(1) Pokemon Life in Japan: Around the Corner [5/26]

meowth14 said:
InuMimi said:
I have one of the toys from the pictures. The big Dialga plushie on the top shelf. I got mine at Target. I can't belive that it's the same one as in Japan.

I have the big Palkia one! I got it for my birthday 2 months ago from my friend. she found it in a thrift store for like $2. it's in nice condition, no tears, no stains, and it's not disfigured at all. and even the tag is still on his arm. it looks brand new. I can bet the person who had it before me didn't have it very long. don't they cost about 15-20 bucks here in america if you buy them from somewhere like target?
My Dialga cost me $25. Your lucky that yours was only $2!
I wish I could go to Japan. There's so much cool pokemon stuff!
My mom bought me both Dialga and Palkia for Easter, and they were on sale at Target for $10 each. Both are hanging from my dorm room ceiling. :D
 
Oh, man. That's awesome. :O

I hope to visit Japan one day...
 
Thank you so much Heerosferret!!!

For the next issue, I am wondering if you can name some of the bigger stores (those that resides in their own building with the bottom floor supermarkets and roof-top playgrounds) that may carry the TCG cards?

Also, would you be able to describe a bit more about Palcity? Is this held in the same place every year? I did a quick google and found city names like Sapparo, Osaka coming up, does that mean Palcity events are held at these cities too? I am quite interested in the events in Osaka and Yokohama, is there a web site that I can find out more? If anyone knows more, can you please PM me? Thank you.
 
InuMimi said:
There's only one store near me that sells pokemon merch (wal-mart) and the last time I went (Sun. May 18), the only pokemon merch they had was the Majestic Dawn decks and the Darkrai promo boxes. I've noticed over the past month that yugioh has been taking over the tcg stand. Even magic the gathering is loosing to it... >_> Why I ever liked yugioh (some years ago) in the first place is beyond me. [/ramble]

ugh, I know. I hate wal-mart now. they NEVER have pokemon stuff except the cards. though, everytime I go to wal-mart I always get myself a pack. it's like an addiction to cigarettes except much more healthier :D
target is the place to go around here if you want something pokemon. they have lots of different expansion sets/packs/tins, the TFG packs, plushies, and all kinds of figures. sure, target doesn't have huge sections devoted to pokemon but it's still a lot better then nothing.

Technically, Wal-Mart is not even involved in the stocking of the Pokemon TCG.

Collectable cards (and TFG) sold in giant chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target are stocked by outside vendors. The outside vendors are like distributors, they 'rent' shelf-space from Target/Wal-Mart and they have their own workers who visits each store to replenish the goods.

Also, the collectable merchandize are sold on consignment basis, which means Wal-Mart and Target do not pay any up front fee for the merchandize. Once the goods are sold to you and I, then Target/Wal-Mart would keep their share and give the remaining portion to the outside vendors. This is the reason why Target/Wal-Mart has really relaxed policy when it comes to TCG/TFG theft, because the loss goes directly to the outside vendors.

I think Wal-Mart have stopped carrying Pokemon toys since beginning of this year. Jakks Pacific is still selling other products to Wal-Mart, just not Pokemon toys.
heerosferret said:
Salmon Nap: Thank you for the wonderful breakdown between Tomy and Jakks :D Even I don't know that stuff, I've never owned a Jakks plush, only figures (and those ARE unique designs).

Thank you for your articles. I found them to be very informative and I am looking forward to many more of them in the future.

I do have some questions, I hope you don't mind answering.

From what you have shown us in your photos, are all of them officially licensed Pokemon products? The TCG and the Tomy figures are obviously the real stuff, but I can't tell if the bowling pins and the sandbox kits are actually licensed products.

If you squint you can make out the Tomy logo on the bowling pins, but it doesn't seem to be the same high quality as the rest of the Tomy Pokemon toys.

And do all of the officially licensed products have ShoPro logos printed on the products, or only the Bandai goods have the logo?
 
I feel depressed... I live in England, and the most we get here are occasional Pokémon with Pokéballs.
 
Wow...I knew Pokemon was popular in Japan but not THAT popular. The article is extremely well written. It makes me want to buy all of those toys (especially the binders), despite the fact that I am a "tree hugger."
 
Hey, we're getting ripped off. Booster packs in Japan are only 315 yen.

I've located a few import shops that can get me practically anything on those shelves, however, so it's not a problem for me. Except the increased import prices and their local monopolies drivine prices up even more.

Salmon Nap said:
Technically, Wal-Mart is not even involved in the stocking of the Pokemon TCG.

Collectable cards (and TFG) sold in giant chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target are stocked by outside vendors. The outside vendors are like distributors, they 'rent' shelf-space from Target/Wal-Mart and they have their own workers who visits each store to replenish the goods.

Also, the collectable merchandize are sold on consignment basis, which means Wal-Mart and Target do not pay any up front fee for the merchandize. Once the goods are sold to you and I, then Target/Wal-Mart would keep their share and give the remaining portion to the outside vendors. This is the reason why Target/Wal-Mart has really relaxed policy when it comes to TCG/TFG theft, because the loss goes directly to the outside vendors.

I think Wal-Mart have stopped carrying Pokemon toys since beginning of this year. Jakks Pacific is still selling other products to Wal-Mart, just not Pokemon toys.



That actually explains a lot. That must also explain why Targets and Wal-Marts in areas of high theft (such as Panorama City and Salinas in California) have stopped selling Pokémon cards altogether. In fact, the Wal-Mart in Panorama City (in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles county, by the way), as of about two years ago, stopped selling any sort of card game except Yu Yu Hakusho. In fact, I rarely see even Yu-Gi-Oh! cards at Wal-mart. Only one of them I've ever been to continues to sell them up to this day. Most have no card game section at all.

It also explains why the card game sections are always so unprotected. Hobby shops usually have them behind glass cases, sometimes bulletproof, or at leat behind the counter so that you must ask for them from a worker.

It makes for an even bigger mystery, however, as to why Jakks has abandoned Wal-Mart but not Target regarding Pokémon merchandise.
 
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