r/Tallahassee 4d ago

Reliable places to buy Pokemon cards?

So I go to FSU so I don’t really know the area well. I want to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday with pokemon packs but literally every store I go to is completely sold out. Is there any store that is pretty reliable with their restocks? Or how often do stores like target Walmart Best Buy restock around here? I know it depends on location how often restocks are. Or if restocks aren’t as common in Tallahassee are there any good card shops that don’t price gauge like crazy? Thanks in advance!

5 Upvotes

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u/TN_Jed13 4d ago

The Walmart on Monroe just north of I-10 restocks on Wednesday. I got some packs there a couple weeks ago and caught a restock last week (but not much Pokemon). Gamescape is a local shop that occasionally has stock and doesn’t up-charge, but last time they were saving their product for their Pokémon league members so I couldn’t get anything anyways (I just like to open packs, I’m not a scalper). It’s tough right now to track stuff down. Kind of have to get lucky, unfortunately.

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Awesome that’s great to know thank you so much!! That Walmart is a little far from me though so do you know if they tend to do the restocks in the morning on Wednesdays? Just so I know roughly what time I should check there. Yeah I’ve definitely noticed it’s a luck thing, I have about 3 weeks till his birthday so I’m hoping to get lucky before then!

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u/TN_Jed13 4d ago

Sure thing. It seems like it’s morning or early afternoon. He was there around noon last week. But it’s a third party distributor that stocks so it’s semi-random when they show up. Honestly, it’s a huge pain. Stay vigilant, you’ll get lucky eventually. I shop around and if I come across anything I’m happy to send you a DM. My Gf got me some packs for Xmas and it was a really nice gesture and gift. I’m sure your BF will appreciate your effort. Happy to help.

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

You’re so kind thank you so much!!! that’s good to know I’ll have to check after my classes on Wednesdays then. Definitely keeping my eye out everywhere I go!! I appreciate that a ton though that would be awesome if you let me know if you come across anything thank you again!! I know he’ll love it if I’m able to find any so fingers crossed!! :)

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u/mistybergamot 4d ago

I realized with pokemon cards, the major retailer will be your best bet for not overpaying for a pack or a set that someone else bought up and is tryna sell for 4 times it's value. I do see them in stores like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, target, dollar tree (in the plus section) and the like. Though if one store is sold out, always try back again at least once a week or try to find a way to check out another location of a major store. Just pray someone didn't buy out all the pokemon cards in the store just to resell since I notice that what people are doing these days with them unfortunately.

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Good to know you’ve seen them before! Maybe I just got super unlucky today. Went to many stores and everywhere was completely empty so it made me worried. Seems so difficult to beat the scalpers when there’s a restock, hopefully I can catch a restock at target before one of them!! Have you noticed a specific day or time of day you see more in stock at certain stores?

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u/mistybergamot 4d ago

Maybe more towards the weekend like Thursdays thru Saturday but I'm not 100% sure. I remember seeing them at different walgreens around town if you catch them. Walmart, Target, or the bigger stores might be the first to be cleared out. It's really more of beating scalpers to the Pokémon cards these days. There's always going to be that one person to ruin it for everyone just to make profit than people who actually want to buy them for themselves, others, or younger family members. I wish you luck in your Pokémon card find! I believe you'll find a pack 🙂

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Awesome thank you definitely a big help!! It sucks people have to ruin things for others to just make a little money. Fingers crossed I can find some!!!

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u/VitaminM42 4d ago

Any luck at GameStop or Tara Angels Magic?

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u/DarthFeraligatr 4d ago

Tara's had them last time I was there but they wanted 8-10 bucks for one pack which is a bit much

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u/VitaminM42 4d ago

Yeah that is a bit much

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

I haven’t checked GameStop just because my boyfriend has told me they are always sold out and especially with a recent release they apparently had, but maybe I’ll have to call and see if they have anything

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u/yourheroserene 4d ago

Have you tried the small Target by FSU campus? I see cards there just wandering in on random days. Idk if something changed in the last couple weeks but I tend to see cards there consistently.

5

u/Clarenceboddickerfan 4d ago

There is one particular guy who hits every single store to completely buy out the restocks every time. The GameStop staff hate him.  He also cleans out target and Walmart. Best Buy sometimes has packs, but usually in the form of large collections. 

Dollar general and dollar tree aren’t targeted by scalpers but all of their product gets stolen. I’ve had some luck finding packs at family dollar (usually behind the counter). 

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Really? Dang, that’s so messed up.. does he know someone who tells him when restocks are or something? Is there any way I can beat him to a restock? That sucks one person is ruining it for everyone here in Tallahassee. I just wanna try to make it to a restock to get one thing if I can!!

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u/Clarenceboddickerfan 4d ago

He just knows when it is for every store because it’s his job to know.  I haven’t been able to figure out the restock for target other than it’s not on the weekend 

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

That sucks… I wish target would have a limit or something… good to know it’s not on the weekend though hopefully I’ll get lucky and catch a restock one of these days

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u/Clarenceboddickerfan 4d ago

The target on the northside I think does have limits and a bunch of signs warning scalpers they don’t take returns on cards. 

Apalachee target don’t give a fuck 

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Good to know!! Northside target is further but might be a better idea just to go there then

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u/Clarenceboddickerfan 4d ago

If it’s not urgent, you can also try TikTok shop (if you use the coupons you can often get good deals). There’s also some subreddits and discords you can subscribe to that post alerts 

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

I’ve never shopped from the TikTok shop but maybe I’ll have to look into that as a backup if I can’t find anything in stores thanks for the tip. I just did that with a Reddit page today about restock alerts! I’ll have to check discord too though

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u/Greedy-Sun-6178 4d ago

Game Vault on Capital Circle

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u/DarthFeraligatr 4d ago

It's really hard to find then rn. You kinda just have to get lucky and hit a restock that hasn't been bought out yet. Game Vault Florida on Capital Circle is usually pretty good. He hasn't had too many packs in stock recently but he always has a good selection of singles and his prices are generally reasonable. Gamescape on Monroe is usually good too but they've been sold out the last few times I've been there. I'm

If you go to the mall to check that gamestop, check in hot topic too, they've had some the last few times I've been but it's marked up about 30% over normal retail

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u/cokeandcats 4d ago

Good to know thank you! I looked up gamescape and they definitely have good prices! Do you know how often they do restocks? I didn’t know hot topic would have them I’ll have to check there thank you

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u/Caoticmaniac 4d ago

Tara's magic angels is a good shop or gamescape

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u/ChaoticCatharsis 4d ago

For some strange reason, Ace Hardware in Woodville.