Why are people fighting over this Pokémon set?

Release-day crowds at BIG W.

On the afternoon of Tuesday 15 September, people started setting up camping chairs outside Kmart in Burwood East. By night there were more than 100 of them. They were all waiting for the same thing: a box of Pokémon cards.

Here's why this set has grown adults queuing for 10 hours, and the easier way to get one.

PokeSource sells the products mentioned in this article.

The first Pokémon cards came out in Japan in 1996, and Base Set reached Australia in 1999. The kids who traded them in the schoolyard are now in their 30s, with jobs, money and an old binder somewhere in the garage.

The 30th Celebration set is built for them. Every booster pack has one of 30 special Pikachu cards, every card in the set is foil, and for the first time a set came out on the same day around the world. For a lot of buyers it's the first set they've cared about since they were ten.

The set went on sale at midnight on Wednesday 16 September. A shopper who rang Kmart Burwood East at noon the day before was told 60 people were already waiting. One man joined the line just after 3pm and got to the counter at 1:15am.

Most stores capped it at one box per person, and people who turned up later found empty shelves within minutes. A week later, Kmart's online listing for the Ultra-Premium Collection was swamped by bots in minutes too.

Camping chairs at the doors the night before a release.

Hidden in the set are three “RGB” Mew cards: a red one, a green one and a blue one. On launch day, a blue RGB Mew sold on eBay for US$20,000.

Nobody has confirmed how rare they are, and almost every pack will have nothing like it. But the fact they exist is why every pack of this set gets opened on camera.

The red RGB Mew. Its blue twin is the one that sold for US$20,000.

For the 25th anniversary in 2021, Pokémon released a set called Celebrations. Its Elite Trainer Box cost US$49.99 in America and under $100 here. Five years later, sealed ones trade for around US$400, which is roughly $600 to $700 in Australia.

That's the main reason nobody wanted to wait this time. Will the 30th go the same way? Nobody knows, and anyone who promises it is selling something. This set was printed in big numbers and card prices have already come down since launch week. Buy it to open and enjoy, not as an investment.

When the AFR runs a piece on Pokémon cards, they've left the schoolyard. Their read on who's buying:

“Gen Z and Millennial men who were fans of Pokémon as children coming back to a past passion.”
The Australian Financial Review, 16 September 2026

That's the crowd that was outside Kmart at 1am.

Release-day stock goes to whoever is physically in the line, one box each. Online drops get hit by bots within minutes. What's left ends up on Marketplace, usually well above shelf price, from someone you've never met.

A warehouse-store scramble, shared widely on social media.

Here's how the options honestly compare for the Elite Trainer Box:

• The queue: shelf price, around $100 to $120, if you're near the front. Often 10+ hours, sometimes for nothing.
• Marketplace: usually well above shelf price. You're trusting a stranger, and there's usually no recourse if it's resealed.
• PokeSource: $369. Factory sealed, ships from Melbourne within one business day, and if anything arrives damaged or wrong you email us within 48 hours and we sort it.

We're PokeSource, a father-and-son business with a warehouse in, Melbourne. We're resellers. We buy from Australian retailers and registered private sellers, the same way you would if you had a spare 10 hours.

So no, we're not cheaper than Kmart at 1am. What you're paying for is the box being here, sealed, packed properly, and at your door this week.

• Stock held in our Melbourne warehouse, not overseas
• Ships within one business day
• Packed in a box, so the corners arrive square
• Real people at contact@pokesource.com.au

We have 4 Elite Trainer Boxes left in stock.

A Digi Rip is a box you open on screen. Every rip ships a real, factory-sealed 30th Celebration item from our Melbourne warehouse.

1. Buy the 30th Anniversary Digi Rip ($119)
2. Open it on screen straight after checkout
3. Whatever you reveal ships from Melbourne

Every rip includes at least a sealed 30th Celebration booster pack, and it can be anything up to the Ultra-Premium Collection. It's a random pick, so if you want a specific box, buy the box. Everything that can come out is listed on the product page.

Mega Evolution: Delta Reign comes out on 6 November. Pre-order the Elite Trainer Box for $249 and it ships from Melbourne on release. More than 100 people have already pre-ordered theirs with us.