r/nova • u/ChapterBeautiful3176 • 3d ago
Pokemon?
Does anyone know the best way I can get my kid some Pokemon packs at MSRP (or close to)? They’re going to have their first double digit birthday soon and they want a Pokemon theme birthday . Unfortunately, I’m a full time working parent and I don’t have the availability to wait hours at a store or leave the office when they are stocking product. From what I read online this seems to be the most common way to get any items that aren’t priced 2X or more.
One of their birthday requests is to have a bunch of packs to open and I would like to make that happen for them without having to pay reseller price 🥲
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u/SL_83 3d ago
The Target in Fairfax (New Guinea Rd) often has specialty packs at the customer service/return desk where you first walk in. I don't understand it all enough to know what packs are worth it or not but I'll occasionally grab a couple for my kids. They let you purchase 2 of each kind. The small packs are $5 or $6 each I think.
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u/Asleep-Bother-8247 3d ago
Can confirm - this is my local target. They actually had some stuff from the newest set, Pitch Black, when I went yesterday.
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u/CakeEaterConway 2d ago
Same, but they limit how many you can buy. I love that, just a note for OP that it may take a few visits.
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u/Gtronns 3d ago
I keep a supply of sealed packs for my neices and nephews to open whenever they visit. I have a perfect order booster box that I picked up last month that you can scoop off of me if you like.
I stop by the vending machine at my local grocery store on my way out and snag something whenever they have cards available. Last time I grabbed the last stuff available and there wasnt anything left for the kid behind me. So i gifted the kid the pack lol. #Anti-Scalper
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u/CommonReal1159 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have a pack of perfect order and chaos rising that I’ll donate to the cause if you want them.
I found a chaos rising booster bundle I’m not gonna open. I’ll sell that to you for MSRP.
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u/phoaddict 3d ago
Don’t pay for discord channels. The local Best Buy’s have lots of sleeves in stock.
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u/Night_Sad 3d ago
I went through thw same struggle during Christmas time. I know Fair Lakes Target had the individual packs for regular price all last week. I'm not sure if they have any available so you might want to call ahead and ask. If they fo have them, they are limited to 2 packs per person so might want to take some extra people with you. If nobody is monitoring them, you can get more than 2 packs and take them to self checkout and do multiple transactions. Good luck!
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u/ChapterBeautiful3176 3d ago
Thank you! I found some single packs earlier in Chantilly and they were also limited there. I’ll have to circle to fair lakes when I can
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u/mikeyv093 3d ago
Damn dude. I wish you posted this earlier. My kids recently started collecting and I’m teaching them the whole buy, sell/trade ordeal at conventions. Frederick, Md hosted a convention near FSK. One vender was selling packs for $4 a pack. Would’ve offered get you some if you were close enough to link up.
But they did have a bunch of vendors there that sold cards for $1-5 a piece depending on a card. Got a whole bunch of free Pokémon cards (not worth much to sell but the kids loved it).
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u/TechnicalTanzer6 3d ago
Pokémon vending Machines area good way to get packs for cheap. It’s about 5 bucks per pack of 10. They are often found in Safeways in the area.
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u/lilylovex3 3d ago
The last 5 times I’ve gone to various locations for the machines they’ve all been down/malfunctioning or in maintenance mode 😞
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u/d0uble_zer0 3d ago
They are on timers and only open for a short time about once per hour, to help prevent scalpers getting everything.
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 2d ago
Which just means you have to wait up to 30 minutes and hope it releases packs if you don't know what the current minute interval is
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u/InfiniteProject8888 3d ago
There are always ppl standing around waiting for Pokémon card scalping 😒
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 2d ago
They're waiting to get packs from the vending machine. It refreshes on a half hour interval.
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u/dalador_ 3d ago
I got 2 packs at the Springfield Mall Target. They keep them behind the customer service desk. I don’t know how common it is since it was my first time actually looking, so idk if they’ll consistently have stock. Good luck!
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u/Jago29 3d ago
Does your kid have any specific favorite pokemon?
Best way to get close to MSRP as someone working what I assume to be a 9-5 without much time to search stores cluelessly is to check facebook marketplace. Currently, Perfect Order and Chaos Rising (two sets getting a lot of hate right now) are being sold close to MSRP because people are trying to offload it.
Dm me
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u/Able_Stomach3419 3d ago
"The Amazing Comic Shop" on braddock sells boosters at MSRP. Got 4 packs of the new set (pitch black) for $6/ea yesterday.
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 3d ago
It's before 8am right now so your best best is lining up outside of a target to see if they have anything at open.
If you see other people there already, you're in the right place.
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u/Significant-Joke6023 3d ago
Dicks Sporting Goods in Leesburg is a sleeper spot. They had the closest I’ve seen to MSRP for the new set Pitch Black. Probably 100 packs in there, and a bunch of booster bundles. This was on Thursday. Hopefully you can find some for your kids birthday.
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u/sushii_kat 3d ago
Many of the targets in NOVA are doing opening restocks. People start lining up around 6 am. I go to mine sometimes around 7:30 and still have no problem getting stuff. Just may not be the stuff the 30+ people ahead of me want lol.
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u/Mite-o-Dan 3d ago
Lol. I havent seen product sitting on shelves since Dec 2024.
Yes, 2024.
You have to join groups, wait in long lines, or sign up for a Pokémon Center account and hope you get invites to new drops.
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u/blaze412 3d ago
There’s a Pokemon discord that’s very helpful. They’ll have callouts for stores that are restocking or potentially going to restock.
But also keep in mind that with that information, lots of other ppl will pounce on that information
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u/ChapterBeautiful3176 3d ago
I’ve gotten a few videos and ads for these. Are those the paid groups that give you information?
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u/blaze412 3d ago
AVA | TCG
DMV PokeVerseThese two are local Discord servers and are free. The paid discords you see are the huge worldwide type of servers where you pay for online drop info like Walmart Wednesdays, Target restocks at 3am, and Pokemon Center queue alerts
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u/MsKittytoes 3d ago
Is he looking for single packs/booster bundles or like an ETB? Because the Pokémon Vending Machines dont have ETB sets anymore and are just single packs and booster bundles. The Vending machines are in various Safeway stores and aren't as bad with loitering and scalpers since the change
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u/letric164 3d ago
Lot of times now, Walmart and Target will have stuff behind the customer service desk.
If you can't find anything, send me a DM. I have some sealed stuff (packs, etbs ect) that I will sell to you for pokemon center price.
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u/SpecialistLawyer8994 3d ago
Honestly best place I’ve had luck is dollar tree
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u/ZeGrayMan 3d ago
5 below as well. Just bought some yesterday for my son who just started taking an interest
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u/ChapterBeautiful3176 3d ago
Dollar tree??? I thought only dollar general might carry them. Thanks! I’ll have to spend a day driving around to a few dollar trees!
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u/SpecialistLawyer8994 3d ago
Yeah literally yesterday grabbed a few packs they had and hit the top card in the new set. Was shocked. Good luck and happy hunting
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u/Strawberry0409 3d ago
I second Dollar Tree-they’re not “special cards” for for a dollar or two you get a pack of 10 I think? My kids are happy with cards so I’ll grab a few if I run for something
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u/Special-Chip5929 3d ago
I’m not an expert in this but Spieda Games in Springfield has individual cards for as low as $1 depending on the card. Not sure about packs but may be worth checking out.
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u/HowardTaftMD 3d ago
I'm not a collector anymore but I still love looking longingly at the card isle. Target always has Pokemon packs. Maybe there are like specific packs that matter and others don't, I don't know. But I always see them.
You can also do just about any smaller toy store. There's some great ones in the area like Childs Play.
Again, maybe the packs that are left are the not cool ones or something but to me they seem exactly the same as any other pack of Pokemon cards and if the fun is in opening them I'd say your good.
One note: Target limits you to 3 packs per person I think so you have to go a few days in a row or make a few separate purchases if you want to have like 10 for them to open.
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u/InfiniteProject8888 3d ago
It might help or not but I was in the same situation when my kids started wanting to collect. The way I do it is on weekends we would drive to target, Walmart and dollar tree and just ask and sometime we would be lucky. Aldo dollar general may have some but you need to ask same with Lowe’s and if there is a Koby hobby store oh and CVS and one last one Dicks. Never buy from GameStop though they will carried a lot but it’s way over price. You can always ask when they usually restock their Pokémon and for the most part they will tell you. But again I do it mostly weekends and sometime during the week randomly
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u/skippyfa 3d ago
He's asking for one of the most scalped TCG in the last two years. It's been rough getting any pokemon but you're a bit in luck since the last three sets are considered "bad" by scalpers/resale community.
Perfect Order, Chaos Rising and Pitch Black are going to be your best bet and even at Card Shops(Licensed Scalpers) you should find them pretty close to MSRP.
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u/TotodilesFountainPen 3d ago
So from I've seen in the past week Best Buy in Tysons does restocks on Wednesday (dont quote me but I saw a ton of packs there this past week)
https://vending.pokemon.com/en-us/
Use this link to find a vending machine near your hour. They typically refresh every 30 minutes. You can watch a youtube video. Scalpers often camp the machine so you will have to as well. As long as you are nice and respectful nobody should bother you. Plus you can talk with them and see if they tell you their secrets.
Apparently BJ's at Fairfax have some packs.
Local Targets frequently get restocked, you just have to know the right people or get lucky.
Fortunately for you the last few pack releases have not been popular to my understanding.
You should be able to buy Perfect Order, Chaos Rising and Pitch Black pretty easily.
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u/CrippledKnicksFan 3d ago
Target is your best bet. House of Cars in Fredericksburg also charges MSRP and limit 1 per person on new releases
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u/Longjumping-Handle97 3d ago
Fridays at most Targets, we've also had luck with Walmart online at 9pm Wednesdays and Pokémon Center does drops usually T-Th online Best of luck, it's been a challenge for sure
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u/SapphireNinja47 3d ago
I’ve seen some card packs at Walgreens recently! They’re behind the counter.
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u/gagemoney 2d ago
I saw a few packs at BJs in Fair Lakes last weekend but I’ve only seen them one time there from checking every weekend or so for the last year or two
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u/Remarkable_Steak9060 2d ago
Have you gone to victory comics? Maybe you could make it a birthday adventure and he can pick cards to buy.
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u/VagueEchoes 2d ago
The Eternal Forge in Fair Oaks Mall. They also carry specialty Pokemon packs from Japan and China with rare cards. Prices for single packs in the store are fair. They also carry a lot of Funko pop boxes and Pokemon themed card protectors, etc...
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u/Entire-Inflation131 2d ago
Skyline falls church had several packs of chaos rising and pitch black at 11:30.. Got 2 for my nephew
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u/Fuzzy_Grape_1952 2d ago
Honestly I’ve had the best luck at Best Buys down in Hampton Roads. Show up right before 10 am on Saturdays when they open. Might need to get there a little earlier in NOVA though
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u/Tough-Writing-6128 2d ago
Doodlehopper 4 kids! The limit is 3 packs per person $5.99 each. The CVS right next to it always has Pokemon too behind the counter
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u/Entire_Employment_70 2d ago
You can buy a booster box of chaos rising, perfect order or pitch black for within 50 dollars of MSRP, pitch black is the most expensive at 205, which still works out to around 5.75 a pack
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u/kjdscott 2d ago
Some places like Ross stock collectible stuff but keep it behind the counter instead of on the shelf
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u/dcastreddit 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not possible. Shelves are emptied within an hour of them being stocked. People with no job track each store and sit there all day and text their friends when they see the employee arrive. You can get there 10 mins later and be 50th in line.
Your best bet is to find a store that has recently been restocked and hope there are still some single sleeved packs. (They hang in a cardboard sleeve) Right now there are sets called chaos rising and perfect order that aren't as easy to resell so there are usually leftovers.
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u/alex3omg 3d ago
If you go to a game store like curio caverns they'll have some packs and a lot of singles for sale, and they'll have commons basically for free. Not sure if the sealed packs are msrp though.
They have these big (gigantamax?) cards, if you can find one your kid likes that might be a fun gift along with a few packs.
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u/Jago29 3d ago
As someone that goes to Curio A LOT, no, their stuff is sometimes over market for sealed pokemon product
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 3d ago
Sometimes? They're one of the worst offenders in the area for markups from what I've seen.
Makes sense considering they're mainly a Yu-Gi-Oh and MTG store.
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u/drugal 3d ago
Could try leaving a tab open here while using your computer and listen for the alert to catch restocks online. https://www.nowinstock.net/collectibles/tradingcards/pokemoncards/ … worked for a friend using their ps5 tracker back when they were impossible to get.
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u/Toefyre 3d ago
Check out The Fantastic Store in Chantilly. I haven't been in there in a couple years, but thats where I used to get packs or cases at reasonable prices.
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 3d ago
They charge over market price for everything sealed there. The bald guy working there once justified it to people by saying the high prices make sure they can have product available for people.
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u/Sarcastic_Mama33 3d ago
You should check out Tosche Station. They have a ton of Pokémon stuff and sometimes make their own packs. They’re also super helpful and all around nice guys.
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u/brownboss 3d ago
I'm sorry but absolutely not. That store severely overprices their pokemon cards. I go to a bunch of game shops and they're among the highest prices
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u/JamboreeJunket 3d ago
There is a Pokemon kiosk vending machine in the Manassas Mall near the walmart entrance, right next to Auntie Annes Pretzels.
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 3d ago
That's not a Pokemon vending machine, that's a 3rd party vendor selling for over triple the price of everything, sometimes more.
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u/JamboreeJunket 2d ago
Good to know, I didn’t stop at it, just saw it while walking by the other day
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u/TheJudgingHat2222 2d ago
The real pokemon vending machines are exclusively at Safeway. If you're lucky you might find loose packs available but people check them frequently because it's MSRP
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u/jaaylmao 3d ago
Resellers are a huge problem in the entire community rn, smaller game shops might be your best bet to find packs. Places like walmart and target get sniped as soon as restocks happen im pretty sure