Discussion Okay, Tapu Lele-GX's Price is Outrageous

crystal_pidgeot

crystal_pidgeot

Bird Trainer *Vaporeon on PokeGym*
Member
This is getting a bit out of hand. The normal art (as on TCG Player) is about 46 bucks now with the full art being around 53ish and 65+ for the Rainbow rare. This is completely dumb and is a huge block for people trying make a competitive deck or trying to gain entry into the game.

TPC/i needs to release a promo for the sake of the game because the normal art can reach 60ish if left uncheck. Before anyone says anything, I own two Rainbow rare and a full art.
 
Never the less the point is valid. Shaymin EX had basically the same problem and while it was in standard we never got an alternate. I wouldn't expect it with Tapu Lele GX. Also, thinking someone who owns two RR and a FA has little room to worry about it though, you are technically set. It doesn't help people who don't have those I realize but it personally doesn't affect you. If anything I'd like to go into the fact that I have no RR throughout any of the sets released.

Not everyone preferred Octillery, I preferred Shaymin EX but never ran more than two because that was all I had. For many Shaymin would have been better than Octillery but they couldn't afford it. Somehow they made do.

By the way I'd bet if VS Seeker weren't getting rotated out Lele wouldn't be as essential.

That doesn't change the fact that personally I agree with you.
 
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Pikachu6319 said:
Never the less the point is valid. Shaymin EX had basically the same problem and while it was in standard we never got an alternate. I wouldn't expect it with Tapu Lele GX. Also, thinking someone who owns two RR and a FA has little room to worry about it though, you are technically set. It doesn't help people who don't have those I realize but it personally doesn't affect you. If anything I'd like to go into the fact that I have no RR throughout any of the sets released.

Not everyone preferred Octillery, I preferred Shaymin EX but never ran more than two because that was all I had. For many Shaymin would have been better than Octillery but they couldn't afford it. Somehow they made do.

By the way I'd bet if VS Seeker weren't getting rotated out Lele wouldn't be as essential.

That doesn't change the fact that personally I agree with you.
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Shaymin-EX was expensive but by the time it reached it's peek, we had Octillery, or that Electrode. Yes, you may have preferred Shaymin-EX and some decks needed it, like M Rayquaza-EX and Vespiquen, most other decks still functioned with Octillery while being worth one Prize card. I'm also the kind of person that cares because I want the game to be accessible. Yes I have RR and FA Tapu Lele-GX,, I still want others to have them because I know what it's like to never have these things and tin promos make it to where those people who can't afford 46 dollars for the entry level card can still play the game. This would also be different if there was a alternative to Tapu Lele-GX but there currently isn't. Tapu Lele also does other things than find Supporters and has two really good attacks.

The other thing that bugs me is the entry level prices of cards in Sun and Moon. I don't care about my card values decreasing because of a promo print. I just want more people who can't have this card to have it.
 
The Shaymin EX/Octillery debate is something for another time, it's not important here. Suffice it to say everyone has their different play styles. I for example don't use N while the rest of the playing world seems to worship it. Too each their own. I agree about making the game more accessible, I'd love to have an easier time getting Tapu Lele's myself. That's the for lack of better terms beauty with the Ultra Ball example; those who want the most expensive can go after the secret gold rares while those of who just play don't care as long as we have it. Yes it has two good attacks, but the game is full of good attacks and bad attacks, that is hardly going to be a reason. Personally I would say it only has one good attack, but that's also a debate for another time.

Heck I'd be one of the first to prefer decrease of price for ease of getting it. That's why I'm glad FA Charizard GX will be in a like twenty dollar box as opposed to buying it for like triple individually from the set. And at this rate the RR Ho-oh GX will be the only RR I ever own since it's in a premium product.

But again let's be real. TPC/I is a business first and they won't take a card that is probably the driving force behind the sales of Guardians Rising packs and blisters and put it an easy to buy tin. They'd lose money off of those products, even if it is the secondary market that benefits more from the sale of the individual card. That's exactly one of the things (Shaymin EX in this case) that drove Roaring Skies to the point where they even had a second printing of it, I'm not saying it's the only reason but it's a big one.

Again I'm not saying you're wrong and I agree with you on a personal level, but realistically it 's not going to happen.
 
I'm still expecting Lele to get a reprint at some point. My initial guess was within a year of its initial print, and there's still plenty of time for that to be true. It's pretty clear they realize how badly Shaymin's price affected things. (There's no other reason they would have given Roaring Skies an additional print run. And really, that was all they could do there. People would've been mad at an easy-to-obtain reprint coming that late in Shaymin's life and suddenly plummeting its value.)

It doesn't really matter YET. But it's a much, much bigger deal with the rotation happens. VS Seeker is currently making Supporters accessible even without Lele. But once that leaves, you really have no alternatives. Octillery I guess kinda helps, but that's about it. Without Lele, you would either need to rely on setup attackers, or run an absurdly high Supporter count. (Or both, given you can't reuse utility supporters anymore.)
 
I don't run sycamore anymore now that vs seeker is going away. I run less items due to the trash pile. Tapu lele is great turn one and when in a bind just like shaymin, but isnt needed. The entire new meta is about playing smarter building decks that arent going to require a bunch of stuff to make it work. Tapu lele is great but can be worked around and outplayed
 
RiverShock said:
I'm still expecting Lele to get a reprint at some point. My initial guess was within a year of its initial print, and there's still plenty of time for that to be true. It's pretty clear they realize how badly Shaymin's price affected things. (There's no other reason they would have given Roaring Skies an additional print run. And really, that was all they could do there. People would've been mad at an easy-to-obtain reprint coming that late in Shaymin's life and suddenly plummeting its value.)

It doesn't really matter YET. But it's a much, much bigger deal with the rotation happens. VS Seeker is currently making Supporters accessible even without Lele. But once that leaves, you really have no alternatives. Octillery I guess kinda helps, but that's about it. Without Lele, you would either need to rely on setup attackers, or run an absurdly high Supporter count. (Or both, given you can't reuse utility supporters anymore.)
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They also did another print run of Primal Clash
 
Well worlds is around the corner so that's gonn a inflate the price. Also as lele is pretty much required in all decks but one to be competitive as it's both a good back up attacker and a terrific consistency card of course it's gonna be expensive I just bought my 3rd one on eBay for 43(regular) and I'm not complaining cuz 3 leles are needed from time to time.
Also it's cute people still think Octillery and shaymin are interchangeable there functions in decks are completely different
 
crystal_pidgeot said:
This is getting a bit out of hand.
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Seems like business as usual for the physical TCG. There will be gaps, of course, where there aren't any expensive staples, but remember to adjust for inflation and for the rarity of the card in question. I still remember Pokémon Catcher, in 2012 it was a $15 (USD) card and also a three or four per deck staple. That isn't long enough for inflation to be especially significant, but your typical Uncommon sells for what, $0.50 to $1.00 USD (or at least close to that at the time)? Let's say $1 just to make it easy, that means it was going for 15 times the usual cost for the rarity. So... how much did the "typical" Pokémon-EX sell for back when Shaymin-EX (ROS) was at its peak? What about the typical Pokémon-GX now? Really asking; I'm too out of touch with current pricing (at least for physical TCG cards) that I don't trust myself trying to research it. XP
 
Otaku said:
Seems like business as usual for the physical TCG. There will be gaps, of course, where there aren't any expensive staples, but remember to adjust for inflation and for the rarity of the card in question. I still remember Pokémon Catcher, in 2012 it was a $15 (USD) card and also a three or four per deck staple. That isn't long enough for inflation to be especially significant, but your typical Uncommon sells for what, $0.50 to $1.00 USD (or at least close to that at the time)? Let's say $1 just to make it easy, that means it was going for 15 times the usual cost for the rarity. So... how much did the "typical" Pokémon-EX sell for back when Shaymin-EX (ROS) was at its peak? What about the typical Pokémon-GX now? Really asking; I'm too out of touch with current pricing (at least for physical TCG cards) that I don't trust myself trying to research it. XP
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I can't say for sure for the peek of Shaymin-EX vs other Pokemon-EX but I think they were about four of five bucks, with the next most used EX being Hoopa-EX, which never broke ten bucks (I think) and currently, most Pokemon-GX float around six bucks for the playable one. I think the next most expensive Pokemon-GX is Gardevoir-GX.
 
It's how they make money. People see amazing card, people get packs trying to get it, and the cycle continues until the next money card.

I was fortunate enough to pull 2 regular arts in twenty packs, but you have a point. It is unfortunate for those who can't pull it and have terrible luck
 
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There are two ways to lower the price: people come up with decks that don't need it so that the demand is lowered OR it gets banned. Other than that, if every person playing competitively needs multiples of them, the price is going to stay high.

FWIW, I'm facing this issue. I'm new, and can't afford Lele. But it's kinda hard to blame the secondary market price for being what it is when the first thing I'm told when I'm trying to come up with decks is "You won't be competitive without Tapu Lele".
 
THANK YOU CRYSTAL PIDGEOT!
I am noob, running Xerneas BREAK without no Lele. Tapu Lele is extremely overpriced for my viewpoint of it's worth. True, it is a game changer, but some broke kids like me want a Lele. It's like the first car prototypes. They were for the rich people only. Now, if there was an alternative to Tapu Lele, I'd use it. If that means running more supporters, I'll do it. Lele seems like a luxury. My view of its worth is no more than $30. In Xerneas BREAK, why would you even need a Lele? The only supporter I'd need to Lele is Fan Club. Anyway, I'm glad someone is actually taking notice to this burden. And before anyone asks, I have no Lele. Crystal Pidgeot, I'm glad you have taken notice to the noob's state of affairs instead of standing around with your eyes crossed saying, Lele is good! My battle partner ends a game with saying that "You need 2 Lele in that deck." Or; "You need 2 Lele in that deck." Or: "Why don't you have a Lele?" Or: "You need a Lele." And I tell him: "I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY! STOPPIT!" It gets very annoying, not being able to afford a luxury most players win by and enjoy, and I'm glad Crystal Pidgeot said something.
Now, all we have to do is watch the stock market. I can imagine it now: A news show:
"As it has for the past year, Tapu Lele has gone up $50 a stock."
Or a commercial from Lear Capital:
"Find out why most investors say that Tapu Lele-GX is a great investment!"
Whelp. Looks like I'll never get a Lele. I'll try, though, and it won't be a long road so long as my friend stops saying I need a Lele.
 
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Anyone serious about playing this game competitively will recognize how useful Lele is and suck it up and buy them. If they don't, then that's on them. These are the same kind of people who won't drop the money for a Lele but will buy packs and ETBs and booster boxes trying to roll for one, as if that's saving them money in the end. No card even poorly mimics what Lele does, so dropping half a box's price on one is a good investment.

I had to buy my first Lele. I ended up trading for two more. Trading is always another route players can go down. There really is no excuse for people to not own this card if they are serious about competitive play.
 
So you're saying I'm not a serious player?!?!?
No, I'm serious all right, just broke. I do realize the potential of Lele but am broke. I do in fact, want a Lele but DO NOT HAVE THE MEANS TO OBTAIN ONE. This makes me dislike Lele just a bit, because it appears to be, say, a right of passage into being a serious player. Earth to PMJ and Aurajackie, there are serious players who don't have Lele, such as me. Every Friday, my league gets together for battles and whatnot, and everyone there is a serious player, but at first thought, 4-6 people don't have the means to get a Lele, but are still serious. The fact that you two can't see that a stinkin' glittery piece of cardboard does not define the seriousness of the player is either inconsiderate to the broke, or sickening. Because of your points, I can get a clear visual of two people who have the means of obtaining 4 Lele, and don't lose, blaming the losses of your opponent's not on their deck or luck, but on the fact they do not have Tapu Lele.
One question for you un-broke people:
How many Leles do you have?
 
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