Apparently allocations to local card shops have for Prismatic Evolutions product has been cut. This has led to card shops cancelling pre orders or just not offering as many pre orders as hoped.
Despite TPCi printing a similar amount of Prismatic Evolutions as previous holiday sets, many local stores have been forced to limit or even cancel customer preorders.
By our polling, an average U.S. store is receiving less than 10% to 15% of what they requested to buy from distributors.
Why is the average store not getting enough Prismatic Evolutions product? I spoke to Ben DeGuire, owner of Player 1 Services in Maryland, one of the largest Pokemon stores in the U.S. His sentiments echoed what I heard from other stores.
“I think a large part of the issue is that stores who do not normally order Pokemon are requesting to buy this set from distributors. Think small book stores, tabletop game stores, and other TCG-adjacent stores.” DeGuire frequently speaks to Pokemon’s distributors.
Prismatic Evolutions is an insanely hyped set and that fact is showing up in the amount of product available to people. There just currently isn’t enough. Now that will change when Prismatic Evolutions is actually released and stores put product on shelves. Pre orders do not represent the whole supply of Prismatic Evolutions product despite what people seem to think.
I do believe that the Pokemon Company with time will add on print runs for Prismatic Evolutions just like with 151. The extra product will be packaged up in a new product like Blooming Waters for 151, but it will be a reprint.
The problem is just time. People won’t want to wait for a reprint and so will buy and hoard Prismatic Evolutions product to either set on or resell. Which is a shame because that kind of behavior does nothing except hurt the hobby.
Fully expect scalpers to take as much Prismatic Evolutions product as they possibly can from places like Target and Walmart as soon as they open their doors. It saddens me to say that you will most likely have to wait in the cold outside the doors for the store opening to get Prismatic Evolutions product. And you’re most likely going to have to shove people to get it. Which is ridiculous and you shouldn’t actually do.
I know we’re at this point with scalpers because of the sheer value of Pokemon products but at the same time it’s hard to understand. This is just a hobby, not an investment or something to profit off of. The Pokemon Company already profits off of people enough for everyone.
Anyway, the only set I can think of that will have hype similar to Prismatic Evolutions is the upcoming Glory of Team Rocket set. Both are probably going to go down in Poke history as the most important sets in modern Pokemon.
Prismatic Evolutions is really going to be something else. Difficult to collect, difficult to buy, just difficult. Good luck out there.