In 2024, there has been a surge for Live Rip TCG in Malaysia, namely Shopee, a highly popular e-commerce store that has become part of consumer’s lives since the Covid-19 pandemic.

But first of all, what is this Live Rip TCG I’m talking about? In short, it’s all about ripping trading card game packets live on a shopping platform. Sounds simple, right? Let me explain it more easily so you can understand more about this TCG trend.

Live Rip TCG

This article on Live Rip is to try and explain it to those who are new to it or want to know more about this phenomenon that is taking the Malaysian TCG society by storm. This is also one of the latest concepts bringing the TCG society closer to today’s technologically savvy world.

First, TCG stands for Trading Card Game, a common abbreviation for collectors and players of card games like Pokemon, Magic: the Gathering, One Piece, and so on. Usually, people buy TCG packs and rip them themselves in the game shop or at home.

But for some reason, in 2023, someone brought this trend into the live-selling platform of Shopee Malaysia, and it has taken off like crazy. Back then, there were maybe one or two sellers doing the Live Rip, and they were TCG shop owners who burned the midnight oil for some extra sales.

By May 2024, the trend had caught on so fast that about 15-20 sellers are now doing Live Rip TCG on the Shopee Malaysia platform, and the number is steadily growing. Most are card game shop owners, while some are opportunists, taking advantage of this lucrative growing trend.

The idea of opening TCG packs live for buyers has created a specialised community-driven activity where other like-minded people can share or experience the thrill of the live rips, making new friends, or even trading among each other after the event.

In other countries, this is called Rip and Ship, which is a similar process, but they use other streaming services to do it, and I will explain this at the end of this article. Let’s explore this exciting world of trading card games through the live rips below.

A Complete Guide to Live Rip TCG

This is an unofficial, complete guide to the world of live rips, which are currently taking place in Malaysia and are sold live through e-commerce market platforms like Shopee. I’ve been following this trend for many months, but I never bought it once as I know how deep this trend can reach into your pockets.

‘Let’s Go, Let’s Go’

You will hear this phrase from all the Live Rip sellers, constantly mentioning the Let’s Go, Let’s Go when they talk or open booster packs. It was initially started by the first Live Rip seller in Malaysia, and this catchy phrase caught on with all the other sellers.

What it means can be anything, but from my observation, the phrase is meant to hurry or entice buyers to quickly buy more packs and open them to find the hits or rare cards. It could also be a simple indicator to announce that they are opening the TCG packs to see what the buyer gets. But if it is unnatural, I suggest some sellers don’t try to use this term, as it is ‘tak-kena‘ (doesn’t fit).

What TCG Cards are used in Live Rip Sessions?

The most common are the trending trading card games, which are usually Pokemon as of writing this. However, there are also many other live rips for different types of card games in Malaysia, and they are;

• Pokemon (151 being the most popular, and all the other expansions, especially the latest ones)
• One Piece (All the series)
• Dragon Ball (FB01 & FB02)
• Anime Cards (This includes a variety of them, and also the 18sx cards)
• Digimon (Not popular, but once in a way, there are rips for this)
• Naruto (Not popular)
• Vanguard (Not popular)
• Union Arena (Not so popular, but I see one seller doing live rips for this)
• BoBoiBoy Galaxy Card (Wow, I never expected to see this in a live rip)

For some reason, there have not been any Magic: the Gathering live rip sessions conducted to date. Maybe it’s because some MTG packs are just crazy expensive or too many out there. Who knows? One day, someone might start an MTG live rip.

Types of Live Rip Available

Most Live Rip sellers will craft creative ways to entice buyers, offering attractive deals when you buy the TCG packs. Examples are;

• Live Rip Combo Packs: Usually 3, 5, 8 or 10 packs in one combo
• Live Rip TCG Boxes: These are not so popular; they are only for those with excess money to throw and buy one unopened box to be opened live.
• Live Rip Rumble: A combination of TCG packs numbered into slots, where buyers choose the number after purchasing slots. Then, the seller takes out the numbered pack with the TCGs inside and opens it up, looking for hits.
• Live Rip Lucky Draw: Buyers who buy a certain amount of TCG are entitled to a lucky draw or LD, in which the sellers offer attractive cards, boosters, or box prizes. Some sellers even include very rare TCG cards as bait to attract buyers.
• Live Rip Battle Energy: This one is specifically for the Pokemon TCG. Buyers buy an energy element colour, and a booster box is opened. Each pack holds an energy colour card, and buyers will receive any packs with the selected colour. Every box will have rare cards, so the pack with the rare card goes to the energy colour element purchaser.
• Live Rip HP Battle: This one involves a total of the Hit Points for rare and above cards accumulated, and the highest will win the prizes offered. There are various versions of this format.

How Long Does a Live Rip Session Last?

Usually, one session lasts around an hour. The sellers prepare everything and open the live feed, getting customers to purchase the packs through their Shopee page. After payment, the seller will ask the buyer to choose from a stack of booster packs or a number for one lot of booster packs.

Some sessions are broken up into two days when different games are offered, like a live rip rumble. Or if there are not enough buyers for one session to finish a booster box.

Live Rip Tactics

This one is very tactical, where many seasoned sellers and buyers know the number of rare cards in one box. So, sellers will list down all the rarities on a piece of paper, usually for a rumble, and then every time a rare card is revealed, they will cross out the list.

And if the super rare cards are not opened yet, this creates impulse buying from viewers, hoping to get a hit on the very rare cards. This is very common for most confident sellers, resulting in quick sales.

What is Kumpau?

This is a common term used by all sellers, saying Kumpau or GG, which means that the person who bought the TCG packs did not get anything special. Even worse, if a person buys a six or eight-booster pack set and gets nothing special out of it, that is a major Kumpau.

In short, Kumpau means zero, nothing, nada, telur (egg)! It is one of the most frustrating things to experience when you buy six or eight packs and get nothing. It is very demoralising, but again, that’s how it is when you buy TCGs. Not everyone is a winner.

What is Manis-Manis?

This is a Malay word for sweet, but in Live Rip, it’s used as free gifts, like a sweet gift to those who Kumpau or buy a lot from the seller. Sometimes, regular buyers can get manis-manis items for their support.

Usually, news buyers won’t get any manis-manis unless the seller is in a good mood. But overall, those who spend a lot will usually be treated to some freebies, such as rare cards.

What are RR, SR, SSR, SIR, and Hit, You Keep Hearing?

These are rarity codes used for the type of rare cards in each TCG. You will often hear the seller ringing his bell when a rare card is seen from a booster pack. Sometimes, the card is rare, and the seller keeps hitting the bell excitedly.

These are also termed Hits, where buyers are gunning for a big hit when they buy booster packs. The seller often says “No Hit” or “Got Hit” or “Big Hit”. Example would be “If you buy more packs, maybe got Big Hit for you“, a simple marketing strategy to convince buyers to purchase more.

A negative term would be “Aiyo, 8 packs and no hit, so sorry. Try again, and thank you for supporting ya. Let’s go, let’s go,” a commonly heard statement from sellers.

Below is an explanation of the rarity code for the Pokemon TCG, and some other TCGs also use similar codes.

• R – Rare
• AR – Art Rare
• RR – Double Rare
• UR – Ultra Rare
• SR – Super Rare
• SSR – Shiny Super Rare
• SIR – Special Illustration Rare
• CHR – Character Rare
• CSR – Character Super Rare
• HR – Hyper Rare

Is Live Rip TCG A Good or Bad thing?

It is a double-edged sword. The Live Rip sellers will always say it’s a good thing due to brisk sales, but for the consumer, it seems to be a FOMO (fear of missing out) or even can be wallet-hurting in the long run.

It’s also a social-community event where like-minded players and collectors gather in one’s live selling feed to see what others buy or get. This somehow triggers a viewer to jump into the action for FOMO. Sometimes, it is attributed to feeling good when the seller opens a nice, super rare card, and everyone gets excited, but the percentage is really low.

Therefore, in the long run, you may end up buying more than getting more. It’s a very addictive hobby done live, giving a person little time to think wisely. If you do the math, the seller is the ultimate winner. It’s like going into a casino to play with $100, and you come so close to winning that you take out another $100, thinking maybe the next round you will win. Rinse and repeat until the wallet is dry.

Are Live Rip Sellers Good?

There are many types of live rip sellers out there, mostly males and some females. Some of the live sellers are so natural; they are really good. However, not everyone is a good live seller, as I have noticed over the last few months, which can impact the seller’s sales and reduce the buyers’ confidence. Let me share some insights on this below.

• Good Live Rip Seller: Talks clearly and confidently. Opens cards carefully and pauses or slows down before revealing the rare card. Communicates well with buyers but remains professional. The live area is organised, clean, and clear. Uses a high-end smartphone, which is clear and fast-focusing.
• Average Live Rip Seller: Talks not so clearly and mumbles sometimes. Tries to act cool, laughs or jokes too much. Opens pack very fast and not slow down before the rare cards. The live area is not organised. Keep asking viewers to buy over and over.
• Bad Live Rip Seller: Talk is not clear, cannot understand the seller. Using a cheap phone to do live – so the image is not clear, and focusing is terrible. Uses religious words before opening packs in a live rip, which is a form of gambling (Muslim sellers). Attitude is too laid back or lepak, not professional. Allows their kids and family members to be in the live rip – not professional. The live area is messy, and things are all over; sometimes, the sellers cannot find items, so buyers have to wait.

How is Live Rip Affecting the TCG Society?

Well, in a nutshell, it’s mostly a win-lose situation. Generally, this is a form of gambling, and the bank always wins. This means the sellers will be the winners here, while a tiny percentage of buyers will win, considering they get super-duper rare cards worth hundreds of dollars or even thousands.

In the long run, buyers will be broke or live off credit because of the applied FOMO factor or Impulse Buying Theory. While watching others miss opportunities from the early buys, some buyers take a calculated gamble to jump in later when they see no special cards being opened.

Technically, it’s quite addictive. The buyer is glued to the live screens on their phones, watching and waiting to see if anyone opens a super rare card or the elusive Manga card. And later in the game when no one opens anything interesting, this sparks the buyer to try his luck.

I spoke to a few buyers in early 2024, and they admitted that sometimes, they could spend up to RM3,000 a month on live rips, which is alarming because they only hold a standard day job and are not well-to-do. Some admit that because of live rips, they have to cut back on many other expenditures or live on credit via Shopee Pay Later or their credit cards. You know the outcome of this.

A few come from well-to-do families and can easily spend thousands of Ringgit monthly on live rips. Again, this is just a very small percentage of buyers. However, the impact is back to the M40 group of younger workers.

Honestly, my concern is that the regular TCG society will eventually suffer serious financial issues if it does not consider seeing the bigger picture. It’s no different from buying 4D three times a week, hoping to strike it big.

What is Rip and Ship?

This is the same thing, but it was first started in other countries using several other streaming platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch live streams. In Rip & Ship, you visit the seller’s website, buy the cards, and pay, and then the seller gives you a time when he goes live to rip the boosters.

You then enter a queue to see when your order will be ripped live, and after that, the order gets shipped to you if you want it. Finally, this concept started during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and it is all about being a part of a community that gets excited for each other in the search for the EPIC pulls for Hits.

Conclusion

Most buyers are grown adults now and can decide for themselves what is right and wrong or what will impact their lives if they don’t control their FOMO issues. It’s always a two-sided story, so I’m sharing my observations on Malaysia’s current Live Rip TCG trend.

And to be honest, I see more and more sellers and opportunists jumping on board, regardless of whether they have experience doing live rips. As many will say, it’s an open market, so you will also see more attractive prizes offered to gain competition from experienced sellers.

For the record, I have also written about some of the trading card game shops in PJ and KL, highlighting these specialised shops where you can buy TCG or even play there with like-minded players.