Several Upcoming TCG Products Cancelled/Delayed (PokeBeach)

[kaldoverde]

I would say that even though we as collectors may want less printed, more exclusive product, players will be happy with the amount of product released as it keeps the TCG affordable.

This market saturation is clearly intentional, Nintendo is competing with a fakes market that is eating away at their market share. Weird as it may sound, overprinting will probably help solve this problem to a certain extent as genuine product becomes more affordable for people on lower income scales. Most people don’t buy fakes by choice, they either do it out of ignorance or financial limitations.

As a collector I am not overly concerned. If anything, this will help consolidate the market for WOTC cards as they are truly scarce in comparison to current product volume. And hey, if you do your research and follow market trends, there are still some mass produced items that may be worth fetching while they are cheap.

For example, with Toys-R-Us filling for bankruptcy, the Toys-R-Us exclusive cards which are overprinted and dirt cheap now, are not likely to get any reprints, and may be well sought after 20 years from now, when the kids of today grow up and reminisce of going to Toys-R-Us with their parents to buy boosters and are unable to quell that nostalgia by going into a a Toys-R-Us shop as they won’t exist anymore.

Another example is the condition the cards can be acquired in. Say you want to get a Red and Blue Collection PSA 9 or better Pikachu. You get on youtube, see a bunch of box openings and realise that more often than not the card gets damaged when popped out of the plastic holder, this signals two things. Number one, you’re best buying it already graded from someone who was lucky enough to get one that wasn’t damaged while they are still cheap, number two, that card will have lower availability in mint condition in the future, making it more likely to see appreciation.

It’s just an example, not necessarily an investment strategy, but if I had a $100 monthly budget to spend in current product, I would most definitely look to put it into stuff that will either be shielded from potential reprints 10 to 20 years from now, or at least hard to find in PSA 10.

Again, research is key if you are looking to maximize the potential value of your collection.

[KingPokemon]

@kaldoverde

I would say that even though we as collectors may want less printed, more exclusive product, players will be happy with the amount of product released as it keeps the TCG affordable.

This market saturation is clearly intentional, Nintendo is competing with a fakes market that is eating away at their market share. Weird as it may sound, overprinting will probably help solve this problem to a certain extent as genuine product becomes more affordable for people on lower income scales. Most people don’t buy fakes by choice, they either do it out of ignorance or financial limitations.

As a collector I am not overly concerned. If anything, this will help consolidate the market for WOTC cards as they are truly scarce in comparison to current product volume. And hey, if you do your research and follow market trends, there are still some mass produced items that may be worth fetching while they are cheap.

For example, with Toys-R-Us filling for bankruptcy, the Toys-R-Us exclusive cards which are overprinted and dirt cheap now, are not likely to get any reprints, and may be well sought after 20 years from now, when the kids of today grow up and reminisce of going to Toys-R-Us with their parents to buy boosters and are unable to quell that nostalgia by going into a a Toys-R-Us shop as they won’t exist anymore.

Another example is the condition the cards can be acquired in. Say you want to get a Red and Blue Collection PSA 9 or better Pikachu. You get on youtube, see a bunch of box openings and realise that more often than not the card gets damaged when popped out of the plastic holder, this signals two things. Number one, you’re best buying it already graded from someone who was lucky enough to get one that wasn’t damaged while they are still cheap, number two, that card will have lower availability in mint condition in the future, making it more likely to see appreciation.

It’s just an example, not necessarily an investment strategy, but if I had a $100 monthly budget to spend in current product, I would most definitely look to put it into stuff that will either be shielded from potential reprints 10 to 20 years from now, or at least hard to find in PSA 10.

Again, research is key if you are looking to maximize the potential value of your collection.

So Nintendo is pumping out product to combat fakes?
You gotta get off the drugs young man.

[ecruteak]

The ironic part of TPCI not doing anything about fake cards is that they flipped their sh*t when a fan held a Pokemon themed party at PAX and used images of Pikachu and Snivy. They sued for $4000 in damages. Think of how much they are potentially losing out on due to fake cards, fake game cartridges and fake DVDs that clogging up eBay and the internet?

They seem to care so much except for where it really matters.

[missingno]

Nintendo is NOT competing with fake card production. Fakes are 0.1% of the market, don’t get technical with me. TPCI has cancelled all of that upcoming shit because they probably don’t have anything planned after that product. If they’re competing with some one it’s WOTC and their old product, goofs.

[smpratte]

There is a difference between tcpi isn’t competing with fakes and tcpi doesn’t care about fakes. The latter is more accurate. Talk to any storefront who does bulk about the effect of fake cards. Fakes are a problem for them, but not enough for Pokémon to bother.

Pokémon simply doesn’t care, yet. They make so much money from everything else there isn’t much of an incentive to go after the “established” custom card counterfeiter. Although it wouldn’t take much for them to burry the entire category. But their profit margins for software & licensing make the entire tcg category negligible.

[omahanime]

I am concerned this saturation is leading to value collapse like it has in every other collecting hobby.

[ecruteak]

@omahanime

I am concerned this saturation is leading to value collapse like it has in every other collecting hobby.

I feel like we’re already there/on the verge of being at a value collapse.

Pokemon Profit of Loss? Guardians Rising Booster Box

Derium’s latest Guardians Rising “Profit or Loss” video for example: The GX pulls (6 ultra rares) were only worth $27.87 out of a $90 dollar booster box. After adding in bulk and TCG online codes it was only a total of $57.06 for that entire booster box. Essentially if you don’t pull a Tapu Lele you are going to lose out the ass.

[cman]

Devil’s advocate point of view here, as I haven’t done any sort of research/reading, but wanted to point this out…

I don’t think Pokemon is targeting collectors like us. It makes sense if they’re mass-producing and achieving economies of scale (which in turn allows them to lower prices without losing profit margins) simply because people are demanding more of their product.

And by people, I mean kids/their parents who are buying these cards just to play with them/trade with their friends/etc., not people like us who have more of a financial bend to collecting. I think there are many more people who are casually buying the cards and don’t give a hoot about whether or not those cards end up in the trash down the road.

[jjnoriega]

I agree with @cman , in the sense that Pokemon doesn’t target collectors, at least here in the US. For example, look at the Mario Pikachu stuff, Team Rocket Briefcase, unnumbered promos… it’s always in Japan… Another thing that bothers me is that they loose opportunity with us. For example, the Sun and Moon games were the first ever to have the steel-book cases… almost every freaking video game here in the states always has that option to buy the steel-book for a premium when you preorder them. Again, missed opportunities.

[smpratte]

@cman is spot on! English TCG is centered around players. I think it is good to expand the player base, as there is opportunity.

For collectors, japanese is completely dominating the game right now. The pokemon center exclusives alone are a saving grace. Not to mention the event promos and exclusive releases that english has completely abandoned. I remember talking to a couple english only collectors a year ago about their frustrations. Since then they have started going after japanese promos, as there simply isn’t a modern English outlet. Ironically Pokemon was always on the back-burner with WOTC, yet they still handled their releases better than today.

[omahanime]

@cman

I don’t think Pokemon is targeting collectors like us.

They’re not the only ones.

[smpratte]

@anon83099482

English TCG isn’t primarily centered around players or collectors. TPCi has never made a secret of the fact that their biggest audience is the random kid at Walmart who begs his parents to buy him one pack at the check out. It’s why in stores like WalMart, Target, TRU etc the Pokemon TCG section will be many times bigger than MtG, YGO or any of the others.

The majority of Pokemon sales are to people who will never play the game and who will never try and finish a set. They are to kids who will stay quiet while shopping based on the promise of a pack, will lose half the cards down the seat of the car on the way home, will put the rest of the pack in a pocket to safely make it through the washing machine, then repeat the cycle the next week.

New box has nothing playable to make players want it? Nothing exclusive or fancy to make collectors want it? Who cares! If it’s shiny enough to make a kid point and say “I want that one or I’m going to cry all the way home” then the target market has been reached.

I feel like this post was Caps Lock in spirit.

[kaldoverde]

@KingPokemon

@kaldoverde

I would say that even though we as collectors may want less printed, more exclusive product, players will be happy with the amount of product released as it keeps the TCG affordable.

This market saturation is clearly intentional, Nintendo is competing with a fakes market that is eating away at their market share. Weird as it may sound, overprinting will probably help solve this problem to a certain extent as genuine product becomes more affordable for people on lower income scales. Most people don’t buy fakes by choice, they either do it out of ignorance or financial limitations.

As a collector I am not overly concerned. If anything, this will help consolidate the market for WOTC cards as they are truly scarce in comparison to current product volume. And hey, if you do your research and follow market trends, there are still some mass produced items that may be worth fetching while they are cheap.

For example, with Toys-R-Us filling for bankruptcy, the Toys-R-Us exclusive cards which are overprinted and dirt cheap now, are not likely to get any reprints, and may be well sought after 20 years from now, when the kids of today grow up and reminisce of going to Toys-R-Us with their parents to buy boosters and are unable to quell that nostalgia by going into a a Toys-R-Us shop as they won’t exist anymore.

Another example is the condition the cards can be acquired in. Say you want to get a Red and Blue Collection PSA 9 or better Pikachu. You get on youtube, see a bunch of box openings and realise that more often than not the card gets damaged when popped out of the plastic holder, this signals two things. Number one, you’re best buying it already graded from someone who was lucky enough to get one that wasn’t damaged while they are still cheap, number two, that card will have lower availability in mint condition in the future, making it more likely to see appreciation.

It’s just an example, not necessarily an investment strategy, but if I had a $100 monthly budget to spend in current product, I would most definitely look to put it into stuff that will either be shielded from potential reprints 10 to 20 years from now, or at least hard to find in PSA 10.

Again, research is key if you are looking to maximize the potential value of your collection.

So Nintendo is pumping out product to combat fakes?
You gotta get off the drugs young man.

And you dear sir, have the right to interpret what I said as you wish, but please refrain from putting words in my mouth. I contextualised my comment enough and believe I am entitled an opinion without getting such a sarcastic response. I simply stated what I believe might be a consequence of nintendo wanting to cater to all income classes and broadening consumer base. Guess you’re in a bad mood and wanted to pick on someone to feel good about yourself. Not going to happen. Have a nice day.