"As Kotaku has been reporting for the whole year, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been in a crisis from which it's showing no signs of recovery. As new card prices hit record highs, it naturally draws in many new collectors hoping to hit it big, which causes scalpers to swoop in to drive up scarcity and prices, attracting more new collectors, then more scalpers, and so on, a vicious circle that is increasingly tightening, strangling the hobby."
"This situation has now reached a spectacular new low, with reports that people are attempting to sell the Mega Gengar ex special art rare card from PTCG set Mega Dream ex for $800. But there's a small problem: the card doesn't exist yet. It's set to be part of Japan's Mega Dream ex special set, only officially announced on Friday, which doesn't go on sale until November 28."
"Despite multiple promises throughout 2025 from The Pokémon Company, it remains the case that it's close to impossible to walk into either a specialist or mainstream store and buy a pack of Pokémon cards released in the last 12 months. Since November 2024's pre-orders began for the Eevee-themed Prismatic Evolutions, new sets have sold out before human beings can click on sites to buy them, while stock in stores has been stripped from shelves by camping scalpers before kids can spend their allowance."
Pokémon Trading Card Game has been in a prolonged crisis marked by runaway secondary-market prices and relentless scalper activity. New collectors enter the market chasing high prices, which increases scarcity and invites more scalping, creating a tightening feedback loop that is strangling the hobby. Listings have appeared trying to sell an unreleased Mega Gengar ex special art rare for $800, even though the card is part of a Japan-only Mega Dream ex special set not on sale until November 28. Retail availability for releases from the past year is virtually nonexistent, and The Pokémon Company has not outprinted demand, worsening shortages.
Read at Kotaku
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