The Pokemon card thing is strange as far as how they seem to tie it to places and things where it really isn't necessary to drum up demand. At Costco in the US where usually the deal is large volume of product, had videos of folks rushing and grabbing boxes and boxes of Pokemon cards, presumably for online resale. While Costco can be crowded, it's not the vibe I like at my Costco.

Maybe the Pokemon community likes it but I find it kinda distasteful.

The demand exists, just make a lot of cards ...

Much of the card collecting hobby, including some non-sports niches, has become a grotesque example of late-stage capitalism.

It's sort of like the nerd version of Black Friday brawls at Wal-Mart.