Bring On The Pokémon FOMO

It’s official: I’m feeling the FOMO.

Late last week, the pre-orders for Journey Together dropped on the Pokémon Center website.

I’ve been buying PC ETBs since they were first created, starting with the Chilling Reign set. Sure, I stopped buying them after Brilliant Stars, but I haven’t missed a set from the Scarlet & Violet era.

Until today. I was not able to secure any pre-orders.

And, the truth is: it hurts!

With this release the Pokemon Center website experienced enormous traffic and was constantly crashing. The result was that collectors around the world were not able to get their hands on these coveted pre-orders.

If that’s you: you’re not alone!

The good news is, the Pokemon Center has always restocked with more products on or around the release day: we should all get another chance.

But the reality is that, whenever they restock, the situation is likely to be the same: a flood of traffic and a crashing website.

And so, I’m preparing myself for the reality that I will not be able to get a PC ETB for this set at MSRP. And that I may end up not owning one at all.

This sucks 😤

Easier Said Than Done…

For the last couple months, as it became clear the Pokémon market was booming, I’ve been saying the same thing over an over again:

A booming market is not the time to be buying.

With this in mind, I knew I’d end up having to miss some releases. And, I thought I was prepared for it.

But, this is the first time I’ve been unable to secure one of the only sealed English items I’ve actually been collecting: the sealed PC ETBs.

Even though I only started taking them seriously when they added the exclusive promo cards during the Scarlet & Violet era, I’ve built a connection to the product type and my growing sealed collection.

Collecting SV era PC ETBs has become part of my identity.

And to be suddenly denied the ability to continue my collection, at least, at MSRP prices as I’ve become used to, feels terrible.

But, this is exactly the reality I said I was prepared for: missing out on the latest releases.

It’s just so much easier said than done.

Now, I’m trying to find the silver lining: the lesson, practice, or takeaway from this experience that will ultimately make me a better collector and investor.

And I think it’s obvious: I need to embrace what I preach.

A booming market is not the time to be buying…

And, that means it’s OK to miss out.

Next Steps

The market for Pokémon is cyclical: its popularity (and prices) rise and falls, over and over again.

This happened in 2016. Again in 2020/21, and we’re beginning to experience the full force of this boom in 2025.

But, every boom is followed by a reset: a time when the supply of product finally catches up the demand. Whether it’s due to a flood of new supply from the Pokemon Company, a drop in demand from the market, or both.

The reset has always come.

My collectibles investing philosophy is rooted in this cyclical market pattern, and ensuring that I’m taking the right kinds of actions for each phase of the market.

We have to believe that new opportunities will present themselves as the market inevitably corrects. Maybe not with this set specifically, but other new sets that release after the market has cooled.

In the meantime, the goal should be to focus on doing whatever you can do to enjoy your time collecting, so you’re here and ready when those new opportunities emerge.

And you better believe I’ll be here providing my thoughts and comments all along.

As usual…

Thank you so much for reading the TCG Buyers Club newsletter.

My name’s Grey, I buy cardboard, and I make collecting and investing in Pokémon simple.

Cheers 🍻

P.S. My latest video covers the upcoming Prismatic Evolutions release and… how none of us are prepared for it. I discuss the history of past hyped Pokémon set releases, and what it might mean for Prismatic Evolutions, and I present my exact strategy for navigating it. (Surprise: it’s by NOT succumbing to FOMO 😉)

You can watch the full video here: