A photo of a Walmart store has made waves on Reddit for highlighting the problems with Pokémon Trading Card Game stock and resellers. Fans and collectors have been struggling to get their hands on Pokémon cards for many months now, and the image shows the lengths some will go to in an attempt to secure rarer finds, with packs ripped and cards stolen presumably with the aim of reselling rarer Pokémon cards.
Pokémon cards have been increasingly harder to acquire over the last few months, with many retailers limiting cards packs to one per customer in an effort to ensure stock is going to genuine buyers instead of scalpers looking to resell their acquisitions at a premium. The game has soared in popularity since the global pandemic first began, with supply failing to meet demand. The renewed interest in Pokémon TCG has led to the cards becoming a hot commodity for scalpers, and finding genuine Pokémon cards on store shelves is no easy feat. The problem is likely to get worse with the release of new Pokémon card series later this year.
Reddit user and Pokémon fan myorm has shared an image of a Walmart store ravaged by what's likely to be a Pokémon card scalper. The snapshot shows near-empty shelves littered with loose Pokémon cards and empty packaging, which suggests someone had been opening packs to find - and presumably steal - rarer or in-demand cards. The user commented that they believed the culprit "had a lot of time" to sift through the shelves, saying there were "open Alakazam boxes and deck boxes ripped from the bottom. So they had 3-5 minutes. Jumbo cards were missing as well so I will have to give them props for stealing those as well."
While many of the comments on the post hoped that the damage and theft had been done by children, others noted the likelihood of it being the work of adults. Earlier this year, some retailers banned the sale of Pokémon cards over safety concerns after it emerged that some shoppers were turning violent in order to secure their cards. One particularly shocking video showing adults scrambling for Pokémon cards demonstrates just how far the card stock shortages have gone, and shows that it's not just children hunting for the cards.
The scarcity of Pokémon TCG cards will hopefully improve in the coming months, though the Pokémon franchise's 25th-anniversary celebrations might put further pressure on those looking to buy cards. The Pokémon Company has announced new card releases, including a series that will celebrate the early days of Pokémon TCG with reprints of classic cards including Charizard. The new cards are likely to be a hit with collectors young and old, meaning they could become yet another target for scalpers. Named Pokémon Trading Card Game: Celebrations, the new series will launch October 8, 2021, though it's not clear if supply will be able to keep up with demand.
Source: myorm/Reddit
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