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There is A Shortage of Pokémon Cards Because the Company Can't Print Fast


Credit: Pokémon

Pokémon Cards are coming back to the limelight and the demand has risen to the point that Pokémon Company itself has been having a hard time printing the cards to satisfy the increasing demand of the cards.

Prices have skyrocketed for new packs of Pokémon cards because of scalpers and resellers as there seems to be a scarcity of the supply of the cards. This led the Pokémon Company to release an official statement as regards the issue.

On their official Twitter page, Pokémon Company admitted to the difficulty of the production because of the high demand coupled with limitations on global shipping which has drastically affected the availability of the cards.

The Pokémon Company also stated that the company would be printing the cards as quickly as possible to be able to get the cards to stores as soon as possible to alleviate the disappointment of fans and collectors on the issue.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game has resurfaced into popularity arising from various circumstances, one of which is the release of new promotional cards from McDonald's Happy meals in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Pokémon. To the surprise and disappointment of many fans and collectors, the card packs from Happy Meals were already selling out.

The card shortage didn't stop there. Booster packs for Vivid Voltage and Champion's Path sets also plummeted in supply as boxes got sold out to large retailers such as Walmart and Target.

Resellers have also been an issue on the scarcity of card supply. The retail price of $40 for the Vivid Voltage Elite Trainer Box doubles on eBay from resellers, in some cases, even triple the retail price.

Pokemon TCG
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Credit: Pokémon

The hype only pumped up as older and rarer Pokémon trading cards got record-breaking prices when sold at auctions. The Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram card, for example, was sold for the price of a whopping $350,000 more or less.

The collection of the cards got more competitive as people were forced to retreat to their homes due to the pandemic which gave the people more time to gain new hobbies like collecting cards.

YouTubers and streamers also contributed to the shortage. Unboxing of new packs via Twitch and YouTube became popular and because of this, YouTubers and streamers bought dozens of packs to unbox as their content for their respective channels.

While this fueled the rage of criticism on the streamers and vloggers, the opening of new packs via online channels gave way to the search for rare cards and new releases.

Pokémon Company assures the fans and collectors that new stocks will be out after a short wait and thanked the community for the undying support and patience for Pokémon TCG products.

Related: Prototype Pokemon Cards With Magic: The Gathering Back Certified as Genuine

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