I've gotten into the hobby a few months ago, and due to knowing some friends in the retailers and having some connections, and also getting into the hobby just a step earlier than the major scalping boom, I was able to get almost everything I wanted from the previous releases, short of a handful of beys and some accessories.

However, holy shit, the whole situation with Valkyrie and its releases (Pegasus and Heavens Ring) is absolutely horrible and is gonna lead to a lot more problems down the line.

Now, to give some context. I live in Hong Kong, and we get releases directly from Tomy, so release dates in Japan are essentially the same for us. We also got stores, small and chain ones stocking beyblades, so it is actually relatively easier to get new releases, as there are a relatively higher concentration of stores and stock in a small area. At least thats what it used to be.

A few weeks ago when the Cx18 booster was released, I planned to ask my connections in retail to perhaps get me one on release, or perhaps let me know where to queue to avoid the major crowds, so I could avoid an overnight sauna on the street. But what i instead heard, was stock was so limited that stores focused on certain branches to control crowds, and nobody could get me anything as it was absolutely fucked. I was still lucky to have friends that got me one unit to play with, so I was still good with that.

But what came after that was the kicker. As you might know, the Ux20, Bx50 and Storm Pegasus was announced and was up for PO soon after the release of Cx18, and I knew for a fact that I had to get some PO in to even see the damn thing. And guess what, a normal guy can't compete with the bots spamming PO, or the scalpers looking at their screens every minute while I work. PO was limited, and despite trying with almost every store, no luck. Nothing. So I knew I had to probably queue up for these releases.

Fast forward to today, a day before the release, and when i was about to leave office I saw people already queueing up at stores for the release tomorrow, 18 hours before the release. Not even after dinner. The whole situation spiraled out of control very soon, and photos and videos of queues of 50-100 people at every store that stocks beyblades were all over the Internet. There's also the insane ones that have queues over 300 people, and thats not even 12 hours before the actual store opens. Sweet Jesus.

I was originally planning to go queue up at a Toys Rus nearby the next morning at 6am, since I was absolutely not a fan of having to queue up overnight in summer outside a mall, with god damn bugs all over the place and not even a hint of breeze. However, I got some photos of queues forming outside the already closed mall, and it was pretty obvious that there'd be over 150 people sitting outside before I could even open my eyes the next morning. Attached are said photos.

MSRP for Valkyrie is 20usd. Even before release, its going for 80usd and its pretty obvious that its only gonna go up from here. Its not that I cannot afford it, but paying not just four times the price, but scalpers that actively try to destroy the hobby is ridiculous. And thats not even mentioning the Bx50 booster, which is gonna be scalped to high hell with how those work.

And what did we get today from the magazines? A new UX deck set that has bloody wyvern and silver wolf, and a new UX bey? That's definitely gonna get so scalped and cleaned off shelves before I can even get a whiff of it, even faster than Ux15 SS cuz of the parts and blades. With the PO situation and stock being scalped, and the queues only being longer and desperate over time, i don't see this being sustainable till the end of the year. Hell, might not even last till the end of summer for my region.

Sorry for the long rant and thanks for reading till the end. I'm just really bummed out cuz I really wanted Valkyrie, and I'm honestly considering just pulling me wallet out at this point. Sweet Jesus.

A rant about Glory Valkyrie (and the whole scalping/stock situation as a whole)