I discovered a local TCG Scammer, should I mind my own business?

In my experience (I used to work at a toy store) children would buy pokemon cards more for the pictures and not for the chance of getting a rare card. My cousins had a bunch of pokemon cards and didn't know how to play, they just liked the pictures of the pokemon.

The Adults who actually want the rare cards would not buy from the machine.

Accel_R8 posted...

The fact also remains that its just $1. McDonalds charges like $10 for like a quarter's worth of food.

You ever buy a $1 soda from a fountain? Yeah that also has pennies worth of product in it.

It's a bad deal but calling it a scam is a stretch.

but that's what fast food costs anywhere. that's what the soda will cost from any fountain. (and before you say "buy it at the supermarket" that's obviously different, you're paying for the right to drink it at this restaurant and for the convenience of it, and it costs the same at any fast food place with a soda fountain)

this isn't what a random common card will cost in most places where you could go to get a common card.

I think most people posting in here agree that this is scummy behavior and in a very literal definition of the word, it's a scam.

I think the debate here is whether or not this is a legally actionable scam, and I would say probably not. Don't know enough to say for sure though.

The vending machine upcharge argument is a good one honestly

I can buy a case of 32 aquafina waters for a bit over $5. So that's less than $0.20 per water.

If I buy that same bottle of Aquafina from a hotel lobby vending machine at a hotel I often stay at for work it's $2. And I'm sure there are even more expensive vending machines out there.

That is arguably more scammy than a card vending machine and completely legal.

yeah but a) you're still paying for the convenience because you want the water right then and there, whereas for the trading card, i don't think it matters that you get it right now, and b) with the water, you know what you're getting - a bottle of water, whereas with the trading card, you might be misled into thinking you're getting the standard 10% of getting a rare or whatever but when its really 0%. that's if the kids are even thinking that way though, which i agree we don't know if they are. if the machine said "contains commons only" then everything about the 'scam' goes away, right?

I mean trading cards in general are scammy and predatory. It's essentially gambling. And I saw that as someone who has probably over 10k worth of cards sat in my house right now.

The value of cards to kids are also vastly different to adults. Kids don't generally open them for the chase money cards and the way TCG have become so heavily investor / collector related already fucks over kids as it is. Try find your kid MSRP packs of like One Piece, it's impossible because even the stores that get them don't sell them MSRP. Hell, major retailers like Walmart, Target, etc don't sell the easily available and not spiked on price packs at over MSRP

Dels posted...

if the machine said "contains commons only" then everything about the 'scam' goes away, right?

Not at all. It's less scammy but half the reason people are outraged is "think about the children!!" and they aren't going to fully grasp how much of a ripoff that is.

Ultimately if you don't buy the water thing you can think of it as those little toy vending machines, or the claw games, or whatever else. It's all scammy it's just a matter of degrees and if you've got a dispensing machine in a public space you're getting gouged at some level.

yeah, the claw games from what i know are designed to screw you over and have the claw drop the items even if you manage to snag them

but people pay anyway for the experience of doing it, so unless they get addicted and try many times, its kinda harmless and still gives them a fun memory. you could argue its the same with this card machine if a kid just buys one card. i don't know if kids are rolling over and over again until they get a rare. like imagine a kid goes to the diner with their family once a month and gets a card each time. now its just a fun memory and they might treasure those cards!

Where I am right now. Seen them in multiple places, usually vary between $5-8. They are always common and a non holo rare or a normal holo rare

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/26d6f501.jpg

Shattered posted...

I mean trading cards in general are scammy and predatory. It's essentially gambling.

yeah I agree with this. gambling sucks. on the subject, mobile gaming is such a massive, predatory scam. the fact that they are allowed to use the same strategy as a casino to make money, but don't have to follow any of the regulations against gambling in any state or country, and they can even specifically target kids, is insane. the legislation is going to catch up eventually but this is a case where the technology is ahead of the current laws in a bad way.