You can do anything if you blame “the market.” GameStop has proven as much over the weekend, when the video game retailer instructed its stores to update the price tags on its Pokémon 30th-anniversary pre-orders. And since GameStop has now defined the floor on the anniversary TCG set, other card shops are inflating their own Pokémon pre-order costs accordingly.
To recap, in early July, GameStop sent out pricing guidance to its stores for the September release of the highly anticipated Pokémon set. At the time, the retailer had priced nearly everything at exorbitant prices. The Elite Trainer Box, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $49.99, for example, was listed by GameStop at $129.99 — a 260% markup. Though already incredibly overpriced, workers cautioned that these prices weren’t set in stone.
As word spread, so did outrage directed at GameStop. In particular, the public seemed aghast at the $600 Ultimate Premium Collection that was supposed to cost around $120. The UPC was thus being sold with about a 500% markup. Headlines about the pricing went viral, as evidenced by this single social media post that reached 1.3 million views.
Two days after images of its prices leaked, workers say that GameStop further increased pre-order prices. New fliers show that the ETB that once cost $129.99 will now be sold for $169.99; the markup is about 340%. Some prices, like the $49.99 Legendary Bird Poster Collection, have retained their original (overpriced) costs. But more popular products, like the 30th-anniversary Booster Bundle, have increased by $10. Anyone who already pre-ordered prior to the price increase will pay the original amount. Emphasis on supposed to: some GameStop workers are reporting that some pre-orders are being charged extra.
With prices like these, a rational person might assume that GameStop’s Pokémon products won’t be leaving the shelves. Infamously, many stores are flush with existing Pokémon products that aren’t being purchased due to their extravagant prices. Yet according to GameStop workers, the pre-orders for the special set are plentiful.
“My store has 10 preorders on the $600 UPC and 20 reserves on the $180 ETB,” one worker wrote on the GameStop subreddit. “So like …. it sucks all day long but they’ll do it because it’s selling.”
Another worker in that post shared an image from a few days ago that claimed 19 people had already pre-ordered the $169.99 product at their location — which requires a deposit of $85 to secure.
The bold pricing has evidently encouraged other sellers to pump their numbers as well. On TCGPlayer, the market price for the same ETB is $284; the median price is an astonishing $301. The cheapest listing as of this writing is $199. In other words, GameStop’s current prices for the celebratory set are cheap compared to everyone else. It is highly likely that, between now and the Sept. 16 release of the set, those prices will continue to climb. Yes, including the $600 UPC. After all, the market price for that product right now is $1,148. The cheapest UPC price is $877.
Between the existing demand and market prices, GameStop has plenty of incentives to keep increasing its prices. And as consumers discover that the retailer’s prices are the better bargain, sales will likely continue trickling in. It’s nearly unbelievable that, about a year ago, GameStop halted pre-orders of all Pokémon TCG products altogether.
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