Thanks to the ever-reliable Pokebeach, it’s been revealed that The Pokémon Company International’s (TPCi’s) previously announced “Prismatic Evolutions Premium Figure Collection” will include a copy of an Umbreon Ex and Espeon Ex. Planned for release on September 26th, this figure collection is just one of the upcoming products that may stabilize the market price of the just-released Prismatic Evolution set.
Back in January, the fanfare of Prismatic Evolutions was mired in frustration. Merchandise related to Prismatic Evolution was sold at exorbitant prices in the secondhand market due to scalpers hoarding the available supply. Unfortunately, this created a disproportionate demand compared to supply that drove coveted items like the Umbreon Ex Special Illustration Rare (SIR) to prices in excess of $1500 during the set’s release week.
Now with the dust settling and with the help of more newly released items of the set like the Mini Tins and the Surprise box, we are seeing a shift in the secondhand market. Other SIRs like Sylveon Ex, LeafeonEx, and Vaporeon Ex, are now diminishing in price. Unfortunately, the aforementioned Umbreon Ex has only made minuscule movements in its price point.
While it’s difficult to call potentially lower prices an eventuality, there’s nonetheless some contention in the community. Some players feel that the cards within the Figure Collection will just end up repeating history. After all, it’s not like scalpers have gone anywhere, so they’ll continue to manipulate the market for their own gain.
Other players, meanwhile, are more optimistic that all of the available reprints will bring prices down. Hopefully, it shouldn’t be long until exactly this happens since cheaper cards are good for everyone.
As a note, the reprints in the figurine set could have alternate artwork compared to the variants available in Prismatic Evolutions. If this is the case, not only will the price of the Prismatic Evolutions cards be unaffected, but new chase cards could be created. This will only create more opportunities for Scalpers to make money from rare Pokémon merchandise.
It’s slow going, but evidence is starting to appear that TPCi is taking measures to alleviate the burden of their product’s less-than-stellar launch. We will see in the coming months if it will be enough.
Pokémon Prismatic Evolutions Card Demands $1000+!