The Question of the Day is a way to facilitate community discussion to help members ponder the unanswered questions of the world that are somehow relating to the hobby. Questionsj are many times open ended and up to interpretation. Feel free to post your thoughts in as much or as little detail as you’d like.
Helpful Considerations may or may not help some people focus their answer, these are blurred to not bother those who have their own ideas.
I’m not even sure what this means. Is this asking how promo cards should be handled? If so, just in box products, or handed out to players. Nothing else. If this means cards that are language exclusives? I think they shouldn’t probably happen anymore at this point. The exception being the opening of a new pokemon center store. Physical location stores only.
Maybe it could work if you get a code/token that you have to redeem on Pokemon Center website to receive the exclusive promo, which ideally has a limit of 1 per customer and/or address.
This is how it worked with Special Delivery Charizard. Sign up to register interest, they print to demand, and then you get a one-time-use code you can use to order within a months-long window so it doesn’t crash the site.
It truly amazes me how Pokemon had this system figured out years ago but somehow has forgotten it. It was certainly open to some exploits, but everyone who wanted a Special Delivery Zard got one.
TPC(i) ran into similar situations more than once in which they had distribution events under control with proper regulations or mechanisms, but then forgot to apply the same set of rules to other events and ultimately leading them into disasters.
The most noticeable example of this was in 2020, when they gave out the Frowning Detective Pikachu in Pokémon Centers with a 4-per-checkout limit and finished the event without issues.
Scalpers immediately noticed this, swarmed Pokémon Centers and managed to hoard all Charizards within 3 days. TPC later reprinted the card and held follow-up distributions with the 4-per-checkout limit finally restored.
For large companies, it is common for event planners to forget to learn from other colleagues’ experiences before starting an event and/or share their own experience afterwards, and it’s the company’s responsibility to prevent this from happening. TPC(i) apparently never learned.
If they really wanted to be inclusive, they would have done so already since they have, as others have brought up, done it before. That they haven’t shows they DGAF really. Happy to bask in this chaotic bs.
wait was that how it was supposed to work? I swear it was a lottery. I never got a code, I had to buy a code on ebay eventually. I always felt like the print to order scheme was perfect, and right now, sorely needed for more than just promos…
Not limited to exclusive releases, but one release strategy that was really impressive to me is how Frito-Lay released Tazos in Taiwan (not sure if they also applies the same strategy in other regions).
In a regular set release period, one random Tazo piece is included in each pack of Frito-Lay’s snacks for people to purchase and pull. However, when a set reaches end of production, Frito-Lay will start a farewell campaign for the set in which customers who purchased family packs would receive a “Make a Wish” postcard which they could trade in for any Tazo piece of their choice from the set.
Nowadays it might be possible for people to find ways of abusing this strategy, but at the time it created a win-win solution for both sides - collectors can complete the set before end of production within a reasonable cost, and Frito-Lay could make final sprints on sales of their snacks before officially retiring a set.
I always felt like the print to order scheme was perfect, and right now, sorely needed for more than just promos…