What’s Up With the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Shortage?

It’s been long enough now that it’s almost easy to forget the very real Pokemon card shortage that gripped the nation and sent Pokemon cards and product prices through the roof.

Today, there is a very new and very real shortage that is even greater than what we experienced with the Pokemon card shortage, and that is for the almost brand new Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game from Ravensburger.

But what is causing the Disney Lorcana shortage? Is it really that popular? We’ve asked the questions, we’ve talked to small game shop owners, and big retail stores, and here’s what we’ve found out.

Ravensburger Underestimated Popularity of the Game

When it comes to shipping and distributing the Disney Lorcana game, it doesn’t seem likely that it’s demand alone to blame for the incredible shortage. It’s hard to know exactly what the issue is, but whether you’re talking to Best Buy, or your local card shop owner, everyone seems frustrated with the actual acquiring of products from Ravensburger.

The Disney Lorcana Market is a Bubble Right Now – So Beware

This clear issue on behalf of Ravensburger and their distributors is undoubtedly to blame in part for the scarcity of actual Lorcana Products seen on shelves. But it is not the only issue. Here’s why we say that.

Disney Lorcana is readily available online!

If distribution was the only issue, and there physically weren’t enough products available in the world to meet the demand of end users, (i.e. the people actually playing/collecting the game), then there wouldn’t be so many Lorcana products out there. Visit eBay, or TCGplayer and you’ll quickly see loads of product, both sealed and singles, readily available – if you are willing to play an inflated price.

Ravensburger Failed to Consider the Shadowy Card Market – Scalpers

Back in the 90s and 2000s, there probably was a relatively straightforward process to selling trading cards. Cards were printed, products were packaged, and those were delivered to stores and game shops to be sold to end users.

Today, there is an added layer to this that makes the trading card market a lot more complicated to manage.

Scaplers are a fixed aspect of the trading card market today

What are scalpers?

I first came across the term when I got into the drama surrounding the Pokemon Trading Card market several years ago. Basically, a scalper is someone who is not primarily a fan or player/collector of the trading card game being sold – they are primarily into the hobby to turn a profit.

This is either through opening packs in bulk hoping to “flip” cards online or through amassing massive amounts of product from local stores either to artificially drive up the price of these products and then sell them, or to simply sell them online because scarcity has inflated the price online.

Ravensburger failed to consider the scalper market, and that is the primary reason for the current insanity surrounding the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Market.

Readily available product online, product scarcity, and inflated prices are signs of scalper manipulation

Scalpers have gotten really good at what they do, and technology has helped them. Whether its through joining groups that help them know when and where product is being restocked at their local stores, or even through going the extra mile of becoming a fake distributor, they are largely to blame for the Disney Lorcana shortage.

Again, this is largely evidenced by the fact that there is PLENTY of Lorcana product available online. But the in store scarcity means that it’s almost impossible to buy these products at their intended price (or MSRP).

And it’s not hard to see why scalpers are so eagerly tempted by this particular product – right now if you buy a Disney Lorcana product at MSRP from an actual store, you can sell it for at least double that price online.

That’s insane.

Ravensburger Needs to Learn from Pokemon Here

Ravensburger needs to take the lead of Pokemon here. In order to combat the serious issue of scalper manipulation, Pokemon printed over a billion cards. Almost overnight, local stores had product again, and the online market for Pokemon plummeted.

And that needed to happen.

Trading card companies don’t make money off of the secondary card market. They make money by people buying product at stores. Pokemon’s genious move here was in realizing that there was only so much product scalpers could buy. By flooding the market, they not only made money off of scalpers who try to stockpile products and manipulate the market, they then made money off the real end users – people like you and me who actually enjoy trading card games and want to have a little fun opening a few packs, or spending time with loved ones learning how to play a new game.