There are few things I enjoy more than ripping open a pack of Pokemén cards for the slim chance of getting something good. Even if the cards I get aren’t worth the money I paid for them, I’m usually still happy with the experience of opening something with hope. These packs have only been $5 to $6 but as of late, some are being sold for $24 in reselling vending machines, such as one in the Westfield UTC mall. It’s ridiculous how the cost of something so simple like a pack of cards is being inflated to such an extent, and it’s even worse that this is the case due to greedy resellers.
Collecting trading cards is a beloved hobby to many. To some people, cards were a memorable piece of my childhood and to others, it’s a fun new activity they’ve picked up. Unfortunately, many people also see it as a great way to make money through reselling the product in bulk.
Reselling is a great way for people to discard things they don’t need anymore while still getting something in return. It’s useful for people with older clothes, shoes, and collectable items who don’t need or have a use for those items anymore. Some pieces of older merchandise can go for a lot of money because of their current inaccessibility, but reselling has been turned into a practice focused on turning a profit, as opposed to mitigating wastefulness.
Due to the rising popularity of trading cards, primarily Pokémon cards, the population of people who buy things for the sole purpose of selling it for a larger profit has increased as well. There are timelapses of shelves being cleared so fast that the average lifespan of a fully stocked shelf of these cards is around 5-10 minutes—up to 20 if you’re lucky. These scalpers will go to lengths of literally scrambling and climbing over each other like it’s Black Friday to obtain a few packs of cards. Some witness videos depict instances where the pushing and shoving escalates to full on brawls.
I like to collect Pokémon cards but every single Pokémon vending machine, store aisle, and page of the official Pokémon Center website I’ve visited is completely barren. I was looking online at secondary sellers and found that a Pokémon booster display box is $160 at retail price while it’s $280 at resellers price. A $120 markup from retail price is an insane price to pay. Scalpers are a polluting filter that products go through before reaching the hands of consumers. It’s tragic that the primary consumer and buyer of a game are people that are only interested in the money they can make from buying and reselling it. This paywall keeps kids from getting to experience a fun and innocent hobby and they won’t experience the joy that I felt when I first opened a pack of Pokémon cards.
Most collectors are opting out and letting go of this hobby because of the scarcity of cards and the outrageous prices they must pay to maintain it.
There’s a level of concern in places that sell cards like Target or Costco because there are people willing to inflict physical harm to get what they want. There have been rules and systems set into place to prevent overconsumption, but scalpers always find a loophole around them. The culture of reselling has hit this community with a plague that is killing people’s love for the hobby. Reselling prices have made it almost impossible for old and new people to participate. The community has been infected with people who have no intention of doing anything but making money. Reselling can be a good and beneficial practice, but it has created a scalping system that has trampled and ruined a hobby that was once enjoyable.
