As Scalpers Ruin TCG For Everyone Else, The Pokémon Company Promises They’ll Be “Maximizing Production To Increase Product”
According to The Pokémon Company, not only are they aware of just how bad the scalping problem has gotten in regards to the franchise’s popular Trading Card Game, but they are also taking active steps to address the issue.
While the act of ‘scalping’ – i.e. buying a given product, usually one of limited quantity, solely with the intent of re-selling it at a higher price – is a plague that persists across any and all ‘collectible hobbies’, when it comes to The Pokémon Card Game, the January release of the new Prismatic Prisms set saw the problem balloon to egregious proportions.
Seeking to either pull one of the sets handful of EX ‘Eeveelution’ cards, each of which are currently worth multiple hundreds of dollars, or acquire sealed stock which they can then upcharge for based on the potential to pull one of said cards, recent months have seen things taken to another level, with new videos appearing almost weekly depicting various scalpers getting into genuine physical altercations over in-store releases.
Of course, as noted above, while the insane scalper culture surrounding The Pokémon Card Game specifically may be reaching ever lower lows in 2025, it’s hardly a new phenomena for the world’s most popular TCG, with such behavior being a noted part of the hobby for pretty much its entire existence.
And while The Pokémon Company has made attempts to address the problem, including the implementation of a virtual queue on their official Pokémon Center retail website and the removal of plastic shrinkwrap from sealed products sold in their physical store locations, things have officially gotten so bad that the company has felt the need to push their efforts even further.
On March 27th, the company posted an update to the official Pokémon website declaring that “We’re aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products due to very high demand impacting availability. We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity to acknowledge this. Reprinted products are expected to be available at participating retailers as soon as possible.”
“For new Pokémon TCG expansions launching in the future, we are maximizing production to increase product availability upon release, and we will continue to reprint impacted products to replenish stock at participating retailers, including Pokémon Center, as soon as possible,” they then revealed. “For product releases at Pokémon Center, we are committed to providing a smooth purchasing experience and employ technology that helps get products into the hands of fans first and foremost.”
“Currently, Pokémon Center implements a virtual queue for certain products to help provide a more seamless purchasing process during periods of increased site traffic,” they further explained. “We will continue to explore measures that help create the best possible experience for Pokémon Center customers.”
Drawing their announcement to a close, The Pokémon Company ultimately thanked players “for their continued support and patience as we work to deliver more TCG products to fans.”
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