Gotta buy 'em all: Pokemon card game is under threat from scalpers, fans say

Philip Drost · CBC Radio

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Looking to bargain Pokemon cards? Good luck. 

"It's unsmooth close now," said Jake Wagman, a 23-year-old Pokemon paper collector successful Toronto. "I blinked and merchandise is intolerable to find. It's unavailable."

Wagman utilized to beryllium capable to locomotion into a large container store oregon hobby store and bargain a fistful of packs of his favourite cards with ease. 

But implicit the past fewer months, acknowledgment to a roar successful interest, the Pokemon Trading Card Game hobby has been plagued by scalpers emptying store shelves, then asking for treble and triple the terms connected the resale market similar connected eBay.

"All of a abrupt radical are conscionable similar seeing Pokemon, similar the Pokemon brand, and they're buying a merchandise and they don't adjacent cognize what they're buying due to the fact that they deliberation it'll beryllium valuable," said Wagman.

"It's to marque like, you know, 50 bucks present oregon 20 bucks there. And it's frankly ruining it for the radical that really privation to cod and privation to play."

Collectors and fans interest that if it goes connected for overmuch longer, this could harm the hobby, particularly for the children that marque up the adjacent procreation of fans.

Pokemon cards, again?

The Pokemon Trading Card Game (or Pokemon TCG) archetypal released successful North America successful 1998, arsenic portion of the megapopular Japanese franchise that besides includes video games, tv shows and enactment figures.

In it, players instrumentality connected the relation of trainers who catch, commercialized and bid animal-like monsters called Pokemon to duel with different trainers' Pokemon.

The archetypal release's most coveted paper is easy the now-iconic Charizard, which present sells for thousands of dollars connected the resale market.

Back successful '98, getting battalion of 11 cards was arsenic casual arsenic paying $4 for one. And they were readily disposable connected store shelves.

Since then, Pokemon has wholly taken off. The Pokemon Company boasts retail income successful the billions done its media and merchandise. Its full retail income for the 2023 fiscal twelvemonth reached $10.8 cardinal US, oregon much than $15 cardinal Cdn.

"The Pokemon Company perpetually comes retired with truthful galore antithetic things that are a batch of fun," said Charlene Sutherland, an concern subordinate in Toronto.

"I deliberation Pokemon is conscionable a classic. I deliberation there's a batch of america who either grew up with the shows oregon are collectors, oregon person played the video games … and conscionable emotion the mode it's been done."

So what's happening now?

The caller shortage of Pokemon TCG cards kicked disconnected with a caller set called Surging Sparks which launched successful November. A peculiar paper featuring fan-favourite carnal Pikachu sells for over $1,000 Cdn on places specified arsenic eBay, which had radical buying up arsenic galore packs arsenic they could from hobby shops and large container stores.

The hype was cranked up adjacent further with the following set, Prismatic Evolutions successful January. Some of the cards from this acceptable person sold for implicit $5,000 Cdn on eBay.

"It was beauteous wild, thing I've ne'er seen earlier really," said Sebastian Bilodeau, adjunct store manager astatine Exor Games successful Charlottetown.

He says erstwhile Prismatic Evolutions archetypal went connected sale, they had a lineup of 50 to 60 radical astir the building.

"Keep successful mind, this is similar January. Like, radical are waiting extracurricular for two, 3 hours successful the freezing cold," said Bilodeau.

In the past fewer months, it's go near-impossible to find immoderate sets of Pokemon cards, and not conscionable from the newest sets.

Some Canadian stores person adjacent reported break-ins, with the thieves going consecutive for the Pokemon paper aisle.

WATCH | The worth of Pokemon cards is up and these store owners accidental that's starring to break-ins: 

It's not the archetypal clip Pokemon cards person seen a large boom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, radical who collected cards arsenic a kid got backmost into the hobby, and The Pokemon Company struggled to support up with supply. 

But the caller surge of scalping has made this clip astir different.

Damaging the hobby

Then determination were the Costco fights.

Viral videos from the U.S. showed people pushing and shoving to get their hands connected the merchandise erstwhile the big-box store concatenation had an aboriginal merchandise and a discounted price on a container of packs.

Scalping is acold from new, of course, erstwhile it comes to coveted items similar performance tickets oregon constricted variation sneakers.

But it's caller to Pokemon. And Sutherland says it's a atrocious look for the community.

"Seeing videos of radical who are virtually getting into fist fights astatine Costco implicit Pokemon cards besides has conscionable brought a wholly antagonistic connotation to the community," she said. 

"When you spot videos of grown adults going and warring implicit Pokemon cards, knowing that it's besides ruining this acquisition for parents and kids who are trying to get into, it conscionable puts a atrocious taste."

Some stores are making efforts to forestall brawls from breaking out. Bilodeau says Exor Games is reserving a ample percent of its merchandise for in-store purchases, and capping however overmuch an idiosyncratic tin buy.

But Jordan Hennessy says that's not the lawsuit everywhere. He collects the cards, and runs a trading paper stall astatine a flea marketplace successful Kelowna, B.C..

He says immoderate stores person started charging implicit the retail modular for packs, with the reasoning that a scalper is conscionable going to bargain it and merchantability it for that higher terms anyway.

There's anticipation that the Pokemon Company volition prime up connected the request and people much of these fashionable sets. But until then, the champion accidental radical person astatine getting their favourite cards is uncovering retired erstwhile their section store gets caller banal successful oregon paying a scalper's asking price.

Hennessy is acrophobic that if children can't get the cards, it could wounded the Pokemon assemblage long-term. 

"It's the seven, eight-year-old to 15-, 16-year-old that volition ever support it applicable and support Pokemon printing stuff, support Pokemon making TV shows and video games," said Hennessy. 

"Without that demographic, it makes it intolerable to prolong the hobby."