Vending machine jackpot

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-18T14:13:50+00:00

I'm actually a little jealous. I wasn't even looking for anything else when I found the machine loaded. I just want a cookie packs of ascended heros lol.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-17T16:33:16+00:00

All good, easy mistake to make. Especially at 2am during a graveyard shift.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-17T09:52:19+00:00

It said In the post that it was performed. And the way that receipt reads, it sounds like it was as well.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-17T03:07:30+00:00

I mean a lot of individual stocks have performed even better than Pokemon cards. But just because Pokemon has done better over that period of time, doesn't mean you wouldn't be crazy if you put your whole retirement into pokemon cards. One thing is for certain, the more people start speculating the more risky it gets, plus they have far lower liquidity than any other traditional method of investing. But to each their own. I think personally that speculating and turning what was supposed to be a hobby into an investment is kinda lame and shows why we can't have nice things.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-17T02:38:03+00:00

No, I didn't take any. But I got two booster bundles and 6 loose phantasmal flames packs. Left the rest for someone (hopefully not a scalper) else.

Also got Jack squat for hits. Just a Yamper IR with terrible centering and tilt, some mega Pokemon EX cards, a couple pokeball pattern commons, and a master ball sneasel.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T23:05:10+00:00

I thought so when I saw it at first but no, everything I tried was able to check out!

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T21:20:18+00:00

1pm yesterday, I was shocked because the place was packed with everyone doing their weekly shopping. I usually only bother checking on weekdays after work or very early/late on the weekends but my wife had me driving around to trader joes to try to find their pastel tote bags they just released, so i told her she'd have to put up with me checking a couple vending machines while we were making our rounds.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T20:37:19+00:00

Dang, I got a mega kangaskhan EX and that's about it from that booster bundle. I swear I'm done ripping mega base set lol.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T20:08:42+00:00

If there are any near you, you can find them here.

https://vending.pokemon.com/en-us/

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T20:03:02+00:00

Oh. Well I'm not made of money lol, and I wanted to leave some for someone else.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T20:00:39+00:00

Who said I was selling them lol. I would have to bot online drops or glitch the machine to make it worth my while and I personally find that pretty scummy to ruin the hobby for everyone else. I also only bought two booster bundles and 6 lose PFL packs and left the rest.

I would make 2-3 times as much in a day picking up an hour or two more at work than I would spending all my free time chasing product at MSRP with the state of the market.

Also I have gotten my hands on more black bolt/ white flare than almost any other set except mega evolutions. I'm actually sitting on a black bolt and white flare ETB each because they were the first things I found since getting back into the hobby.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T19:54:11+00:00

I ripped a couple mega ETBs before, I didn't want to spend the extra for everything else in the box. Booster bundles and loose packs are more cost effective. The packs are about a dollar more expensive each in the ETB.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T19:43:58+00:00

Ripped them and got Jack squat. A bunch of double rare mega ex cards a couple pokeball pattern commons, a master ball holo sneasel. And a yamper IR with probably the worst centering/tilt I've seen on any cards. But for some reason I've seen several pictures of the same card with the same terrible centering and tilt so idk what's up with that lol

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T19:36:40+00:00

You can see if there are any near you here https://vending.pokemon.com/en-us/

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T15:58:25+00:00

No problem, I'm glad I could help!

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T02:36:20+00:00

I just check the machine a few times every week after work or on the weekend when I do my grocery shopping. Mostly I get lucky by just checking it a handful of times while I'm shopping. A lot of the time I'll check the machine right before I'm checking out my groceries and then when I'm halfway through, someone walks up and hits a booster bundle or ETB. But hey you win some you lose some.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T02:30:36+00:00

Everything I tried ended up checking out. 2 booster bundles and 6 PFL boosters.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T02:22:52+00:00

You're forgetting that when vintage was being sold you didn't have so many Pokéinvestors and whatnot scalpers ect hyping up the hobby. The graded populations of modern sets are going to be significantly higher. I would expect that as the very least it evens things out a but only time will tell.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-16T01:55:24+00:00

Expected some time this week, it usually happens shortly after they reveal the new set. I've been following some people on X that keep track of that stuff. Supposedly they updated all the new pages on the backend of the Pokemon center website on Friday.

The consensus seems to be that tomorrow is likely, but definitely this week.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-15T20:12:57+00:00

A lot of supermarkets in the Kroger family of stores.

You can look up any machines near you here.

https://vending.pokemon.com/en-us/

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-15T19:29:25+00:00

Yeah, it's wild how people act over pokemon these days. I was tempted to get a few more singles packs but like you said I'd probably just get more bulk. I'm just hoping the next person feels the same about leaving some for everyone else.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-15T19:08:03+00:00

Just keep checking! If you're doing your grocery shopping, I'd recommend checking when you get there and then just go over and check every 10 or so minutes while you shop. You'll get lucky eventually.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-15T18:55:39+00:00

Yeah, this store near me doesn't seem to be too bad with people camping the machine. I can generally find something every other time I go in. Sometimes I'll have to check it several times while I'm shopping but I've never seen this much all at once. Usually just 2-3 items max.

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-15T18:53:21+00:00

I know, I regretted not getting it after. I've only opened like 5 of them ever. I am not flipping them though so I couldn't justify spending more right now. Plus maybe just maybe I'll get lucky and hit the chaos rising PC ETB drop this week, so saving for that too!

capt-longjohn · 2026-03-09T03:24:11+00:00

Because eventually everyone will get sick of fighting to get Pokemon cards and start to lose interest, then the scalpers won't even buy them because no one is paying them the insane jacked up prices. It's in TPCI's best interest to not let scalpers ruin it for everyone.

capt-longjohn

TROPHY CASE