GameStop may soon begin purchasing tiered Pokémon cards at a select number of retail stores, store officials said. If true, the move would make the retailer one of the largest single buyers of graded collectibles, with nearly 3,000 potential retail locations across the United States where consumers can sell their cards. The first rumors began circulating on Thursday PokéBeach. Polygon has reached out to GameStop’s press team for comment.
Polygon spoke to multiple GameStop locations in four different states on Friday – Arizona, Illinois, Florida and New York. Stores in three of those states confirmed that they had been notified of the new offer by their corporate headquarters. Employees with knowledge of the program said that only cards with a Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) rating would be accepted, that those cards must be rated 8 or higher on the company’s 10-point rating scale, and that no cards with a value greater than $500 would be accepted at the store.
None of the employees Polygon spoke with knew if or when these cards might be sold at retail.
The market for new and old Pokémon rebounded during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, a series of high-profile Pokémon card sales have increased the popularity of these special collectibles.
However, it remains to be seen how GameStop’s entry into the secondary card market will impact independent retailers. Many local game stores do a robust business in so-called “single cards” and tiered cards, and these continue to be a strong source of revenue in an otherwise turbulent retail landscape.
