I AM SICK!  I just got back from selling my friend's nintendo at a local
store (I probably shouldn't mention names) and while I was there I looked at
their cards.  They had Jap packs for $10.00.  English for $6.00.  I don't
know about your standards, but when a store on the same street sells english
for $3.00 and a store in town sells Japs for $4.00, that seems a little
stupid to pay that much.  I wanna scream when this little kid buys a $10.00
pack right next to me.  They say theyre more expensive cuz theres a holo in
every pack, but think about it for a minute- the reason holos are valuable is
becuz there harder to get than nonholo.  So if every pack has a holo why
should they be valuable, they'd be just as common as a devolution spray!  The
single cards were what really made me mad, though.  The level 16 pikachu that
u get FREE when u join a FREE Pokemon league (at least, around here there's
no fee) was FORTY BUCKS!!!!!  So was the FREE prerelease aerodactyl.  How can
they justify selling a free card for 40 bucks!?!?  I wanted to scream. 
Please kids, when u buy packs or single cards, spend wisely.  Don't buy packs
for big bucks when u know theyre cheaper someplace else.  $10.00 is
ridiculous.  And for single cards, USE A PRICEGUIDE.  I can just see some 7
year old buying that pikachu or trading 3 holos for it or something.  Please,
don't encourage these stores to raise their prices even more.  I think the
best way to get the cards u need is to trade with other kids, they'll trade
equally instead of trying to make  a $10.00 profit.  Buy a couple packs for 8
bucks and trade the rares for a venusaur instead of paying thirty bucks. 
Dont let yourself be ripped off, it just makes it worse.  please email me if
u have a similar situation, i hope not every store is corrupted.
                                        Souper
                                   souper451@aol.com