High-Value Pokémon Cards Fuel Thriving Black Market

Pokémon TCG Pocket's in-game trading system fuels a thriving black market for digital cards on platforms like eBay. Sellers are circumventing the game's rules by exchanging friend codes and cards, listing rare Pokémon for prices ranging from $5 to $10.

One example shows a Starmie ex card listed for $5.99, requiring buyers to possess 500 Trade Tokens, Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" for the exchange. This exploits a loophole: the seller essentially loses nothing, gaining an equivalent rarity card in return, which can then be resold. This directly violates the game's terms of service prohibiting the buying and selling of virtual content.

Numerous listings for rare ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards flood eBay, along with entire accounts containing valuable in-game items like Pack Hourglasses. While account selling is common in online games, this practice still breaks the game's rules.

The trading mechanic itself sparked controversy upon its release. Beyond the existing restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking, the introduction of Trade Tokens—requiring the deletion of five cards to trade one of the same rarity—further fueled player frustration due to their high acquisition cost.

However, the black market's existence wouldn't be solely attributed to these restrictions. The system's limitations, specifically the mandatory friend requirement for trading, also contribute. Players, as expressed on Reddit, desired a more accessible community trading system within the app itself, rather than relying on external platforms.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned against real-money transactions and cheating, threatening account suspensions for violations. Ironically, the Trade Token system, implemented to prevent such exploitation, has backfired, alienating a significant portion of the player base.

While Creatures Inc. is investigating improvements to the trading feature, concrete solutions remain elusive despite complaints dating back three weeks. Many suspect the trading system's design is geared towards increasing revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly generated half a billion dollars in under three months before the trading feature's launch. The inability to trade higher rarity (2-Star and above) cards further supports this theory, as readily accessible trading would diminish the need for players to spend significant sums on random card packs. One player reported spending approximately $1,500 to complete a single set.

Did you spend money on Pokémon TCG Pocket in January 2025?

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