GameStop Now Selling Pokemon TCG Products Above MSRP Upon Release
- Thread starter Water Pokémon Master
- Start date
The problem is most distributors are selling above msrp already. As someone who works in an lgs, it's foolish to assume that a place selling above msrp is scalping.
Like, some distributors are charging like 90 for a prismatic etb which forces any stores that deal with em to sell em for upwards of 100.
It's either have no product at all or sell above msrp for most stores.
The whole thing about distributors selling above wholesale is just irritating and tells me that the heart of the problem lies with them and, to a more severe extent, TPCi's inability to meet demand.
And honestly the only redeeming feature of this product is the Fruit Eevee promo. I personally don’t care for a fuzzy deck box. Overpriced, considering booster bundles will be on the market.
Considering the current state of the TCG that's a very bold and extremely optimistic statement right there.
Not only that I bet you some stores, especially those that will permanent close in the near future, are backdooring product to either the staff or scalpers that are friends with the staff.
Optimism is one of the greatest virtues! And I’m not sure it’s *extremely* optimistic. We’ll see soon enough though. It’s for sure an overpriced product though.
This thing probably won't dip below $200 market price, ever.
F*** GameStop, though. Horrible company.
they’re scalping too. wait for restocks, people. barnes and noble has been pretty good throughout the bs all these years, all things said.
Not purchasing their products is the best solution. Protesting of any kind shows that they still have the upper hand because you are stuck at "I can't live without pokemon" mentality. By not buying their products, you show that you can live without pokemon but THEY cannot live without customers. Demanding is a sign of weakness.
Stores literally can't purchase products for under msrp right now, even larger ones. Chances are if your local store is selling...let's say etbs of prismatic, for 90 they had to buy them at like 70 from their primary distributor.
That's not scalping, that's just having product.
The blame lies entirely on TCPI not printing to demand and distributors not having strict rules about who to sell to and how much it can be sold for. Right now a LGS hosting events has the same priority as an online store that does rip and ships.
So the root cause are the scalpers, and they are the reason for out of stock. Let's educate the community about MSRP and warn them about scalpers demanding above MSRP. Of course, if possible, point out the scalpers.
I’ve always supported because GameStop because of the Pro and military discount, but now they want to be an above MSRP store. Looks like I won’t be renewing my Pro this year 
Root cause is lack of product. Market needs to be oversaturated to fix this. We need another shining fates or Celebrations type wave.
Scalpers are a symptom of a problem that is caused by TCPI and distributors.
Also msrp isn't real, 99% of stores are under no contractual obligation to sell at those numbers. It's just a fake number that people can be angry about right now. Msrp means nothing when it's unobtainable to buy from distributors at under that price, unless you honestly belive that stores should be buying etbs at 90 and selling them at 60 or whatever.
Sadly that isn't enough at this point, you have various entities on Twitter and Discord that harp "It's not MSRP but at least it's lower than market value!" like a parrot with a handgun pointed at the back of its head.
I'd also blame TPCi for mucking about with altering the pull rates of SIRs around Paradox Rift's release. Nobody was complaining about the roughly one-per-booster-box ratio except for the short-term investors (whose opinions have same value as a pile of rotting cafeteria mystery meat) who couldn't game the secondary market.
IIRC MPG also takes third-party contracts for printing alongside being TPCi's main printer so there's another "problem" that's affecting the current TCG supply.
That doesn't go far enough if you ask me.
I'd rather scare them out of the community by any means necessary.
I really doubt that we'll ever see something like this again for multiple reasons.
Thanks for clarifying, I thought TPCi promised to mass produce but I guess they are not living to their words. My thoughts were scalpers buying out these mass produced items.
As for MSRP, the name says it: manufacturer's SUGGESTED retail price. Once purchased from the manufacturers, it is up to the retailers on how they charge customers.
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I second that, I loved the mystery meat comparison
Who are the short-term investors, are they the youtubers and scalpers?
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The root cause is certainly not scalpers. The root cause is a huge surge in organic demand from Pokemon, and not enough product to go around. This has happened many times throughout the past 25+ years of the TCG. There are many factors that go into the surge in demand, but scalpers are merely a symptom of the problem. The reality is, tons of new people are getting cards, and tons of people all over the world want them too. There's just not enough to go around. Pokemon is a hobby built upon manufactured scarcity, after all!