Dozens of people, some of them waiting overnight, were drawn to the entrance of Sam’s Club in Canyon Country after new Pokémon card sets dropped on Tuesday morning.
The new set, called “Pokémon Trading Card Game: Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes Focused Fighters Premium Collection,” features 14 booster packs, four foil promo cards, and a jumbo card, priced at $54.98.
Sam’s Club had about 288 packs in total at the store and sold out, according to a manager who asked not to be identified.
The Medina family had been camping out since 8 p.m. on Monday, anticipating a long wait in line.
“Yeah, been here for a while. We got here yesterday. I came here yesterday … actually two nights ago, and they kicked us out. I came here yesterday around 8 p.m., we’ve been here about 12 hours right now,” said Anthony Medina, who was accompanied by his wife, Kristina, and son, Carter, 10.
Anthony said the reason he camped out is because he wanted to make sure he got the cards.
“There’s … 288 boxes, so 144 people are going to get two boxes, and if you weren’t here last night, then you’re not going to get anything,” Anthony said.
Anthony said he only slept a little bit throughout the evening. Carter only slept about two hours around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
When asked if they were lifelong fans of Pokémon, Anthony said he was a collector as a child, and Carter showed him some videos about Pokémon last year – reigniting his love of the franchise.
Kristina chimed in saying it’s a way for them to bond and have quality father-son time. Kristina added that she did not camp out and was just “along for the ride.”
Anthony added that he does not agree with resellers but understands why some people do it.
“You know, they come and wait and then resell them right after. I mean, it kind of sucks, but I know some people that maybe financially, they’re getting two boxes. I know some people are like, ‘Hey, I have to sell one to be able to afford my other one.’ It is what it is. It’s part of the game, I think. I don’t really agree with it,” Anthony said.
Kristina said one thing people need to do is be more respectful because people leaving trash and not being kind to the employees will make Sam’s Club not want to do something like this in the future.
Stephany Valencia was waiting in line for her boyfriend, Cristo. She had only been there for about 30 minutes in line around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Valencia said her boyfriend is a big fan of Pokémon and let Valencia know about the drop a week in advance.
Valencia added that she was surprised by the number of people in line because the last time she did this with her boyfriend, the line was much shorter.
She said that, due to resellers, it is difficult for her boyfriend to find Pokémon cards anywhere.
“(It’s) a little unfair sometimes. I think it’d be cool if they did just kind of, if you’re going to resell one, resell one, but definitely keep one for yourself. (Because) my boyfriend is pretty against resellers,” Valencia said. “He just feels like it’s kind of unfair, because then his favorite part about Pokémon was just kind of going when he was younger, being able to get them from the store, and get a pack, and now he can’t get them anywhere.”
