With an upcoming ban or divestment of Tik Tok there’s one overlooked group of people who will definitely be hurt… Pokemon collectors. Tik Tok Pokemon deals may very well end completely.
For maybe a year now the Tik Tok store has offered exceptional deals on Pokemon products. The deals often add up to 20% or more off the retail price. Which is amazing considering how firm Pokemon product pricing is.
However President Biden signed a bill requiring the divestment of Tik Tok to a non Chinese owner. Tik Tok claims this bill is unconstitutional and has challenged the law in court … and it’s easy to see how they could make that case by the way. This bill does effect the speech of about 170 million American Tik Tok users. Each user is entitled to their speech and a blanket ban or forced divestment of a tool for speech across so many people just doesn’t sound constitutional.
Some slightly good news for Tik Tok users though is that it could take several years for the court case to work itself out. Presumably Tik Tok will remain up during that time.
But ultimately the ban or forced divestment of Tik Tok may change the equation for Pokemon collectors. A ban could mean Pokemon collectors lose access to the Tik Tok store permanently and a divestment could mean the new owner discontinuing Tik Tok’s aggressive coupon strategy or ditching the store all together. Both scenarios suck.
Considering how high prices are for pieces of cardboard any coupon is welcome. I mean we’re all spending maybe $105 per booster box to collect only a handful of Pokemon per set and there are an endless number of Pokemon sets being released. I guess we’re all going to have to go back to scrounging for deals.