TCG Complaint Thread

bagoly14

Collecting is expensive -_-
Member
This thread went from calm to totally intense haha :D

I agree that the TCG isn't that interesting right now and quite boring. Don't even get me started on weighing packs, there is WAY too much talk about it.

Buy from someone you trust or buy from someone random and know the consequences. I think everyone who buys loose packs knows this.

Also, scamming kids out of holos and saying its fine just because the TCG is not set up correctly is ridiculous. Two wrongs don't make a right.

:cool:
 

proddy

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Daelum said:
Honestly, I don't even want to comment on your opinion on weighing packs. Actually, I will, because it needs to be said. Weighing packs is unfair for everyone but the person doing the weighing. Before I begin, I just want to say that buying booster packs is almost always a waste of money - it always has been, and it always will be; the odds are too unbalanced to make a $4 pack worth the money a majority of the time. Yes, you can go buy 1 pack and get an expensive card, but that rarely happens. Okay, moving on, weighing packs is unfair - let's use an example. I buy a Plasma Freeze booster box. I weigh all 36 packs. I keep the heaviest packs for myself, open them, and pull all the URs from the box. I then go and sell the unopened packs to someone who does not know I weighed them - whether it is online or in person does not matter. The buyer generally believes that they have some chance of pulling a UR, or at least a holo. Of course, they know the risks of opening packs, but they are willing to take the risk. Now, since I weighed the packs, the risk involved in opening packs drastically changes. No longer is there a possibility of them getting a UR or a holo. The odds have disappeared. Do you see why this is unfair? If you do not inform the buyer that the packs are weighed, you are cheating them out of the fairness of having that random chance.

First of all let me state that scaling is immoral and I do not weigh packs at the store. I used to weigh packs from booster boxes I bought, pull the ultra rares but try to keep some of the regular holos in the packs and put them in lots of 4-5 with 1-2 heavy boosters and sell them. I realized this wasn't right and was unfair, despite somewhat evening the odds, I still felt guilty. I stopped and now try to discourage scaling whenever I come across it and discussions pertaining to weighing. I still weigh my own packs mainly for curiosity but I can predict which packs will have ultra rares/holos by writing stuff down and making an educated guess.

With that out of the way, we have to accept that scaling is the reality. Usually retail places like Wal-Mart or Target will be scaled and all thats left is junk. Unfortunately it's also the most likely place kids buy their boosters, when they're out with the parents shopping. It's also the place you're least likely to get caught scaling, or the employees there don't care. It's a large store too, so you can probably scale in peace anyway.

It's how it is. I don't agree with it, I don't participate, but I don't waste energy trying to argue that it's not the reality. All you can do is try and educate people that scaling happens and how to avoid it.

Big retailers with their cards behind glass are less likely to be scaled too, along with local card shops with boxes on or near the counter or behind glass as well. Places that host tournaments are pretty much guaranteed to leave their boxes alone and enforce strict rules on scaling, but your milage may vary.

For online sellers you have to scour their feedback. Do they also sell singles? If they do, they have an automatic conflict of interest. Is Pokemon their specialty or do they stock other card games, or other items in general? What's their volume like? All these can point to signs of scaling. Try and look for other reviews like their facebook page.

Other online retailers with their own website like pokemonforever are less likely to scale their packs and have generally good reputations.

All this still doesn't help that little kid who gets a random pack here and there or the random collector who buys a few packs with their groceries, which sucks, but we can't do much about except try to inform as many people as possible.



Bo$$_89 said:
Still, think of the little kid going to Wal Mart. He plays the Pokemon games, trades cards with his friends, and has no idea that there is actually a competitive way to play Pokemon. His mom lets him buy packs once a week for allowance, and they're always crap. Now he can't trade with his friends because the cards seem crappier than his friends, and he doesn't have the joy of opening a FA EX for example. You know how happy that makes a kid feel? His day would be set and now he can show off to his friends. Scaling doesn't just hurt the kids though, it also hurts he people that just buy packs for fun, and don't buy singles. Buying packs can be a much easier way to obtain cards, since most meta cards are upwards of thirty now.

I absolutely agree, but the reality is that we can't do much for them. We can only help people who smell something isn't right and post to places like here and other forums. Or they search for generally accepted pull rates and see they should've gotten something after 25 packs or whatever. We can also try and discourage scalers who show off their gains.
 

pokemoncatcher

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I was not going to get in this argument but hey I might as well.
Now weighing packs has been around since well when they started doing ultra rares and foils back in the basketball days, I think it is totally wrong as I for one have been stung by it, Now on the other hand (which is still wrong) sellers shop owners or what ever who weigh packs simply do it for profit card shops do not really make that much money as they need to open booster's for single sales and it eats their profits.
I had a few friends who were regulars at a local card shop and they would buy big nearly every time they bought booster packs they would get a ultra rare, now the shop owner must have weighed the packs had them put in a certain box or certain part of the box to give to his valued customers which to me is still wrong.

That all being said I am both a collector and a player for me I do not buy booster boxes or packs apart from Japanese boxes. I do this for many reasons one being to exspensive to buy boxes or packs when I can use the money to straight out buy singles which is cheaper for me as im getting what I want instead of blowing my money on boosters and no know what I am getting when it comes to the big ticket items.
Yes I do love the enjoyment and excitement of opening booster packs it is awesome and some time I do give in and buy a box :).
I think collectors are good because we preserve the cards and store them well even when I have spares they all get treated the same so when these popular cards have no use for play and some are played and what not the collector is there to sell the near mint to mint copies for players that collect. Even when the card is sleeved it will still get play wear over time.

Players are important because they in a way keep the game going and alive as if there were no players there would be no tournaments pokemon would lose money and stop producing the card game I have seen this happen.

TPCI need to control of their quality of the cards in both the conditions of cards and the sets as in making the game enjoyable and the sets look good or they could be in some trouble.
Score entertainment went bust for many reasons but they killed the dragonball z/gt by producing a remake that was stale call re/z and it did hit them hard.

Lets just enjoy the card game for it's collective and game play.

Excile I hope you don't weigh your packs you have for sale.
 

rev3rsor

目がピアノを弾く
Member
I just wanted to give my two cents to this discussion:
I'm generally against cheating, stealing and all that so I would say that I'm against scaling.
I pretty much never buy packs because of the inflation in Australia ($6 per pack, $7 a few years ago? no thanks), but my friends do, no scaling because Pokemon isn't really popular around where I live. A few EX's, FA's now and then. Everyone's happy.
Now consider some random guy comes to the store and scales all the packs. My friends buy packs, pull nothing, no more packs. Everyone's unhappy (except me because I buy singles very occasionally).
My point is that scaling, IMO, means the scaler gets all the good stuff and everyone else gets, to be blunt, nothing (i.e. crap).

Onto a different topic, I'm against the high HP big attack EX's that are everywhere now. I have many cards from long ago that used to be good and can't stand a chance. It's like power creep, just on a ridiculously high scale. My Garchomp C LV.X now takes 3-4 snipes to kill an EX (depends Eviolite or not). Not like :(
 

pokedan24

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Prism energy: Was it really necessary to give a basics another advantage over evolutions? Isn't the fact that they're basics and don't have to evolve more than enough? Why couldn't they just reprint rainbow energy instead?
 

omahanime

Come and visit me.
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
An encouraging note(I hope) bought a sealed box over the internet. The seller threw in an extra booster from another set. After opening, it was very evident he did not weigh this pack. :)
 

bagoly14

Collecting is expensive -_-
Member
omahanime said:
An encouraging note(I hope) bought a sealed box over the internet. The seller threw in an extra booster from another set. After opening, it was very evident he did not weigh this pack. :)

Haha or he weighed it to make sure you get something good (reverse psychology)

:p
 

TheTPCProductionz

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Well, that's a nice thing. I have gotten free packs before, and usually get a Holo. I don't think as many people weigh packs, as some people preach.
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
bagoly14 said:
omahanime said:
An encouraging note(I hope) bought a sealed box over the internet. The seller threw in an extra booster from another set. After opening, it was very evident he did not weigh this pack. :)

Haha or he weighed it to make sure you get something good (reverse psychology)

:p

This has happened to me before..

I received 8 or so free packs from a friend and they all had URs and "chase" cards.
 

omahanime

Come and visit me.
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
SoulWind said:
bagoly14 said:
Haha or he weighed it to make sure you get something good (reverse psychology)

:p

This has happened to me before..

I received 8 or so free packs from a friend and they all had URs and "chase" cards.

I need friends like that.
 

dark lord of the sith

the lord of all siths
Member
well I see the old weighing the packs issues has been discussed no matter were you go what you collect you find the not so faithful traders sellers that will do this.
but not every one who sell single boosters are like this.
 
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