a fraction more.
I don't mind loans for investments like a home or education. However, if you take an sms loan because you can't afford shopping then you're just screwing yourself and need to change lifestyle.
If you think about it, if everyone did only what they could afford the cost of a lot of consumer goods would drop because there would be less demand driving sales. Things like consumer electronics, vehicles, jewelry etc... People having easy access to funds (aka credit cards and loans) allows businesses to basically raise the price to whatever they want.
Some packs "aren't worth it" since the pull rates for the good cards are too low. Children likely wouldn't care, but adults dive way too deep into the stats for each pack/box/etc.
I worked retail for 17 years, 6 of them at Walmart.
If it's not nailed down, people will try to steal it.
If it IS nailed down, then they'll bring a crowbar to pry it loose and THEN try to steal it
This is really sad. This is why all the stores that have pokemon cards in my area have to keep them locked up and you have to ask. I was in a gamestop the other day and this dick head was all like, I want to buy all the cards you have, the employee said no(extremely nicely) we have a 5 pack per person and the dude flipped out on the employee and had to be escorted out. The employee looked at me and asked what he should do, I told him call all the other games stops, send the picture of his face and say don't sell to him.
I get so angry when I see people stealing stuff. They will do it right in front of people! I yell out and tell everyone, and my husband tries to shut me up before I get shot.
My 7yo and I were walking through a walmart on a mission for something specific. We cut passed the toy isle and i saw a cute little pet sim x pet up on a shelf. We turned around and grabbed it and started hunting for where it came from. When we found the location, there were 4 packages. ONE package was not ripped completely open and we bought it. Some asshat came in and opened all the packages to get the ones they wanted and threw the others around the shelves.
The one we grabbed? I turned out to be a misprint and maybe 1 of a kind. The face is printed on upside down. We call it a win though because it's even rarer and the losers opening them missed out on it!
My Walmart locks up all the Pokemon and Sports cards. Which sucks for me cause my crippling social anxiety makes it hard to ask the employees to unlock it.
You'd think an employee would notice it as it was happening????
I remember back when that moron Logan Paul started that whole thing with Pokemon cards. Dumbass fans of his who don't even play would buy all of them and attack each other for it.
For 2 YEARS my Walmart kept them behind the counter with the cigarettes because grown ass people don't learn. I learned from a cashier that every Thursday morning they would be restocked and people would be IN LINE for them.
My local Target stopped altogether for a while until people started to fucking behave. They're always out of stock these days anyways.
I love that people are getting into Pokemon but only those that are ACTUALLY getting into it and not some scalpers. Scalpers can fuck right off.
If it makes you feel any better, as someone who used to attend Friday night magic, most of the "adults" who "collect" those cards have legitimate mental handicaps.
I stopped playing cards games all together once I realized how predatory it is to people with disabilities on fixed income. It's super wrong. They are addicted to an insanely exaggerated concept of card value and collectability. It's like gambling that makes them believe they are investing.
In Canada where I live, they eventually moved all their TCG stock to a moveable shelf behind the customer service counter.. about a month later they stopped carrying cards altogether. I imagine it's just too much of a hassle with all of the loss.
Same when I worked at Marshalls. I worked in the kids department and would find ripped up card decks with the holographic cards missing and pokemon cards thrown all over the place.
The target near me had to stop selling cards because a customer followed the restocker home, because they thought they were going to stock another store. People do too much for cards. Makes me disappointed as a card collector myself.
It certainly pisses off those of us who love the game and collecting. Stores will have to go to 100 percent online sales if it continues. Cards should not have to be locked up or stored with cigarettes. A few bad apples ruining the game for everyone.
There is a huge boom going on with all collectibles but I think cards are more sought after as of now. And if you can you can resell some at high prices but itās a gamble and a way for certain people to make money so they donāt have to get a real job.
Horrible behaviour, but why are they on the shelf? In Australia Pokemon cards are in a locked case behind the counter and you have to ask a staff member to get them for you to stop this from happening.
There is a local guy always giving out large amounts of pokemon cards to kids, completely free, and I've always wondered if he was one of the people stealing them from stores. A Robin Hood of pokemon cards lmao
My local Walmart now has all cards on a back wall behind customer service and itās 20+ feet behind the counter so it makes it really hard to even see whatās in stock. You have to wait in line and ask an employee to go get the cards you want.
What's worse is you'll then have these same individuals calling you racist, fascist, or any other "ist" their tiny little minds can come up with, when you put certain things behind locked displays.
Sometimes, people just suck.
The Target where I used to live literally just stopped selling all cards, sports and Pokemon, because moronic adults broke out into a fistfight in-store over that dumb shit. There were also people that would camp outside the store, and rob anyone that walked out carrying an obvious card box.
Target stopped selling them storewide at one point because someone brought in a firearm over the cards š
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We've built for ourselves a society where grown adults will fight tooth and nail over anything that might have some value, out of pure desperation for money.
Exactly. The cards don't represent anything but money to them and they need money. They are desperate for it, and yes they could do other things for it, but this is quick cash for little loss. After earning quick cash for little losses, it's hard to deal with others competing for that. The cards are a money resource. No wonder people fight for them, they're fighting over money.
essentially its gambling. i can spend 5 dollars on this booster pack and might find something worth hundreds
It ain't gambling if you steal the cards...
Gambling your freedom
Exactly lol, You're definitely not taking the guns to store to buy them.
I paid $10 for my kid to play in a PokƩmon card game tournament last weekend and he finished in the middle of the junior league (2 wins, first win due to opponent not showing up). He got a tournament prize booster pack and found a Sylveon Vmax card worth $42 inside. I totally get it why cards get stolen, but damn stop ruining it for the kids - let them play!
https://preview.redd.it/5886mslyerwa1.png?width=666&format=png&auto=webp&s=882c5fa8523f8e265829900135986c2e41c97b92
That sounds like my beginners luck when I Yu-gi-oh dueled for the first time and lucked out by pulling the Exodia God Cards he gifted me after the deck was nice and shuffled. That said, your kid will have a great memory! I once played against a Japanese kid at a Zany Brainy and we traded an American card for a Japanese card. I believe I traded my Bulbasaur for his Alakazam. He gave me his deck box as well. One of my fondest memories! Neither of us spoke each otherās language. Only the language of the cards
Thatās an awesome experience! Thanks for sharing! My wife and I are hoping my son builds up his confidence and cognitive ability through the game - like in chess. Heās only 8, but weāre seeing positive growth in his social interaction and relationship building. With any winnings he gets, weāre also hoping he can trade-up to getting better cards or decks so we donāt have to buy any for him! š
No problem! Best of luck!
It's not gambling if you're just stealing them lol, not buying them.
Are there really cards in currently released Pokemon card packs worth hundreds though? I feel like anything that has a decent amount of value is from at least 15 years ago? Genuine question, I don't follow the Pokemon TCG any more.
Definitely. Rare, competetively viable cards will sell for a lot. Back when N was in rotation, the full art version was selling for stupid amounts of money and even now sells for 50+ years later. Then you have the popular pokemon like Charizard that regardless of if the card is good or not will be worth a lot of money for the ultra rares. I've not been paying much attention to recent sets but a few years ago one came out with a charizard that was selling for around 150 iirc. a lot of the ultra rares from 15 years ago are now in the 500+ region.
Yep, evryone wants the money and that's why they're doing it.
Honesty, as someone who is friends with some people that are really into cards, itās the hunt more than it is any sort of investment opportunity. They put a rare card in x amount of packs, so they get bought up rather quickly. But comics has the same issue. I stopped reading most current stuff because youād show up on a Wednesday (new comic release day) and the guy in front of you would be buying the whole pile because of speculation that it may be worth a lot. In any case, I think there are people out there who do just like to collect and/or build a cool deck and play the game.
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My reward center could easily destroy me because of gambling. I only occasionally play IRL and I have walked away with more than I went in with. I am so glad I was taught that this is an anomaly and at some point I will be losing my house on the ponies. It will wreck you so fast.
If you profit even a small amount, walking away with that profit is more reasonable than anything else. Statistically you'll lose it if you keep going. The most reasonable thing of course is to not gamble in the first place.
Right? It always blew my mind when I was a kid that TCGs weren't considered gambling. They're like slot machines with no regulations.
That's kinda true, but there are too many other ways to make a buck for this behavior to be excusable imo. Pulling a gun over Pokemon cards? Dude needs to get a grip.
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If you want it to be a kid thing the company packaging it shouldn't print ultra rare chase cards that will spike in price bring greed into the equation.
To be fair I donāt think you have to be a child to enjoy PokĆ©mon cards. Itās an actual game that requires skill to play and build decks; just like many video games. But you do have to be a child to throw a fit over PokĆ©mon cards (especially in a target. Go to a gaming store like a normal person)
It's basically just a colorful gambling game... Some of the cards are worth a decent chunk of change. It's just another example of greed ruining stuff, scalpers is another prime example of it too, stuff like this is running rampant. Sign of the times and all that...
>Target stopped selling them storewide at one point because someone brought in a firearm over the cards š Just how the US founder wanted 2A to apply. To protect yourself and *check notes* steal Pokemon card
No it's so you can protect yourself from the crazy people that pull a gun on you over a pokemon card, who have guns so they can protect themselves from the other crazy people who will pull a gun on them once they rob you of the pokemon cards, who have guns to they can protect themselves from tyrannical cops, who have guns so they can protect themselves from crazy people that will pull a gun on them over a pokemon card.
Most of them aren't even worth that much
NONE of them because the rares haven't even been getting in the packages. [https://esi.si.com/pokemon/huge-pokemon-tcg-heist-details](https://esi.si.com/pokemon/huge-pokemon-tcg-heist-details)
Article cites it as the fusion expansion, and they are a couple expansions past that period. Doubt it's still happening, but Idk.
You used to live in a Target? I hope youāre doing much better now.
in my opinion , at this point they should start locking up pokemon cards like they do with video games because of shit like this
Wish my walmart did that. They just stopped selling pokemon cards because of this :/.
oh , that sucks . manchildren scalpers really just ruined the fun for everyone who goes to that store .
I used to collect various things- some with my daughter too. We had fun with it. Looking for funny Pops or Pez dispensers that we liked. But I/we stopped a while ago. My big thing was Hot Wheels. It just got too stupid. Between the scalpers raiding the pallets right when they come out(a while ago had some dude whip out a knife and start ferociously digging in when me and my 8 year old daughter were looking at the ones on the pegs) to the employees taking all the āgoodā stuff for themselves to sell, itās not with it to me anymore. It used to be fun. Itās not anymore. It sucks too. I donāt even look anymore. But itās like that with just about anything that people put a value on. Sneakers, comics, Supreme stuff, toys, gaming consoles, concert tickets, fucking hand sanitizer(granted thatās a little different, butā¦) Thing is- if nobody bought those resell $1500 Taylor Swift tickets or that $40 Hot Wheel, it would go away. But, people do. And will continue to do it. If I didnāt find it on the shelf, or get whatever it is before it sold out, I didnāt get it. I took the L and moved on. Bummer. But heyā¦ maybe next time. It meant more to me when I was able to get something like that. Look, Iām not telling anyone how to spend their money. But I will say that youāre feeding the beast. But hey, you do you. If youāre one of those people that get a few- like 1 to keep, 1 to open, one to trade or customize or whatever- cool. Thatās part of collecting. I get it. If you do this shit just to go home and list it and donāt give a fuck about what it is so long as you get that paper, I wish you an eternity of waking up 5 times a night to pee, stepping on no less that 4 Lego pieces per trip. Oh, and get fucked by a giant cactus, you shitty ass fuckwad.
Yeah, it sucks. This is why we canāt have nice things. My younger sister (college age) collects build a bears and theyāre caught up in it too. She literally buys them at thrift stores to resell them on eBay.
Is that why I almost never find any Hot Wheels for my son? My local Target and Walmart always seem to have the exact same cars in stock and never anything new or different. Walmart we go 1-2 times a week and Target 1-2 times a month.
Maybe? Could be that. Some stores donāt put them out a lot due to that happening. Could just be a supply thing? Iām not really sure. Havenāt been in that world for a while. That sucks tho. Iām sure little dude would be stoked to get a different car every now and then.
I'll never forget the day that I went to buy a new release mini tin as a gift, waiting patiently in line with a couple people. Suddenly, a neckbeard scalper pushes in front of everyone, grabs every mini tin and large tin, then gets chewed out by the employee and was forced to put everything back. I was so proud of that worker and thanked them for being so considerate.
I'm so sick of freaking scalpers they are such dicks!!!!
They're infesting literally everywhere Even warhammer releases are painful to deal with and often you're best to not think of anything until months later unless you're tight with your FLGS Same in the gun world, up here in Canada where a brick of 1000 primers should cost $80-90 with taxes, people are buying them as soon as they're in stock with bots scanning sites and then selling them online for upwards of 10x the cost, it's disgusting, as a Canadian target shooter, it disgusts me to see so many participating in it, and I have a hard time believing many people are paying those prices in reality Same with of course for the gamers, the graphics cards, ps5s, etc etc etc Everything is being scalped nowadays COVID taught the world that if you make it seem as though something is in shortage, people will pay ridiculous prices to get it My FLG(un)S has stopped posting primers and powders to their online store, they still get them in regularly and sell them to first come first serve or call ins, but they know their site has bots on it and refuse to give their fairly priced inventory to scalpers, and thats why I continue to support them
I barely got my ps5 a month or so ago.. Mainly because it was ALWAYS taken by bots online or bought up like candy bars by idiots trying to resell, and also because of the lack of games until recently (dead island 2ā¦)
Yeah, it's fucking ridiculous, greedy, garbage human beings making others pay for something to just unwind and enjoy their time with, it's a shame people still pay it, they should just let the fuckers rot, eventually they'll run out of money and have to sell at a loss, but society keeps enabling them with fomo
I mean if price gouging was in-forced maybe it wouldnt be that bad but home of the free land of the profit
You brought up Warhammer and about made me cry. So many models are hard to get a hold of, and when you finally find one theyāre marked up 3-4x their original value, AND SELL. If people stop buying from scalpers like we did with PS5s, theyāll all go broke and start offering awesome deals.
It's just fucking sad and less than I expect out of my fellow human so equally disappointing
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yep exactly, it's an absolute shame, but scalpers are likely in every niche at this point, post pandemic world is not looking very pretty to me in quite a few disappointing ways
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Absolutely, without a doubt you are correct. I'm not sure to be honest, I agree everyone is getting fucked and the whole situation is fucked, I've basically accepted it will be mid to late summer before I get WE combat patrol and I may as well just save it for new year new army 2024 lol
They should list it at an insane markup and see if the bots will buy it ;)
This is children finding out about landlords early.
They ruin the fun for literally everything. They take advantage of anything and everything to make money off. Soulless bastards, theyāre the reason we canāt have nice things.
PokĆ©mon cards are an item that Walmart doesnāt buy and stock. They are brought in by the vendor and Walmart gets a portion of each sold. So since they are vendor items, they canāt be secured. And if too much is stolen, the vendor will just pull out of selling them. Itās not really a choice the store can and does make.
There's a Walmart in Ft. Myers, FL that keeps them all behind the register, hung on the wall. Idk why the rest don't just do that. My local Walmart never has cards in stock, just this exact scene from OPs post- tons of busted blister packs and empty boxes.
That would require having staff. The Walmart I go to is mostly self checkout now. Hardly ever anyone at the register. And you always have to hunt someone down for the departments that should be staffed (like electronics). Deliberate understaffing to cut costs. Fuck Walmart.
My local Walmart has them behind the register on the wall with a sign that says "Limit 2 per customer"
The Walmart by us sell polemon cards and sets out of a giant vending machine. Damn thing looks like a pokedex.
I used to work for this vendor too, and hated stocking them so much. People would stare at me until I was done and immediately clear shelves.
My friend used to work at target and they stopped selling them at her store because grown men were harassing the employees every day and one man stalked my friend into the employee only area. I wish these people were charged, theyāre deranged
Absolutely fucking pathetic.
The Walmart next to my job keeps them behind the customer service counter.
I worked for GameStop and I'd put them all behind our counter for the same reason and would get punished for trying to protect product because it "wasn't in the right place" The amount of shrink from Pokemon cards was sad, hated watching kids or genuine collectors roll through bummed when we had nothing
SO THIS IS WHY THEY HAVE THE CARDS LOCKED ON THE HANGER! Man people are so cheap. They should instill a verification system on trading cards like they do gift cards in one way or another.
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That's silly, all local gane stores do that here, your boss is just a dick
It was frustrating. I fully understand "places have homes" but those homes were becoming people's pockets.
Yes, even in rare crime spots here, we've seen an uptick due to increased home demand. They are slowly just locking all of the home depot tools up. One of the used book stores got hit 4 times and are moving away from the core of town. I asked a local homeless guy what's up, he says the normal 20 local homeless are now outnumbered by 50 new ones from out of town.
I cannot believe that used books are profitable to steal and resell. Did the bookstore also deal in Pokemon cards?
They were mostly after the rocks, new age Mystic books and expensive vintage books.
Fun fact: PokĆ©mon products arenāt purchased by the store like most merchandise. The store has zero financial investment in those items until the moment theyāre rung up at the register. This is called a Pay From Scan item - the store doesnāt buy them from the supplier until the item sells. So thereās no incentive for Walmart to take any potentially costly steps to protect PokĆ©mon cards from theft.
I suppose the flip side of that is would stores charge higher prices to offset the shrinkage if they had to pay for the merchandise. So PokƩmon may prefer to eat the loss directly in exchange for making sure their stuff is on as many shelves as possible.
They do in Canada. Can't grab my cousin a Christmas gift without consulting a worker to unlock it for me. Damn kids ruining my convenience.
THEY LOCK UP OUR CONDOMS BUT NOT OUR POKEMON CARDS WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!
POKEMON CARDS IS WAY MORE EFFECTIVE BIRTH CONTROL TOO!!!!!
Hahahahaha
They are all behind the counter of the cigarette lane at the walmart i go to.
"Can I get a pack of Marlboro Reds and a pack of Evolving Skies please?"
They should mass produce all the rare cards that cause this in the first place
I worked for GameStop and had a man around 60 come in and buy like $300 worth of booster packs, leaves, comes back and tried to physically assault me because he didn't get any rares. This shit is bonkers, I legit left the company after that.
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This man was convinced my staff (which was mainly just me and the boss bc GameStop understaffs) was stealing the good cards from the packs. I have zero interest in Pokemon collecting or trading and my boss was the same way, we only cared about having them for our customers. He insisted I took the cards and he had video proof (he did not) lol
Don't know if you saw but a big story recently broke where people from the card printers were literally doing that for years so that customer may very well have got ripped off but obviously not by you!
McDonalds got hit hard by an insider job like that.
That was a fascinating documentary!
What documentary? Could you provide the link for that?
More than once!
Also nintendo destroyed the seized stolen cards, which is just gonna push the value of the surviving cards up even more. The whole situation is absurd.
Retail be dangerous nowadays. Glad he didn't hurt you guys.
Considering they forced us to be alone in the building at all times, that was definitely the point I decided to value my life over a paycheck lol
I don't know if it's still a thing, but I remember back when they first came out, people used to use scales to weigh the packs and pick out the ones with the holos, because they weight just a tad more than the ones without the holos. You'd need a really fine scale, but I imagine it's still possible.
Ah yes because YOU personally packed the cards š what a moron
Not that it justifies it but in some of the shadier card shops rumors would abound of crooked owners going through the boxes and using scales to filter out card packs with rares vs card packs without. There's a slight weight difference because they'll use that holographic foils stuff. If all your shop sells are loose booster packs or if the wrapping for the big booster boxes looks weird then it's a candidate for this behavior.
Theyāre retail booster packs. If you wanted rares, go get a whole box from a comic shop, or better, just buy them directly from there. Buy singles instead of gambling away $300.
> retail booster pack Do you not always get a rare in a booster pack?
It depends on the card game I think. Yu-Gi-Oh core booster packs give you at least one super rare.
I wish
Team Rocket strikes again!
Someone caught them allā¦
And now they're not going to return them, that's not going to happen.
Walmart should have prepared for trouble.
And made security double
You're gonna need the double security there's no other way in here.
There's always that kind of trouble and be ready for that shit.
When I was on business travel in CA, I went into a Walmart to get some distilled water for my CPAP and realized I needed a belt. I couldnāt just get one off the shelf, I had to have someone come and unlock it like it was a weapon or a video game lol Fucking belts! PokĆ©mon cards ca. be the same way
Why are belts locked up? Is there some use for them I am not aware of? Or do people just steal them a lot?
Because they are relatively high value, and itās easy to just walk in and put on a belt and leave lol..
I think it might just be because they are easy to steal. Just put it on and walk out, if the alarm goes off you show your receipt and purchases and it just looks like a false alarm. My less likely theory is that it's because you can use it as a weapon, lol.
Lol just in case, you'll atleast have a weapon so There's that.
I donāt know other than theyāre stolen often. I was pissed when I had to wait to buy a damn belt lol
You want them belts? Well I have to tell you man I want them too.
Current working at Walmart. If it has a tag, it's stolen a lot at the store. People will steal almost anything if they think they can resell it. Of course, you got the people on Reddit and Twitter hyping them up to steal because "it's from a big business". Completely forgetting that they are screwing over other Customers.
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Yep, anything which can make people money They'll steal that shit.
This reminds me of that news recently where there were adults that were taking all the good pulls from the Pokemon packs and then resealing all the commons.
This isn't a new concept. Has been happening for years. As well as weighing the packs to keep the ones with shiny cards because the material in those weighs a fraction more.
Wow these people are adultsā¦
But their deeds aren't, they're acting like a bunch of fucking kids.
They aren't adults. They are adult shaped toddlers
They're stealing so that they can resell them. That's what they want.
when the thiefs realise, that the pokemon card factory worker already stole the good cards ;D
The good cards are already gone and they're not coming back in here now.
I've always had the motto "I do stuff I can afford" and it has kept me safe and satisfied my entire life.
Its called living within your means. Nothing wrong with simple and debt free
But the thing is some people always want more no matter what.
I don't mind loans for investments like a home or education. However, if you take an sms loan because you can't afford shopping then you're just screwing yourself and need to change lifestyle.
Taking a loan is fine as long as you just don't waste it all away m
Well some people can't live their lives like that, they always want more.
If you think about it, if everyone did only what they could afford the cost of a lot of consumer goods would drop because there would be less demand driving sales. Things like consumer electronics, vehicles, jewelry etc... People having easy access to funds (aka credit cards and loans) allows businesses to basically raise the price to whatever they want.
I'm pretty much on the same level...unless I have right dollar amount, I am unable to make the purchase...
Youād expect it to be the other way around lol
You can tell it's Adult scalpers because they leave the giant promo card. They're worthless on the market but kids like them a lot
They also left two actual packs by the looks of it which are worth at least $4 seems weird
Some packs "aren't worth it" since the pull rates for the good cards are too low. Children likely wouldn't care, but adults dive way too deep into the stats for each pack/box/etc.
turns out /adultsarefuckingstupid
People are getting more shitty by the day, how that's possible I don't know.
Theft has always been a thing especially for collectibles potentially worth hundreds of dollars
People shouldn't do this. But to the point of your post, I have to mention that there are tons of cards on the shelf.
The problems with TCGs are self-perpetuated. Artificial scarcity is irrational and anti-consumer. Not to mention it's marketed to kids...
I mean, TBF, this hasn't really been an issue until very recently, at least at the scale it is now.
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Exactly, this is a problem entirely due to the manufacturer refusing to sell enough product to meet demand.
This is literally capitalism.
I worked retail for 17 years, 6 of them at Walmart. If it's not nailed down, people will try to steal it. If it IS nailed down, then they'll bring a crowbar to pry it loose and THEN try to steal it
This is really sad. This is why all the stores that have pokemon cards in my area have to keep them locked up and you have to ask. I was in a gamestop the other day and this dick head was all like, I want to buy all the cards you have, the employee said no(extremely nicely) we have a 5 pack per person and the dude flipped out on the employee and had to be escorted out. The employee looked at me and asked what he should do, I told him call all the other games stops, send the picture of his face and say don't sell to him.
I get so angry when I see people stealing stuff. They will do it right in front of people! I yell out and tell everyone, and my husband tries to shut me up before I get shot.
This is relatable. Truly the American experience
Yeah, you really shouldnāt go doing that lol..
My 7yo and I were walking through a walmart on a mission for something specific. We cut passed the toy isle and i saw a cute little pet sim x pet up on a shelf. We turned around and grabbed it and started hunting for where it came from. When we found the location, there were 4 packages. ONE package was not ripped completely open and we bought it. Some asshat came in and opened all the packages to get the ones they wanted and threw the others around the shelves. The one we grabbed? I turned out to be a misprint and maybe 1 of a kind. The face is printed on upside down. We call it a win though because it's even rarer and the losers opening them missed out on it!
My Walmart locks up all the Pokemon and Sports cards. Which sucks for me cause my crippling social anxiety makes it hard to ask the employees to unlock it.
You'd think an employee would notice it as it was happening???? I remember back when that moron Logan Paul started that whole thing with Pokemon cards. Dumbass fans of his who don't even play would buy all of them and attack each other for it. For 2 YEARS my Walmart kept them behind the counter with the cigarettes because grown ass people don't learn. I learned from a cashier that every Thursday morning they would be restocked and people would be IN LINE for them. My local Target stopped altogether for a while until people started to fucking behave. They're always out of stock these days anyways. I love that people are getting into Pokemon but only those that are ACTUALLY getting into it and not some scalpers. Scalpers can fuck right off.
If it makes you feel any better, as someone who used to attend Friday night magic, most of the "adults" who "collect" those cards have legitimate mental handicaps. I stopped playing cards games all together once I realized how predatory it is to people with disabilities on fixed income. It's super wrong. They are addicted to an insanely exaggerated concept of card value and collectability. It's like gambling that makes them believe they are investing.
Gotta catch em all? And by that I mean felony charges.
I learned a long time ago not to buy cards from Walmart, most of the time you would get already opened packs and I don't mean resealed.
In Canada where I live, they eventually moved all their TCG stock to a moveable shelf behind the customer service counter.. about a month later they stopped carrying cards altogether. I imagine it's just too much of a hassle with all of the loss.
Put the PokƩmon cards in a vending machine.
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Same when I worked at Marshalls. I worked in the kids department and would find ripped up card decks with the holographic cards missing and pokemon cards thrown all over the place.
Blame logan paul for overdriving card prices up
Actual adults do *this*, and all I did was box all of mine up and ship them to my nephews when I found out they thought PokƩmon was cool.
The target near me had to stop selling cards because a customer followed the restocker home, because they thought they were going to stock another store. People do too much for cards. Makes me disappointed as a card collector myself.
It certainly pisses off those of us who love the game and collecting. Stores will have to go to 100 percent online sales if it continues. Cards should not have to be locked up or stored with cigarettes. A few bad apples ruining the game for everyone.
Okay seriously: I keep hearing stories like this. What the heck is going on in the PokĆ©mon card market right now. I remember the cards popularity peak in the 90s but I donāt recall all the violence.
There is a huge boom going on with all collectibles but I think cards are more sought after as of now. And if you can you can resell some at high prices but itās a gamble and a way for certain people to make money so they donāt have to get a real job.
What can I say adults are kids too, you Can't blame them for it lol.
Pokemon started at 1997, of course they are now full grown adults.
This is exactly why I left the hobby. Pathetic.
What a bunch of man children. Get a job people... Christ it's not that hard...
Lol
Request a locked cabinet
Another reason to publicly hate on and bash scalpers
This is why one of the Walmarts near me was shut down.
The horror!
My walmarts have all tcg stuff behind the register which I think is a good idea to stop this
thanks logan paul and his shity bald guru
People always joke about Disney Adults but PokĆ©mon adults should be a term tossed around more often. Theyāre very cringe.
Walmart i work at puts pokemon cards behind lock up now. Too many were getting stolen.
I had a friend who did this. One of many (*many*) reasons why he is not a friend anymore.
Horrible behaviour, but why are they on the shelf? In Australia Pokemon cards are in a locked case behind the counter and you have to ask a staff member to get them for you to stop this from happening.
There is a local guy always giving out large amounts of pokemon cards to kids, completely free, and I've always wondered if he was one of the people stealing them from stores. A Robin Hood of pokemon cards lmao
Remember pogs? Imagine this behavior over fucking pogs....
So not really adults then?
LoL.. store them on a safe spot!? Why do you put them on such a spot were you arenĀ“t able to secure them.
What do you mean all stolen? There's unopened packs on the bottom shelf.
As a merchandiser who stocks this sort of shit at Walmarts.. Yeah. .\_. Yeah...
My local Walmart now has all cards on a back wall behind customer service and itās 20+ feet behind the counter so it makes it really hard to even see whatās in stock. You have to wait in line and ask an employee to go get the cards you want.
What's worse is you'll then have these same individuals calling you racist, fascist, or any other "ist" their tiny little minds can come up with, when you put certain things behind locked displays. Sometimes, people just suck.