The First Wave Of The Pokemon TCG's 30th Anniversary TCG Orders Just Went Live, And Products Are Already Selling At 7x RRP
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I'm going to start this piece with a bit of praise for The Pokemon Company. Given I've been such an outspoken critic of the Pokemon TCG recently, I'd consider yesterday's drop of the Pokemon Center Exclusive 30th Anniversary Elite Trainer Box a success. As we reported, stock seemed plentiful, and it remained on the site for at least three hours, allowing plenty of people to get their hands on some products.
Unfortunately, though, there are only a few certainties in life. Death, taxes, and scalpers, the latter of which has been lingering in the Pokemon TCG for far too long, with even Nintendo now getting involved.
Sensing an opportunity to make a quick buck, these scalpers descended on The Pokemon Center for last night's drop, grabbing Elite Trainer Boxes by the boatload and instantly flipping them for up to seven times RRP.
The Pokemon Center Exclusive 30th Anniversary Elite Trainer Boxes Are, Of Course, Being Scalped
The Pokemon TCG's 30th Anniversary set was always going to be a nightmare. I still have trauma from trying to get my hands on products from the 25th Anniversary Celebrations set, and the TCG has become infinitely more popular since then, for both good and bad reasons. And the bad reasons have once again prevailed with this latest drop.
While the queuing system on the Pokemon Center website worked a treat, it didn't stop scalpers. No sooner was the queue live than were people listing the exclusive Pokemon Center products on eBay.
The cheapest available on the US version of eBay right now is $391.68, plus an additional $40.66 for shipping from Canada. They have comfortably been selling for anywhere between $250 and $410. That's almost seven times the $59.99 RRP.
It's a similar story in the UK, with the cheapest available Pokemon Center Exclusive 30th Anniversary Elite Trainer Box listed for just shy of £200 ($270), with some selling for £315 ($426) at the height of the queuing hype. This is exactly why I bemoan the current state of Pokemon cards.
Of course, this isn't the first time this has happened. In fact, it happens to every Pokemon Center ETB in existence; it's just that the prices these have already reached indicate how bad things are.
As I mentioned earlier, though, this 30th Anniversary Expansion was already going to be a nightmare. There is a huge breadth of products for players and collectors to get their hands on, with some really neat, unique promos, and the cards in the set are fantastic too. It will contain 30 different Pikachus, some stunning ARs, a new FUR rarity, and reprints of some of the best cards in history.
There are still plenty of products to be released by Pokemon, but it's off to a frustrating start.
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Original Release Date
- October 20, 1996
- Player Count
- 2
- Age Recommendation
- 6+
- Length per Game
- Variable
- Franchise Name
- Pokemon
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