The latest CCG trend is to under-print cards, which I'm guessing is an attempt to create the illusion of incredible demand. Upper Deck just did this with their latest Yu-Gi-Oh release, with big announcements of how their set sold out. But wait! There's a special edition set of the same cards coming out soon. The World of Warcraft CCG, also an Upper Deck product has done the same, under-printed cards creating artificial demand, often with an increased price point. Bandai has been doing this for two years now, with their last two sets of Naruto sold out, the last set not even fulfilling distributor pre-orders.
I understand that there could be some hype and excitement, as well as high perceived value in the "secondary market" for under printed singles, but what these publishers don't understand is their games hang on by a thread. That thread is organized play and in-store tournaments. How exactly do they expect me to host an event for their game without any cards? They key now is to educate our customers as to the nature of the shortage, but inevitably, someone online has a stockpile they're willing to sell them. Unfortunately, these games aren't popular enough for us to stockpile, and in the case of Bandai with Naruto, they under-delivered anyway. For now we're stuck with a big tournament turnout with no card sales.
