First Of All, What Is Pokemon TCG?
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a card game based on the “Pokemon” Franchise, developed by Satoshi Tajiri. The first set of the Pokemon TCG was released in Japan on October 20, 1996, featuring many fan-favourite Pokemon such as Venasaur, Blastoise, and Charizard.
What Gives These Cards Their Price?
In the TCG, the rarities of the Pokemon are divided as Common, Uncommon, and Rare. Rarer Cards are typically harder to pull and because of their exclusivity and low frequency in packs, collectors tend to like the card more. The nature of supply and demand thus takes play and the card gains price.
Througout the years, Pokemon TCG has also released many new rarities of cards, who highly outclass the typical Rare card. These include Secret Rares, Promotional Cards, and Alternate Arts, whose unique aspects highly attract many collectors.
Why Are The Card Prices Skyrocketing?
The Pokemon TCG has faced many ups-and-downs in terms of their prices. When it was initially released, the hype for the game exploded and prices were without a doubt at one of their greatest peaks. Thus Pokemon slowly integrated itself into many childrens lives. Now fast-forward to present day, ever since 2020, the start of Quarantine, theres been a Nostalgic-Driven Boom in prices of cards, with influencers such as Logan Paul supporting the hype by auctioning off extremely expensive cards, which sold for thousands of dollars. Most recently, there has also been new sets released with highly sought after cards of Pokemon that people have taken a nostalgic liking to. Such as Surging Sparks or Prismatic Evolutions, with the most expensive cards ranging from $300 to $2,200!
The hype has bled on into 2025 and Pokemon Cards still remain extremely relevant. However, theres been a noticale trend occuring, which is known as scalping. Scalping is the act of buying large quantities of an asset right when it comes out, for example Movie Tickets, and reselling it off for an extremely higher price than what they paid for, due to supply and demand.
Why Is Scalping Relevant?
Due to the massive boom in card popularity, many individuals have caught onto the idea of scalping and have been taking it into action everywhere, from Target, Walmart, Gamestop, etc. This makes finding Pokemon cards in the present day extremely difficult and even if you do find them, the price of the cards will be extremely inflated and difficult to come by. There have been many viral videos circulating on the internet of people waiting in lines of Walmarts or Targets, several hours before Pokemon card restocks. They do this in order to be the first person there to buy all the cards, resell the most cards, and make the most profit in the long run.
Positives and Negatives With Scalping
The most obvious negative outcome of scalping is that people can no longer access Pokemon cards as easily as before 2020, with packs being sold for almost two times their prices in 2019! This can especially ruin the Pokemon TCG for the new generation of children who have become invested in Pokemon as well. Without cards, how will the children satiate their hobby of Pokemon or continue on its “legacy”?
However, one of the more notable positives of scalping is that cards have now gained price tremendously. Cards that were once $1.50 have become worth $30, and cards that were once $20 have become worth $400. In other words, the main benefit of scalping lies in the idea of investment. Many cards that you have at home right now, may be worth from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars!
Conclusion
Scalping has undeniably changed the Pokemon TCG market permanantly, driving cards to extremely high prices and limiting the stock of cards available. However, putting value and price to the side, it is still important to enjoy the cards themselves. The value of Pokemon cards is much more than just a price tag, it’s about the fun of battling, collecting your favourite pokemon, and reliving nostalgic memories.
