Pokemon brawl outside Brantford Costco: Gotta punch 'em all
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A group of grown men engaged in a brief but heated brawl outside the Costco in Brantford on Sunday morning.
Believe it or not, the fight was allegedly over Pokémon cards.
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A 42-second-long video of the altercation was posted on Reddit and a private Facebook group called Costco Brantford Fan Club showing about eight to 10 persons shouting, punching and kicking before they dispersed. No one appeared to be seriously injured, and only one person could be seen in the video walking away with what appeared to be two boxes of the cards.
Many comments on social media were critical of the men’s poor fighting abilities, and the fact they were fighting over the trading card game that is popular with children. Several comments alleged that the men were likely scalpers looking to re-sell the cards.
Brandon, the owner of Dark Crystal Cards on Broadway Street in Paris, said Monday morning that about six months ago when stock was more plenty, the card sets could be bought at Costco for about $60 and resold for $150.
“Now, that same box in my store goes for $200, and I’m paying close to that just to bring it in,” said the store owner who declined to state his surname. “So, for them, they can have their own little business buying and selling that stuff. It’s just scalping.”
He said he once was at a Costco in Burlington to purchase a phone when the store opened at 9 a.m., and saw a man with a bunch of the card sets in his shopping cart.
The much-sought-after card set is the Pokémon 151 set of previously released characters and creatures, but never before released in the Blooming Waters collection.
“It’s a premium collection of 12 packs, but those packs go for $20 to $25 each. If you could buy it for $60 you could make a fortune on top of it,” he said. “Each pack would have 12-15 cards and one rare one.
“When they first came out there was a lineup out my store and I gave people a little ticket like at a deli. They would get one each, to let the most people get it,” explained Brandon, so that those who collect the cards as a hobby could get one.
MicroPlay on King George Road in Brantford also sells Pokémon cards, but staffer Jordan Elgersman said, “it’s very hard to get them in at the moment.”
“The biggest thing that is the reason for their popularity right now is that some cards that are coming out are extremely rare, and these people are selling them for hundreds if not thousands of dollars.”
Elgersman noted the Pokémon 151 Blooming Waters collection is a special box that specifically has all the old Pokémon in it, but new artwork of the old Pokémon cards.
“It’s been going on forever,” he said of the trading card game. “But its popularity is still there.”
Similar disputes over the collectible cards have been reported in other locations.
Costco Brantford’s administrative staff said Monday they could not comment and directed The Expositor to the chain’s head office in Ottawa, where the media contact was not available on Monday.
An inquiry to Brantford Police did not receive a response prior to deadline.
bethompson@postmedia.com
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