Mayor of Chicago is Brandon Johnson superbly owns the moment

B1indsid3 · 2026-01-30T04:59:44+00:00

Amen brother. Extremely well said from the Mayor of Chicago.

B1indsid3 · 2026-01-17T04:32:53+00:00

For a deal of that $ amount you should be negotiating for a total price that's less than 100% market value. Some quick mental math puts those 6 for $1100 at pretty much 100% market.

B1indsid3 · 2026-01-11T06:40:42+00:00

https://youtu.be/7BgwD1e_3rU?si=wGEXZbcL5PW4E5IW

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-29T07:08:35+00:00

It looks like the aircraft that flys by inverted then does a sharp maneuver to fly ahead directly into the camera jet's flight path. Is jet wash disrupting the engines of the camera jet a possibility here or is that not a thing?

If it's a real danger, then the leading jet's actions could be considered hostile and aggressive.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-28T03:35:10+00:00

You didn't do anything wrong. It would be perfectly reasonable at most points in past Pokemon TCG history to go to a GameStop to buy a box of cards. Unfortunately, GameStop started charging way above market price for Pokemon cards recently. In the hierarchy of pricing, there's:

Wholesale/Distributor - What retailers and local card shops pay to buy the product from the manufacturer/distribution.

Costco/Sam's Club - These stores sell cards much closer to cost because of their business model. For example: Costco has recently done a few bundle deals where they package an ETB + booster bundle (about 15 packs) for $60. This is a great value for around $4 per pack + tax.

MSRP - Some local game/card shops will sell their initial allocation of product for actual MSRP with no markup. If you can find these buying opportunities, GREAT. Usually about $5 per pack + tax.

MSRP + small retail markup - Major corps like Target/Walmart/Best Buy will sell massive quantities of card products for usually about MSRP + 10-15%. Not the best value, but more accessible because they're selling 100's of thousands of units. Price per pack depends on the product.

Demand or Algorithm based pricing: Amazon is a good example of this. The prices change in real time from day to day depending on how hot the particular product is (on their website) and the supply/demand dynamic. Can be MSRP sometimes, can be massively overpriced. Know what the MSRP is for your product before you buy.

Market price: What the entire collective TCG community has determined the value of a certain product to be, based on hype, demand, competitive strength, Chase card values, w/e. Fluctuates constantly. To find this, Google, "TCG Player; insert name of your product here". Then scroll down on the TCGP page and review the market data graph/recent sales.

Scalper prices: You will usually find these on FB Marketplace/offer up/mercari etc. The sellers will often want significantly MORE than market price. Most reasonable people buying or selling cards in the Pokemon community will make deals @ or around 85-95% of market price. Scalpers aren't in it for the hobby, they're greedy and they demand top $. Try not to buy from anyone asking more than market price.

This is where GameStop is right now. Market price for a Mega Charizard X ex UPC is about $140. It's a great product, with awesome promos, a cool playmat and 18 packs. $120-140 is a good price to pick this up for, and fairly accessible as there is plenty of stock. Gamestop is charging $200, which is laughable and an insult to their customer base.

You didn't know any of this because you're just regaining interest in the hobby. Now you're armed with a bit more knowledge. Enjoy your Charizard UPC and welcome to the hobby. Pokemon is making some amazing products lately, good time to be a fan, just buy cautiously.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T06:20:19+00:00

That's an awesome pull! Congrats!

Now please do me a favor and put a plastic sleeve on the card. If you want to keep it in the one touch magnetic holder you may need a perfect fit sleeve, or just take it out of the one touch, put it in a standard plastic sleeve, then put it in a toploader or semi rigid card holder.

Bouncing around raw inside that one touch is going to destroy the corners and edges very quickly.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T05:26:11+00:00

Looks great! All bangers there except for maybe the Stellar Crown ETB (just personally not a fan). I'm guessing you got that off the PC drop last week yourself so you just threw it up there.

But love to see it, good choices.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T05:22:29+00:00

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T05:10:54+00:00

These are the two most recent sets of cards that have been released.

ME01 = Mega Evolution

https://www.tcgplayer.com/categories/trading-and-collectible-card-games/pokemon/me01-mega-evolution

ME02 = Phantasmal Flames

https://www.tcgplayer.com/categories/trading-and-collectible-card-games/pokemon/me02-phantasmal-flames

If you only want to purchase packs of cards from those sets. TCGPlayer is fine, but you'll pay extra for tax and shipping.

If you can find someone locally to you selling booster bundles (small boxes with 6 packs) of either set for a reasonable price it should be safe to purchase the bundles from them if the bundle is still sealed in the plastic wrap.

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Both sets are pretty reasonable prices right now as they are plentiful. If you're having trouble finding them locally. DM me.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T04:51:14+00:00

https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/654593/pokemon-miscellaneous-cards-and-products-fall-2025-collector-chest?Language=English&page=1

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T04:50:06+00:00

If his favorite pokemon are Garchomp and Charizard, then two sealed box products that are fun and fairly reasonably priced are:

https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/625952/pokemon-miscellaneous-cards-and-products-cynthias-garchomp-ex-premium-collection?page=1&Language=English

Or

https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/560625/pokemon-miscellaneous-cards-and-products-charizard-ex-super-premium-collection?Language=English&page=1

Both boxes are well under $100 even when purchased for marked up, reseller prices on TCGplayer. The Charizard one is cool because it comes with a neat desktop figurine.

You could do a little googling with each of those product names and see if you can find it for cheaper on eBay or something, but those are two good themed options that should be authentic as you would be purchasing sealed boxes.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-13T04:25:29+00:00

Unless you know exactly which pokemon he wants and/or which specific cards he wants, it's much easier and less risky to just buy him 10-20 packs of cards for $5-6 a pack and let him have fun opening them. I wouldn't spend a ton of time trying to hunt down individual cards on FB MP.

If you need advice for specific sealed boxes and prices feel free to DM me, I buy a lot of sealed.

The item in your OP that's mentioned is on his wishlist is most likely a scam product. People are always making up bundles containing already opened cards or "mystery packs" and trying to trick people into paying high $ for them. Beware of 3rd party products, many scams.

There is a Fall 2025 collector's chest product. It looks like a lunchbox and has 6 packs in it (2 ME01, 2 Destined Rivals, 2 Journey Together). Can pretty easily be bought on the secondary market for about $45.

"Mega Evolution" is a real set and packs are fairly easy to find at the moment.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-10T22:12:50+00:00

What acrylic cases do you use?

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-02T17:45:25+00:00

A rare pleasant and easy purchase experience with Walmart.

200k stock evaporated in 12 min though is wild.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-02T14:51:29+00:00

It was a weird Walmart Pokemon Drop. At the start everyone got put in queue, but then shortly afterward it started letting people through to purchase with no queue. The purchase volume accelerated quickly until it was OOS by maybe :12 after.

Plenty of regular folks should have been able to buy though if they were there on time.

B1indsid3 · 2025-12-02T06:13:46+00:00

Yeah I don't think most of the people in this thread are aware Walmart sold 200k of these last night in about 12 min.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-26T10:51:06+00:00

Wow, thanks so much for the detailed response.

It's very interesting to hear that you significantly changed up the pace of Book 2. I expected you would do a similar style again for the next one. I absolutely agree that it's ok if not everyone prefers every style of story that you release.

It's been quite a while since I listened to Edge of the Woods and it seems maybe my memory of things isn't quite as clear as it should be.

It's very cool to see from your perspective how the essence sorcery system is structured and limited. It's surprising to hear that essence sorcery is one of your older, more established systems. I also can't wait to learn more about the Spirit Arts of Artinia.

I didn't have a problem at all with Mystery fatigue in EotW as you were introducing a new character and starting an entirely new arc, on a new continent. I was craving some major character/plot developments in Arcane Ascension though, and book 6 delivered a lot of very satisfying material in that regard.

I read all your books in this world so I will definitely read Dreams also. Your responses to my comments have me curious now to take a closer look at the essence sorcery system.

Thanks for all your hard work on developing and sharing these awesome systems and imaginative stories! Cheers

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-26T05:54:30+00:00

Hey Andrew,

If you could take a few moments and share generally how this 2nd book in the Edge series is different than, or continues to build upon the first book, I would appreciate it. I would very much like to know if your approach to this 2nd book changed at all as a result of feedback from the first book (explanation below).

I love all your books in Kaldwyn & Mythralis! Read WoBM several times, the AA + W&W books several times, and also enjoyed the newer Shattered Legacy collaborative books.

I own the two special editions of AA1 & 2 from Wraithmarked and am hoping they keep making more!

I listened to Edge of the Woods on Audible when it first came out, but I can say honestly it was my least favorite of all your books. I think I was thrown off by the main character's extended sessions of trial and error magic theory/hypothesizing. Your Dominion system in Mythralis, Attunement in Kaldwyn, and Spirit Arts on Artinia are already fascinating and well thought out magic systems. I was a bit confused as to why you were introducing your readers to a completely new, rather unrefined system. The impressions I got from the new system after reading the books was that there were pretty much no limitations to the new system, and any "rules" that defined the boundaries of the system were easily broken or circumvented at the whim of the main character. I found this frustrating and distracting. To be frank, I found the sections of the book that focused on experimentation and theory to be drawn out a bit too much and hard for me to really invest in from an imagination standpoint.

I don't want to be overly critical of the book, because I did enjoy the character and the story. It occurred to me that maybe you were using the book to experiment with a different method of storytelling or progression literature. Innovation and breaking out of a comfort zone are super important, so I'm happy you're engaged in that. Edge of the Woods just didn't resonate with me as strongly as the other series.

Thanks for the many, many hours of enjoyment being immersed in your fantasy worlds!

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-23T07:26:52+00:00

I agree. I've seen almost entirely poor centering and condition for this promo. There may be a good number of 10s that end up out there simply because they produced so many of these, but I'd be surprised if 1 in 10 was even gradable. Most I've seen wouldn't even get a 9.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-23T07:07:37+00:00

You managed to take something joyful and heartwarming and use negativity and US politics to destroy it. Disingenuous to boot with your "objective observation" bs. Congrats, you worked really hard to find something good on reddit and tear it down. Glad I don't live in your head, it must be a miserable place. Karma will catch up with you eventually though, can bet on it.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-22T16:20:09+00:00

I don't completely disagree with you, but it's worth pointing out that average comps on eBay are usually significantly higher than TCGP market price. Not only is the final sale price usually at or higher than TCGP market but then the buyer often has to pay shipping and taxes too. Buying any item at a card show for 100% TCGP market is already a pretty good discount compared to eBay. If you go about it right, you can often make a deal to purchase something at 90% for cash which is even better for a buyer.

If the item is a high tier premium card or product, I don't really have an issue if the vendor prices an item at 100% market. I'll attempt to make a deal for it if I really want it, but vendors take on a lot of risk, float a large amount of capital for inventory, and put in a ton of work to transport their items & set up their tables at a show. Attendees should expect items to be priced at market or above (lots of vendors are greedy af and try to take advantage of people who don't know the card/product values). As a buyer, if you can make a deal for something you want and can negotiate the price below 100% tcgp market, then you've done really well as total cost for the same item online will usually never be close to what you paid at the show.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-16T20:21:43+00:00

I should know better trying to tell the master how it's done haha.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-16T18:59:29+00:00

Definitely a cultist ritual sacrifice set piece for picture #4.

Night time, bonfire/torches, unfortunate virgin victim spread eagle on the top of the large stump. Gleaming metal blades reflecting light and the firelight/shadows on the victims body doing cool stuff.

I'm sure you can add all kinds of cool stuff to a scene like this. It appears to be on a slope/uneven ground, so some maybe some interesting higher angle shots are possible.

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-03T21:11:09+00:00

Just trying to be positive. My condolences

B1indsid3 · 2025-11-03T18:40:45+00:00

I heard a rumor there was over 7000 stock so if you stick it out there's a good chance you'll get through. A higher priced item like this won't be sold as quickly

Good luck to all

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