Scalpers are a cancer in any market, from plushies to gaming merchandise, and the Pokemon franchise is probably one of the worst. One North Carolina dad and his 10-year-old son experienced firsthand the toxicity of scalper culture when they tried to buy some Pokemon card packs at Target. The saddest part is that the cards were supposed to be a reward for his son getting through a difficult medical procedure.
When they arrived at Target, the shelves were loaded with Pokemon card packs, so the son was obviously excited. But when he was just about to pick one, a worker stopped him, telling him the father and son would have to wait behind the long wait line of buyers. “I looked up and there was a line 20-30 deep of ADULTS,” the dad recalled. Intimidated by the sight of grown-ups taking up the queue, the son wanted to leave, but the dad reassured him that they’d get a good pack since that’s what he chose as his “prize” for getting through the hospital appointment.
After almost an hour, the line finally started moving, but by the time the father and son made it to the cards, nothing was left except a few boxes that cost over $75. Needless to say, “it was super disappointing,” the dad sadly said. “So freaking frustrating😔,” the dad continues, the reason being that several of the adults in line “made it clear they were there to make money off the cards.” They walked out of Target loaded with boxes of cards like they were preparing for a shortage.
The dad took to r/mildlyinfuriating to complain about the disheartening incident. Plenty of people in the comments were very sympathetic, with some even offering to send him some cards for his son. However, the dad politely refused, saying that he was just on Reddit to vent, not ask for gifts. One highly upvoted comment suggests visiting Trading Card stores or Board Game stores, as they aren’t just mega retailers who care little about the quality of their shoppers’ experience. “Because card stores will actually tell the scalpers to f*ck off since they are bad for their business model,” remarks a commenter.
Plenty more chimed in, saying how much they, too, hated scalpers ruining the market for literally anything that becomes popular, especially Pokemon. Those adults at the Target definitely lacked empathy since no one thought of letting the 10-year-old child go first. Hopefully, the dad took his son later to a hobby shop to get the card pack he wanted.
