There are people who treat modern Pokemon anything as if it is a security blessed off by the SEC. For some, it isnt necessarily about flipping immediately, but “if I hold this 10 years I can sell it for X.”
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I didn’t say TPCI was using aftermarket sales as a metric for success…?
I’m with everyone that it’s frustrating that products sell out in minutes, but TPCI doesn’t suffer at all in the way OP thinks. Heightened demand (if managed correctly) is almost always a good thing. There are no “losses in profit” (I think you mean that they’re failing to fulfill total demand here) either, since profits are derived from the material sale and production of *actual* product.
In any case, I’m a consumer as well, and I personally can’t stomach paying 2x MSRP on my local Facebook marketplace… but the problems that TPCI face are around production and demand planning – I’d wager there is very little to no attrition as a direct consequence of consumer frustration surrounding stockouts.
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Yeah, absolutely. I should say that I’m with the collectors (being one myself) on this, and seeing scalpers mark these products up several fold is super crappy; I just think this hurts consumers way more than it hurts TPCI.
They say they’ve been upping the print volume like crazy though, so we’ll see how sales pan out for the next while.
On a side note, does anyone know what the plushie restock cycle looks like? I’m in the Canadian store, and the ones I’m interested in have been sold out for months.
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If you think an item in high demand getting sold out in 10mins is unbelievable (specially in these recent times), then my friend, you haven’t been paying attention.
Even if it were we wouldn’t know about it yet. Any pent-up frustration at TPC is going to remain dormant as long as they have the whole world by the balls due to the economic prospect of their product.
I’m with ya there lol
This thread sure has gone off the rails. My original post was simply to point out how ridiculous it is that the Pokemon Company is unable to supply enough card sleeves and playmats.
Japanese kids – the primary market for Japanese Pokemon merchandise – don’t care about the economic prospect of the merchandise. They just want to be able to buy the stuff so they can play the game. And if the stuff isn’t available, they forget about it and buy something else.
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I’m with you on that (and sorry for contributing to the one and a half pages of tangential discussion). At the end of the day, kids should be able to enjoy the game, and not be encumbered by stockouts and scalpers. It’s a little sad that these people are purchasing cases of product, just to make a few bucks.
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This I feel is the real issue. We’re talking about everything from an adult’s mindset of collectibles and numerical valuations whether of supply or $. Of course the collector aspect is important to the health of Pokémon as well; but we already know we love Pokémon and we have the patience to wait and assess values and find a good time to buy. Kids don’t have those faculties, usually. We want kids to be able to walk into a store with enough product to make them leave with a smile knowing they got what they wanted. If kids are continually disappointed, the future potential of Pokémon remaining relevant slowly disappears as well. I know I’d have given up as a kid if I couldn’t get anything every time I went to the store. Maybe this is a bit radical of a point because we all know the reach of Pokémon, but I’m exaggerating for effect.
No matter which way you look at it the supply issue is an issue. Of course increased demand is good but as others mentioned, only if managed or able to be managed properly. The recent growth was incredibly radical and was not something that can be adjusted for simply. Either by PSA or TPC. I don’t have enough behind the scenes info to comment on if they did a good or bad job, but I know it must’ve been stressful for both companies even though they were increasingly busy and profitable. I expect that eventually things will be “normal” again and this thread will age weirdly haha! Anyways, that’s my rant🤷♂️
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Wouldn’t 25th anniversary be aimed more towards adults? I feel like the kid sympathy card doesn’t really hold much value for a set full of cards older than kids.
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*Edited* because the first part of my original post was already responded to sufficiently.
I wonder if companies is JP are far more conservative in this regard than USA counterparts. It’s only one several releases that I can remember, where the hype and interest was through the roof, yet, the Japanese producer failed to create anywhere near enough product in initial waves. Second, even third waves came, but repeatedly, much later, after the secondary market had had it’s way with eager collectors and consumers.
Exactly, that’s why we take etbs out of children’s carts at target
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@dizzle24 
Greetz,
Quuador
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I cannot confirm nor deny this accusation in question. 
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But kids don’t need Pokemon branded sleeves and mats to play? In fact, you dont need *any* sleeve or mat to play outside of an official setting.
in my experience, almost every time you peel back the layers of the “but think of the children” argument you’re just left with “but think of me”
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consumers are fungible.
idgaf about the kids just sell me shit, I’m a consumer.
/s
/sorta
In my experience, almost every time someone dismisses the “think of the children” argument, you’re just left with “but think of me.”
Weird because I’ve never bought even a single pack of Japanese sleeves or a Japanese playmat but I bet you have.
For myself, never. As a the owner of a retail store, I bought countless numbers of them for inventory.
Also, might as well lock this thread, since it’s gone beyond a thoughtful discussion of my initial observation into a string of ad hominem attacks.
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