Why are Pokemon cards sold out everywhere?

Anyone who has been trying to buy Pokemon cards lately has probably noticed that they are sold out everywhere. It's virtually impossible to get a Pokemon: Trading Card Game expansion pack these days, which prevents many from playing. Fans are wondering what is causing this trend of sold out Pokemon cards.

Why are Pokemon cards sold out everywhere?

Pokemon TCG cards have always been a hot item, but recently it has become impossible to buy them in retail outlets. They have also become incredibly expensive to buy second hand on eBay (even common rarity cards). The game has seen spikes in popularity over the years, but nothing quite like it.

There are two related reasons why Pokemon cards are difficult to buy at retail prices right now. The first is the streamers. All it takes is a quick look at YouTube and Twitch to see which card opening videos have become incredibly popular. Some of the biggest influencers have made multiple Pokemon card pull videos. This caused a huge surge in enthusiasm and caused them to fly off the shelves as soon as they were restocked.

Of course, whenever there's something popular, scalpers have to start crawling out of their slimy holes to suck the fun out of it all. Pokemon cards are popular, so scalpers often camp out to buy them ASAP to sell them on eBay. Since there is so much demand, it doesn't take long for scalpers to create an artificial scarcity by buying as many Pokemon cards as they can and pouring their stock into eBay.

For Pokemon card enthusiasts, the only solution to this problem is to wait for the storm to end. While early releases will likely continue to charge outrageous prices, newer and newer sets should eventually drop in price. It will hit another trend and many people will move on. It's just a matter of time.