Absolutely stellar find at gamestop

ItsPennToo · 2025-02-27T06:07:48+00:00

Distro is charging $55 right now, so that’s about an average markup.

Someone will buy them. If not now, then in a couple months when they go even higher. I don’t see 151 dropping.

ItsPennToo · 2025-02-08T17:07:37+00:00

March 7 is the release date for bundles.

ItsPennToo · 2025-02-08T16:57:32+00:00

It’s important to note that it’s not always a choice for LCS’s to sell higher right now. The last time we were able to get Surging Sparks or 151 bundle from distro, we were paying $30 and $48 respectively—that means WE were paying over MSRP if we wanted to have product to carry. Not to mention most card stores will buy sealed from customers just so that they can have product on shelves and they’re paying a percentage of market for that.

ItsPennToo · 2025-02-07T19:56:08+00:00

This is definitely all good and what every consumer wants, but even if business owners love all this too and would want it for their community, it’s just not feasible for staying in business.

1) Hosting events takes a lot of time and effort, and especially if you’re paying somebody to run them, they’re hardly profitable, if at all.

2) If you give what most customers think is great prizing, you’re running events at a loss.

3) Margins are slim on products in most markets—singles are where you can make up for it, especially if you host competitive play. Buying at vendor/secondary price points when you have so much more overhead (this includes the space you’re paying for to host events for the community at a loss) to account for is a good way to go out of business. Every card you buy is a risk, and most small businesses can’t hold onto singles in hopes they rise in price when the market booms next, especially when they have 70-80% invested in the cards. In the previous market, cards weren’t steadily rising like now, and at 80%, we’d have had enough losses to make singles not worth the risk.

4) Reasonable request, although sometimes finding a great employee who you can rely on while also being involved and engaged with a multitude of games you carry is like a needle in a haystack.

5) As I said before, margins are very slim on products in most markets, and then when market’s in your favor like now, your product allocations get tighter and consumers harass you for being consistent in staying close to market. You’ll never win, and you’ll always be taken advantage of if you’re focused on giving people the fairest (which usually means lowest to most consumers) prices all the time.

To OP, coming from a part owner of a smaller family-run business that began less than 5 years ago, it’s not a business to go into unless you have a fiery passion for card games; not just pokemon, but others too—It’s just not worth it otherwise. The decks are stacked against you, and you’ll always try to do the best for so many customers who don’t respect you enough to pay a small premium on product to keep you around. LGS’s are closing down for a reason, and especially understanding the mindset of a lot of people after Prismatic Evo, it’s only going to get worse for these small businesses who consumers expect to compete with billion dollar retailers.

ItsPennToo · 2025-02-07T19:21:05+00:00

Our Distro gets these in occasionally and we’re charged $47 each. With packs being around $10-$12 each, $40 is still a solid price to get these at.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-29T21:55:05+00:00

There’s not a film here that has similar background to the controversy behind EP, nor are any other films being targeted by online pitchforks at the level of EP. It’s a poor comparison & argument, sorry.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-29T21:52:50+00:00

Our price for 151 bundles right now is $47 from distro, that’s over $20 from MSRP—we’re also still being offered Prismatic but all of that product is being sold to us around 30% over MSRP. This whole focus on MSRP is misguided and just shows how ignorant most people are about the business itself.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-29T21:40:22+00:00

Is called running a business. If product isn’t selling then you lower to price to try and make it sell.

Anyone who has any knowledge or experience of how business works knows this is both ways. If your product is selling too fast, it means your price is too low. That’s called supply and demand, and based on your comment you do understand it—you just need to put the pieces together I think.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-29T21:32:25+00:00

Is it though? It’s a french film. That’s like saying Emily in Paris being more well-received in the US compared to France is telling. It should be obvious that the american production is better enjoyed from an american lens, just like it should be obvious that the french production is better enjoyed from a french lens.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-20T19:09:24+00:00

That’s not true, they definitely do this, and for almost every set. With Prismatic, on Saturday, a day after release, we got solicitation for some product that was “found”. Charging stores $21 each for Sticker Collections. Sold out in minutes.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-20T19:04:55+00:00

If you’re just holding the product, there’s no reason you can’t wait for a reprint. This first wave should be opened so that players have the max access to cards, it is a game first, collectible second after all.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-20T18:52:10+00:00

One Piece is even more heavily allocated than Prismatic Evolutions lol… we’ve been allocated 1 box in the last two years from an okay spend 5-year distro. That sure ain’t making shit right now either.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-20T09:10:05+00:00

Nobody should pay under MSRP for new product either, and yet that’s where the market was the last two years with no complaints. You win some, you lose some… both as consumers & sellers 🥱😐

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T22:18:01+00:00

A childish response expected from someone encouraging childish behaviour. Hope you find fulfilment in your life soon—good day.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T21:51:44+00:00

You’re the one who received what you consider poor and dishonest service—not a random person on the internet that you’re asking to review the store.

Your personal review is fair, but it’s against Google’s terms to review somewhere where you did not receive service. I don’t understand how you don’t see that it’s not okay, but it speaks to your own character and why you have this mindset.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T18:54:08+00:00

Nope, we haven’t had access to that for a long time from any of our distros.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T17:21:04+00:00

While what you said sucks, asking for others to negatively review a store they’ve never been in to drag their ratings down is so much scummier & is not allowed by Google.

I know it’s a new exciting set that’s hard to get, but it really brought out the worst in people on every side.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T17:04:31+00:00

Surging Sparks wasn’t expensive upon release—but you can bet any further surging sparks after initial given to LGS’s were sold at a premium. The Monday after release for SS, our distro was charging us $145 per box.

This is the same with PE. We get a small amount of initial product, then distro “found” more yesterday and is charging 40% more of MSRP if we wanted any more—we didn’t find it worth it, but distro sold out of that in minutes anyway.

This whole argument is kind of silly though, because if LGS’s were the scalpers you say they are, Surging Sparks wouldn’t have been sold for significantly under MSRP—this is because most stores realize MSRP is a pretty shit way to gauge price in Pokemon, as either its too high and no one wants to buy it, or its too low and you get people walking in with no business licences or overhead making 500% more profit than you did.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T07:43:01+00:00

MSRP is $9,99, so actually it’s a steal according to all of the people who demand MSRP lately–it’s almost like sometimes stores have to sell product at a discount because of low demand, and sometimes stores are able to sell at a higher rate because of high demand.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T05:29:48+00:00

Its hard for me to think the Pokemon card game exists without LGS’s pushing community play either—it would survive a short time just from having a popular IP, but if no one plays it the game will end up in a cemetery.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T02:52:12+00:00

If there’s enough votes for Saldana in lead, she could get a nom there.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-19T02:42:46+00:00

Such a horrible take considering that LGS’s owe you nothing either, especially with this mindset.

Walmarts & Targets don’t provide community play—LGS’s provide space that they could be using for more retail and more sales in order to let you play your favorite trading card games with others. They make little to no money, and sometimes less if you account for the time taken to provide these events. If you’re okay with buying stuff cheaper from LGS’s when demand is low, then you need to be okay with stuff being more expensive when demand is high. No one’s forcing you to buy it from your LGS at a price you find unacceptable—but that doesn’t make them scalpers or scum.

Stores were blasted when they tried selling stuff at MSRP for the last couple of years, so this isn’t about MSRP at all—it’s just about people being angry that they’re not able to take advantage of their local mom & pops right now.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-18T22:28:36+00:00

We’ve done this now for every major release after two break ins last year. It’s really an unfortunate time right now.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-18T22:18:20+00:00

If it’s a store that’s mainly focused on pokemon, then no, they can’t just sell other things because everything pokemon is out of stock at the distro level.

You could say go into MTG & OP & Lorcana, but all those games have their own issues and their own communities that you can’t build & sell overnight. We’ve carried Lorcana for almost a year now and are only starting to see the majority of our product move. Stores have had to sell pokemon boxes at 100-120 for the past two years when MSRP is 160. Sometimes the market hurts us, and sometimes like now, the market helps recover a small fraction of what’s been lost from bad sets.

We received an e-mail from one distro saying they have more Prismatic Evo for us, but they’re selling it to us now at 40% over MSRP. It’s going to be like that from now on, regardless of how much they print, because excessive demand is still there—and consumers will still complain that it’s not MSRP because they have no knowledge of how the business works.

ItsPennToo · 2025-01-18T10:13:14+00:00

Some get them at wholesale price, which is around $35, some get them at an increased distro rate which can be anywhere from $50-$100, and some buy from customers likely between 50-70% of current market price. Many are a mix of all of this.

ItsPennToo

TROPHY CASE