I’ve seen a lot of people talking about the Japanese 151 reprints, and was curious on how people thought about the lack of 1st edition printing in pokemon nowadays. I love being able to get sets I like, including 151, but I also see the flip side (or flippER, depending on your stance) of wanting to be able to get and hold product.
Do you think if TPCI brought back 1st ed printing we could get the best of both worlds? Plenty of unlimited product to open but the rarity of 1st ed as well?
I think tpci is aware of the degenerate behavior that exists in tcgs. I think people simply can’t handle a 1st Ed print these days. There would be rampant scalping and madness at target and Walmart. I doubt tpci wants to create any more of that
1st ed, assuming it’s only for the first wave of print, is definitely an anti-volume practice TPCi wants to move away from because they profit the most when each product is consistent. People will gravitate toward the best version of a new product if it’s available, so yes it does curb that ‘fear’ due to unsolvable demand - but it’s going to frustrate a lot more people especially in modern. TPC’s brand image is much more important in the long term than the first wave of each set
I don’t want 1st edition to come back. The goal should be for Pokemon set cards to be available to everyone at or around MSRP for a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2 years). Flippers can cry all they want but really they just need to wait longer for their hoarded product to go up in value.
I don’t think 1st ed would impact this if unlimited printings were available.
It’s almost similar to “collector” versions of things like MTG, where you can still get all the playable cards for cheap but the higher rarity or collector versions are expensive
The previous threads said heck no, don’t bring back the stamp.
The current alternative to this is the Master Ball reverse holo
TPC is always going to encourage people to play the tcg instead of hoard the tcg
Bringing back 1st ed is a desperate move to increase demand, but demand is already here with Pokémon
I think Pokemon already has this: we have the regular half-art ultra rare prints which are so affordable that most meta decks can be purchased for under $100 all in. However the SARs are the “collector” versions that are more expensive.
I don’t see why we need additional collector-focused gimmicks if the only goal is creating artificial scarcity and generating secondhand profit for those who bot out all the 1st edition boxes.
I say no but the masterball reverse holos were cool in 151. So something unique like that I would be open to
No. I think current supply is good. Everyone can get modern product at msrp or below.
The people who are “investing” in sealed are the ones getting affected.
Exactly, and they still benefit TPC because people continue to buy the same boxes containing a chance of having that illustration, which is far more unique than some additional miniscule ink. It’s a self-fulfilling routine
I just don’t think 1st ed printing in the modern era helps anyone. TPC doesn’t benefit because their sales are very healthy anyways, and they lose out on the significantly marked up resale value of any 1st ed printing…so TPC doesn’t need this at all. As for “collectors,” there’s already plenty of stuff to collect, based on pull rates and set release schedule…it already costs a LOT just to collect modern, and if we bundle in vintage as well, we get into stuff that not only costs a ton of money but may not even be available for sale due to such low pop. As for the “investors” and “flippers”…there’s already a lot of opportunities here for people to speculate, get significant gains on their products, and make financial plays without any 1st ed printing.
Id rather they do 2nd edition
We don’t need more 1st Edition Snipers…
There seems to be a pretty strong consensus, and I appreciate everyone’s thoughts!
Here’s what I said in 2021. I disagree with my conclusion today. It made sense in 2021 to cool off demand for a subset of sealed product because it was basically unobtainable and no amount of reprinting seemed to correct it.
I think today when boxes are available again, this segregated market would emerge but people have the luxury of being picky. 1st edition boxes would be ridiculously priced and instantly optimized (which actually hurts speculators) and unlimited would be undesirable.
Imagine 151 with $300 1st edition boxes and $30 unlimited boxes. It would only benefit a handful of buyers who get 1st edition boxes directly from distributors. Collectors wanting the more desirable 1st edition will have to pay way more, business owners trying to sell unlimited get brutalized. The basic logistics of buying/selling/pricing singles becomes more complicated for everyone.
I dislike the logic of “protecting” investors/speculators. You see this type of rhetoric a lot with real estate too. If you’re engaging in speculative behavior and end up losing money, that’s the reality of the game. If you’re buying 151 on release at 3x the retail price and stashing that supply away, then don’t be suprised when the lack of supply leads to a reprint and the price tanks. You made a risky gamble and lost. I’m not interested at all in protecting the short term flippers when a set is relatively new.
While I err on the side of not wanting 1st edition prints, especially with the huge increase in speculating post 2020, this is an interesting experiment. Would the speculators fight over 1st edition prints while everyone else enjoys a steadier supply of unlimited product?
MetaZoo and Flesh & Blood tried 1st Edition printing to boost collector hype and it destroyed unlimited box prices. While it might improve accessibility of cards for players and create some artificial demand for collectors, it can make the IP look watered down and weak when the unlimited product dives off a cliff and sits on store shelves in perpetuity.
Regarding accessibility for players, it would marginally cut the cost of a deck, though most competitive TCG players enjoy running blinged out decks anyway ($$$).
From the financial perspective of TPCi, they want to sell as much product as possible. I am unconvinced that adding an unlimited print would boost total sales volume, as most Pokemon collectors are not playing the TCG and in need of cheap playable cards.
I don’t think sealed investors need a 1st Edition print to feel less fear. They need experience and patience.
Here are some crackpot ideas I have just come up with.
Print 1st Edition boxes, but mix them with regular product with no identifying features. It is impossible to identify 1st Edition product without opening it and it’s impossible to buy 1st Edition product on purpose. During the initial availability of the product, 1 of every 10 boxes features 1st Edition product.
Rename 1st Edition “Final Edition”. When the set is officially out of print, do an invite-only lottery through Pokémon Center to allow people to buy Final Edition boxes that have been reserved for this intention. They sell until the product is depleted and then the lottery ends.
Equip 10% of 1st Edition boxes with an explosive device. If the package is not opened by a certain date, the box explodes - destroying the product. This would disincentive people from holding the product long term due to the possibility of explosion. People never know when they’re safe because every 1st Edition box does explode eventually. In subsequent waves, an additional 10% of boxes will detonate. Then more and more. If the cards are opened before the detonation, nobody is harmed.
Let me know which ones of these works and I’ll call TPCi!
May the future Charizard set be named Destiny Bonds