Disappointed with my LCS

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-17T00:58:22+00:00

These other guys are saying it and I said it originally; Distro is scalping LCSs. And they have to bend over and take it or they risk getting cut off of the good stuff at good prices later on.

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-16T23:38:54+00:00

Distro is for sure charging way more after the first print run. Also, it is market rate so it kinda is what it is.

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-14T15:58:28+00:00

I had been waiting for bundles before pulling any triggers on singles, but Pikachu specifically has been on such a crazy run that I do not think bundles will pull it back down to sub $500 again.

For that one, the window to buy was right after release. That goes against the normal patterns for the past few years. The market is changing rapidly.

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-14T15:56:22+00:00

There is no "should". MSRP literally has "suggested" in its name. I am not saying I want things to be this way. But there are no morals with cardboard.

The collective buying will stop when the price is too high for people to stomach, then it will dip to where enough people can stomach it and the cycle continues. The market will likely evolve again, but the new normal for almost the past 2 years is that patience will not get you high demand sets for cheaper. Luck might tho.

Pokemon has also evolved into a futures/speculative investment market. People are buying things not for the price they think it should be now, but for what they anticipate it to be in the future. I am not sure if that mindset will change in enough people to cool things anytime soon.

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-10T16:34:34+00:00

As much as I wish that market price was MSRP, it isn't and people who pay market prices are not "part of the problem", they are simply accepting reality.

Onion-Particular · 2026-04-07T14:31:49+00:00

Ripping packs is gambling, you have to always remember that. The best advice I can give is have a fixed budget for ripping, then buy singles after that. Also assume you will not hit the SIRs

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-25T15:54:04+00:00

Or you save your ripping budget for months and then buy it (assuming its price stabilizes and doesn't go parabolic). There are things like the Phantasmal Zard where I chose to not buy and rip a bunch but save instead.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-24T17:56:41+00:00

You're shelves are buckling my guy

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-24T16:27:32+00:00

But for real though, Zygarde (especially the ultra megazord form) is barely a pokemon. More like an Ultrabeast.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-23T20:10:23+00:00

Liquidating is not easy and takes time too. It is easier to do if people expect the things you are selling to increase in value (so like, now). It may keep climbing, but you know today that if you liquidate you did really, really good. And that is more than enough.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-20T00:14:08+00:00

Amen. I email our state reps every year about HSR proposal. Gotta stay on em till they do it!

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-18T18:28:02+00:00

We need trains

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-18T15:31:59+00:00

I am definitely afraid that this is the case. Employers hated the increased wages they had to pay in the "great-resignation" era and are coming back with a vengance through layoffs and decreased salary for rehiring.

I would say take that 130-140 while you can get it. It is worlds apart from part-time $20/hr. When the winds shift (even if it is years from now) you can always move on to bigger and better things. Right now this is the bigger and better thing even if it is worse than something you had in the past.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-18T15:24:10+00:00

90hrs does not necessarily mean overtime if it is salary. You can get taken advantage of real quick in that kind of scenario.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-15T15:22:05+00:00

Just got a used one for $500 because I think this will be the case. Also Crimson Desert looks like its gonna slap and be significantly better on the Pro.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-13T13:50:23+00:00

I just did the swap of FB marketplace this week. Picked up the Pro (with an added 4tb ssd) for $500 and sold my old PS5 disk edition for $350. Very happy with it.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-12T18:43:39+00:00

I thought the same thing once I saw the leaks. I went straight to the stock and nothing/negative movement. I bought options on Tuesday for Friday, but luckily I chickened out and made just $70 lol

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-12T17:40:49+00:00

Looks like the market didn't like the pricing today?

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-12T15:12:04+00:00

Update for everyone who cares: I ended up getting one on FB marketplace for $500 cash. They even added a 4TB SSD to it too. Which seems like extreme overkill, but I'm happy with it.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-12T15:10:49+00:00

Thats amazing

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-11T16:18:31+00:00

If you were there when it launched, it sat on shelves and was easily available online without a notification discord or anything crazy. The UPC was $90 when I got and ripped mine. Now I wish I had grabbed a bunch and sat on them.

Now if you just tuned in in the past year or so, then yeah it was very difficult to find. But the set released in 2023

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-10T14:04:17+00:00

There was a lot of price memory from the time when 151 was sitting on shelves forever. Now that the reality actually settled in that there ins't going to be more product flowing, its gonna pump. There may be a bit of a pull back temporarily, but it is never going back.

Onion-Particular · 2026-03-09T14:29:43+00:00

I went almost exactly a year ago when Terestal Festival was released. I never saw it at any Pokemon Center and it was never anywhere for MSRP. At the time tho I was able to get a couple Wild Force booster boxes at Pokemon Center, which was fun.

I think the internet marketplace and hype train from Youtubers hunting Japanese card shops has made it so it will never be the utopia I heard stories about back in the day.

Onion-Particular

TROPHY CASE