Does WalMart Still Sell Sports Cards?

Just last week I found a shelf full of boxes and hangers in Walmart and in Target. Same week. I've seem lots of 2021 Flagship product since it came out.

[Rich Klein]

I went to the Walmart previously referenced yesterday and there was not one Sports pack other than stickers in the store. NOTHING Card related.

Rich

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

In my area, this is one Target store, five Walmart locations, and multiple Walgreens locations. I have looked repeatedly in all of these locations and found zip...until Friday. On Friday, I found a lone blaster of S1 in two different Walmart locations. There's been a lot of discussion regarding the bubble and its impact on the price of cards, but I have still been surprised how this has impacted the availability of retail boxes and packs. Hopefully when this ends flipping retail won't be quite as lucrative, and we can all return to the days of sneaking the occasional blaster box into the Walmart shopping cart in hopes that the wife doesn't quite notice.

[buymycards]

I have 4 young grandsons who collect cards. Last October, I went to Wal-Mart online and purchased 4 2020 Topps Update BB 65 card boxes for them @ $9.98 each. Toward the end of November I purchased 4 more for Xmas presents, again at $9.98 each. In January, I thought that I would buy 4 more, because we haven't been able to attend card shows. I was shocked when I saw that the price had jumped to $20.99 each. I checked again a few minutes ago the same product is now at $27.52. Most of the Wal-Mart cards are being provided by a company call "Get Dealz Daily.

[jiw98]

The stores in the area where I live have had limits on cards purchases for a few months. Meijer stores have it set up so that you can only purchase packs or boxes after 3:30pm on Friday with a max of 2 items.

[tulsaboy]

Target is in the process of clamping down to where cards will only be stocked on a particular day at a particular time, and people in line before that time will each be able to buy one box per person. Mostly this is a response to the absurdity of dozens of people hanging out in the stores waiting and hoping for someone to come stock the cards section.

I'm pretty convinced that, specifically in regards to Topps flagship baseball, all of this is just stupid panic buying. The flippers really want the premier football and basketball cards, as there is a huge margin to be made in those on ebay, marketplace, and other apps like discord. When they can't get football or basketball, they are buying baseball and trying to flip it too. Then people like us wander into Walmart or Target trying to buy a blaster or a few loose packs, and the shelves are empty. It causes us to perceive that Topps baseball is hard to find or scarce. Perceived scarcity, not actual scarcity. Then we all jump onto marketplace or ebay and are willing to pay $30 for a $20 blaster because we are afraid of missing out. I think flippers are sitting on huge piles of this stuff, doling it out online and benefitting from a perception that this product is hard to find. And it shouldn't be, based on production.

Just my two cents.

kevin

[rjackson44]

Its sad