I just pulled Tapu-Lele GX out of a single GRI Booster Pack. Immeadently cancelled the one I had already ordered. Saved me 55$.
Nice.
Nice.
Discussion Okay, Tapu Lele-GX's Price is Outrageous
- Thread starter crystal_pidgeot
- Start date
I splurged and bought 3 FA Leles for 200 total. Pretty happy with it.
Anyone remember the Mewtwo wars? Back when everyone won by playing Mewtwo and only running 4 of him in a deck.
Good times, good times...makes Lele look inexpensive.
Good times, good times...makes Lele look inexpensive.
There's a ton of comments before me and I have not read all of them, so do not hate if I repeat something that has already been said.
I have read so many comments on this thread that have said "competitive players just have to suck it up and drop 60 DOLLARS ON A LELE".
I believe that this is crazy.
Shaymin should have been dealt with, and so should Tapu Lele.
When shaymin was around 70 dollars for the RA, it was a problem. It was an issue that almost kept me from attending any competitions. I was not going to drop 70 dollars on a card, and I will not now.
At that time, I was "lucky" enough to trade for a shaymin from a friend. I was forced to give up over half my collection for that thing, which is unreasonable, but it was what I needed to be competitive.
I have read so many comments on this thread that have said "competitive players just have to suck it up and drop 60 DOLLARS ON A LELE".
I believe that this is crazy.
Shaymin should have been dealt with, and so should Tapu Lele.
When shaymin was around 70 dollars for the RA, it was a problem. It was an issue that almost kept me from attending any competitions. I was not going to drop 70 dollars on a card, and I will not now.
At that time, I was "lucky" enough to trade for a shaymin from a friend. I was forced to give up over half my collection for that thing, which is unreasonable, but it was what I needed to be competitive.
I agree completely. Everyone at my league has Lele apart from me, which I won't lie, made me unhappy. One kid that was around 8 years of age even had a Lele in one of those small single binders, unsleeved. I saw it and I asked him if it was for trade, he said no. It's quite irritating how people buy expensive cards that you need to do well with at tournaments and don't use them. I might buy Guardians Rising blisters as I've heard they have a good Ultra Rare pull rate but I'm 100% sure that's true, if anyone wants to clarify, that would be helpful.
I've posted my pulls on here, but as of now I have pulled over 12 gx's (four of them being Lele) in about 30-36ish packs
In burning shadows I have pulled 5 holos and 1 GX in twelve packs.
I think Guardians Rising is a better set overall, but it's honestly up to you. As for the kid, I can't criticize since I have valuable cards that I'm not sure what to do with. FA Ultra Ball has been $60+ for quite some time, but I've never seen any offers that I was interested in.
Okay. Thanks for the help.
It seems to me that in North America at least, TPCi profits off of the "general public" of Pokemon fans more so than the competitive playerbase, if how they sell overpackaged (this is almost more egregious to me than singles prices tooooo be honest but that's a discussion for another time) and overpriced "collections" is any indication. I could be barking up the wrong tree here, but anything I see stocked in a Walmart/TRU isn't produced or packaged to sell to us specifically. I'm curious if offering Lele in some flavour of boxed set may generate more profit than the wild chase for GRI packs from the competing player demographic. Maybe I'm wrong, but GRI still has plenty of value outside of Lele, and every player around would be all over picking up 2-3 $40-50 USD collection featuring Lele and a couple packs or some such. I'm not insisting that the card become cheap, but I don't like that it's becoming a barrier to entry either. TPCi presumably wants to grow the player base that participates in organized play, so wouldn't it be in their best interest to sell this card in a way that both makes them more primary market sales AND gives rookie players a chance to play?
I don't think the kiddos I see with their families in stores excitedly asking to buy Pokemon cards see Lele as any more valuable than any other GX in the set. Parents and grandparents purchasing EX and GX collections and cardboard packaged booster packs from box stores sink tons of money into product for kids that bring their shiny cards to school and drop them in a puddle. So much of their profit comes from... not us. Furthermore, box stores wouldn't even carry retail Pokemon TCG product if there wasn't profit involved, and Pokemon TCG product would only be sold in hobby/comic/game stores. They're a business for sure, but their business strategies do not rely on us alone and I think that's important to keep in mind.
I pulled my first Lele out of the one GRI box I purchased then bit the bullet on buying two singles. I could buy more if I needed to, and I could have splurged on the FA/RR versions if I wanted. I'm thankful to be in a position where I can pick and choose what I want off the secondary market and share cards and decks amongst my team. I agree with crystal_pidgeot though- if this card isn't accessible, a lot of competitive options aren't either.
On top of all of that, for however much the card is in USD, don't forget that CAD prices are even more outrageous!
I don't think the kiddos I see with their families in stores excitedly asking to buy Pokemon cards see Lele as any more valuable than any other GX in the set. Parents and grandparents purchasing EX and GX collections and cardboard packaged booster packs from box stores sink tons of money into product for kids that bring their shiny cards to school and drop them in a puddle. So much of their profit comes from... not us. Furthermore, box stores wouldn't even carry retail Pokemon TCG product if there wasn't profit involved, and Pokemon TCG product would only be sold in hobby/comic/game stores. They're a business for sure, but their business strategies do not rely on us alone and I think that's important to keep in mind.
I pulled my first Lele out of the one GRI box I purchased then bit the bullet on buying two singles. I could buy more if I needed to, and I could have splurged on the FA/RR versions if I wanted. I'm thankful to be in a position where I can pick and choose what I want off the secondary market and share cards and decks amongst my team. I agree with crystal_pidgeot though- if this card isn't accessible, a lot of competitive options aren't either.
On top of all of that, for however much the card is in USD, don't forget that CAD prices are even more outrageous!
Damn lucky, I opened 15 booster packs from a GRI box on Monday and got just 2 Ultra Rares, one Turtonator-GX UR and one Lycanroc-GX FA. All I know of Tapu Lele-GX being pulled out of packs is from when someone pulls one right next to me.
I can confirm your point on that last line, you can't get a Tapu Lele-GX under 75 dollars where I live.
As for me, I have no Lele as of now but I either include plenty of deck thinners (Nest Ball, Xerneas, Max Elixir, etc.) or make the deck's setup very reliable (all Basic for example) when I build a deck for a tournament. I have rather ordinary results but I also am a relatively unlucky player, I tend to brick too often, even when it is nearly impossible (when playing Despair Ray before rotation for example). It's still too bad that we have yet to have a reliable third draw Supporter. For now, we have to rely on eight outs to drawing if we don't own Tapu Lele-GX. For those who do, they technically have fifteen outs with three of them and four Ultra Balls. And yes, I have tried Random Receiver.
Ive been fortunate, Ive pulled 3 Lele's, traded bulk for 1, and bought a FA LeLe when they first came out for 30.
I'd suggest to anyone on the fence to by them now. Once Guardians goes out of print, they'll jump up in price like crazy.
It is an expensive card, but it definitely helps for consistency and to be more competitive.
I'd suggest to anyone on the fence to by them now. Once Guardians goes out of print, they'll jump up in price like crazy.
It is an expensive card, but it definitely helps for consistency and to be more competitive.
You probably should allow for those who can minimize (even eliminate) certain costs of playing competitively. Some folks live near where at least one competitive event is regularly held; they might be able to walk to the event. Some folks won't need to take time off from work, and while you could still value the time spent at the event versus the time spent at work, I don't believe that opportunity cost should be a factor here, or at least not for everyone. Lunch (whether purchased or brought from home), entry fee, and the rest of your deck probably cost more than one Tapu Lele-GX but many decks are better with two, and some call for three or even four.
If you have someone who is traveling a decent amount and/or to multiple events, the cost of the Tapu Lele-GX may be small compared to the rest, but it is could easily be the single largest expense. Even if fuel or the rest of the deck matches the price of Tapu Lele-GX, the point is that some folks who would be competitive players may have to draw the line there. They have a budget of $X USD for competitive play, and whatever "X" is, it is less than $150 USD + the rest of the deck, travel expenses, entry fees, etc.
I've been lucky with Lele and pulled two from packs. I then spent £50 on blister packs and whatever chasing the third. I didn't even get anything of note except a couple of Garbodors and a full art Koko GX.
It was at that point I realised I should just buy the single and save my money for cards I can actually do stuff with. For that sort of money I could have had Lele (obviously) - I bought it single just after - and bought enough to make a Volcanion / Turt deck on the side.
Packs are fun and all, but yeah. even with a high price it's still much more worthwhile to get it alone.
It was at that point I realised I should just buy the single and save my money for cards I can actually do stuff with. For that sort of money I could have had Lele (obviously) - I bought it single just after - and bought enough to make a Volcanion / Turt deck on the side.
Packs are fun and all, but yeah. even with a high price it's still much more worthwhile to get it alone.
I have 4 Leles (1FA) and have pulled 0 of them lol it wasn't hard to see it was going to become a staple so I made sure to have at least 2 the day GRI came out and I pulled a secret rare DCE that I traded for one
I also remember the Legendary EX Tins that came out on September 12, 2012. That was a full seven months plus 4 days after NXD came out and Mewtwo-EX's price dropped down immensely after that. The same can be said for Rayquaza DRX (August 15, 2012) and Dragon Vault (October 5, 2012).
But then again, I'm sure there were probably other factors that contributed to the price drops.
It seems that way, but most people assume it’s not worth the risk, and if they make no cards that are totally essential and overpriced, it will drag in many new players, which may then buy packs, so I believe that by creating this overpriced card, it discourages people from playing the game.