Why this Pokémon set is dropping in value
You're reading a newsletter from The Indicator from Planet Money.
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You → drop → Money
Once a week, we curate our favorite stories and insights on business, finance, economics and why they matter.
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they → curate → economics
If you've ever used online shopping as a means to alleviate boredom, then I have a new trend for you.
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I → use → you
You can put that fancy briefcase or huge sushi dinner in your cart, order it, and even watch the shipping times… but nothing will ever come.
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nothing → put → times
You'll even get a receipt with money or calories saved.
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You → get → money
Coming up:
- Why Pokémon's latest set is dropping in value
- How cemeteries price their plots
- Why one energy expert thinks the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve might not be needed at all
News We're Watching
1) Greenland stocks surge on hopium
What To Know: Greenland Energy Company has spiked 273% in the past month.
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Company → come → month
Greenland Mines Ltd has risen 53% and the list goes on.
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list → rise → ?
Investors are showing confidence in Greenland's rare earth minerals after the U.S. restructured its 1951 defense agreement with Denmark.
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U.S. → show → Denmark
Investors hope it'll pay dividends for rare earths which provide elements for various modern technologies from cars to robotics and wind turbines.
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which → hope → robotics
What DOES the restructured deal mean?
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deal → restructure → What
Why It Matters:
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It → matter → ?
The White House' official statement doesn't say anything specifically about rare earth minerals.
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statement → say → minerals
And yet, even USA Rare Earth (which has no assets in Greenland) saw an 8% stock pop right after the news.
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which → have → news
Investment website Seeking Alpha's Rob Williams sees the rally around Greenland-related stocks as being about investor expectations.
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Williams → see → expectations
More U.S. presence could mean more funding, permitting help and political support for Greenland's industry.
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presence → mean → industry
Importantly, the announcement also said NO U.S. adversary could, "make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval.
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adversary → say → approval
Pokémon put out a new set of cards to celebrate three decades since the franchise began.
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franchise → put → decades
And of course, resellers (aka scalpers) are MOBBING retail spots to relieve them of their stock.
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resellers → mob → stock
The hope is to find anything of value and resell it.
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hope → find → it
People are racing to get in line (literally).
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People → race → line
One guy allegedly pulled a knife over a disagreement about jumping the line.
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guy → pull → line
Here's the weird part: resale value for cards in this Pokémon set are dropping hard.
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value → drop → set
What is going on: In Slack, producer Corey Bridges wrote, "It's only been a week and a bunch of cards are down 90% in value.
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bunch → go → value
By December you could probably buy all the cards from this set for not a lot of money."
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you → buy → money
This is because it's the largest print of any Pokémon set to date, according to videogame website Kotaku.
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it → set → Kotaku
They're just not releasing all that stock at once, it's a rollout.
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it → release → stock
Making it worse (for resellers), it's significantly easier to actually get your hands on the most valuable full-art cards (as pictured below).
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it → make → cards
In one pack, you'd get a full-art card 1 out of every 100 times, now it's only 1 out of every 18.
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it → get → 18
As a result, cards like Mew ex that might've been pricey in a different set have dropped in value ~96% since pre-release.
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that → drop → release
My heart BLEEDS for resellers.
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heart → bleed → resellers
It's worth noting the larger Pokémon resale market seems… fine?
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market → note → ?
A single card, the 2004 Torchic, sold for $2.7 million at an auction a few weeks ago.
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card → sell → auction
It looks like vintage cards are maintaining value while modern ones are a little less sticky.
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ones → look → value
We've covered Pokémon's weird trading market before.
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We → cover → market
You can check out that episode here.
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You → check → episode
Today's Indicator
Can Venezuelan oil keep US gas prices in check?
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oil → keep → check
If you HAVEN'T listened: The U.S. has a back-up reserve of oil that it's been using during the Iran War.
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it → listen → War
Lately, it's served as a way to keep prices down as the global oil supply has dried up with *difficulty* in the Strait of Hormuz, let's say.
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's → serve → Hormuz
But the SPR's volume has been ticking ever lower as Trump keeps promising to refill it "right to the top."
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Trump → tick → top
Will that work?
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that → work → ?
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
