Prismatic Evolutions Surprise Box has more than tripled in price at online retailers, here's why

Last week, as I went on my rounds updating our where to buy guides on Pokemon Prismatic Evolutions stock, I started to see the Surprise Box jump up in price. I don't just mean a minor price hike, I mean this box has skyrocketed in price. Online retailers used whiplash; it was super effective. First it was just Walmart, then Amazon caught wind, and now it seems every online retailer wants a piece of the Pokepie. The question is, why? Why, after weeks of being out in the wild, has this particular Prismatic Evolutions product suddenly garnered enough interest to warrant a $100 tag, over the $23 MSRP?

Singles, my dear. And the perceived rarity that a certain tiny detail this Pokemon Prismatic Evolutions Surprise Box adds. Turns out that this product for one of the best card games does have a little surprise in it, aside from the general obscurity of its contents.

Along with a fancy shmancy box and some Eeveelution flavour dividers, which are great for sorting Prismatic Evolutions cards however you like, the Surprise Box comes with four Booster packs. Already it's a package worth almost enough to seal the $80-100 price tag, considering most places are selling Boosters alone at $18 or more. But the cherry on the cake is that the Surprise Box also comes with a foil Promo card.

This could be one of nine foil promo cards: Glaceon ex, Sylveon ex, Leafeon ex, Umbreon ex, Espeon ex, Jolteon ex, Vaporeon ex, Flareon ex, or Eevee ex. While the artwork and text are exactly the same as their stock counterparts, the "special logo" promo stamp these cards feature has seen Poke investors' interests piqued. And where resellers might be able to turn a profit, retailers will always attempt to beat them to the post.

As Ptcgradio lays out in their analysis video around whether the Surprise Box is really worth it, the real draw comes in the form of the Promo card and stamp combo. Some stamped Eeveelutions have been selling for double their usual price, while others are currently still going for around five times their expected singles price.

As an example, the Umbreon ex 060/131 card is only worth $6.58 on TCGplayer, but shove a Prismatic Evolutions stamp on it and that basic promo card turns into a bit of a goldmine. Since its Feb 7 release date, we saw the stamped Umbreon ex card spike at around $76, then drop to $62 in mid March. It's now happily skating along just below $70. Stamp included, you're looking at no less than $65 for what would otherwise be just a Double Rare card. Essentially, there's something that's just different enough about a card with a Prismatic Evolutions stamp to pique the interest of collectors, especially in the case of Umbreon, and Sylveon which now retails at $30 via TCGplayer.

Of course, there's no guarantee you'll get a card worth that much, but the potential of a little profit has been enough to turn heads. What that means is those who just wanted a nice box for their Prismatic Evolutions cards to live in are now stuck with the also-heavily-inflated $86 Binder Collection. Our advice? Get yourself some Booster Packs at Amazon and wait it out. Eventually the Surprise Box will have to come down in price, and the perceived rarity will likely dissipate. Until then, build out your decks and pop them in a safe container until the Surprise Box comes back in stock.

In case you're wondering exactly when you can expect Prismatic Evolutions reprints to return to shelves, we spotted some sneaky restock notes around these sought after products. Keep an eye out on our Prismatic Evolutions guide around May, as we're likely to see some reprints start to trickle in.

If the Pokemon TCG is your thing, why not check out some MTG deals instead? Or even some of the best board games while you wait for Pokemon TCG stock to level out.