Paris (France) (AFP) – Exhausted stocks, soaring prices online: the massive purchase of playing cards (Pokémon, One Piece, etc.) by speculators who resell them at high prices is enraging collectors, with strong winds against this practice known as “scalping”.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 11:12 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 11:15

If the phenomenon is not specific to collectible cards (TCG), they lend themselves well as a "highly sought-after product" with "limited quantities" but which still remains widely accessible, notes Laurent Seror, manager of the Parisian TCG Atmos Arena store.

Pokémon cards account for 66% of sales over the last three months, far ahead of One Piece (14%) and the remaining licenses (Magic, Lorcana, etc.).

Like many Pokémon fans, Luigi (first name changed) got up early on September 16, the day the first commemorative cards for the 30th anniversary of the license were released.

Present from 7 a.m. in front of a Cultura in the Paris region, the fifty-year-old hoped to obtain the most coveted prize: the Elite Trainer Box (or ETB), sold for around fifty euros.

But upon arrival at the checkout, after four hours of waiting behind a hundred people, the ETB is already sold out.

If Luigi still leaves with a few cards, he is annoyed to have seen scalpers "reselling the ETB for 100 euros to those who were still in line."

The same day, this box set was resold for more than 100 or 200 euros on various sites, including eBay.fr.

“Several thousand items linked to 30 years of Pokémon” are on sale there, notes the platform, where the number of playing card buyers increased eightfold between 2005 and 2025.

Leboncoin notes a 36% increase in the average number of announcements related to Pokémon cards published daily on its site from September 16, compared to the previous fortnight.

Electroshock

“The 30th anniversary of Pokémon caused a real shock on the French toy market”, which jumped 74% over the week, a record, notes Frédérique Tutt, world expert on the toy market for Circana.

“The ten best sellers of the week were all Pokémon cards,” she notes, the TCG sector having increased by 19% in France in January-August 2026 compared to the previous year.

Enough to make it even more attractive for “scalpers”. Sometimes to excess: at the end of June, the Grévin museum, overwhelmed by the number of visitors who came to collect an exclusive One Piece card, had to postpone its distribution.

The major brands have adopted new practices to be able to satisfy the greatest number of customers.

At Cultura, JouéClub, King Cadeau and La Grande Récré, Pokémon cards are sold at the checkout or in the window and not on the shelves. Purchases are generally limited to one copy of each product per person for the most anticipated releases.

Which doesn't stop certain "scalpers" from cracking down.

On September 16, Alexandre, 17, purchased five ETBs at the La Défense shopping center (Hauts-de-Seine), with the help of four friends - each paid 30 euros - spread out in the queues at Auchan, Fnac and King Cadeau.

In total, his investment of 395 euros made him earn 960 thanks to the resale of his boxes, between 180 and 200 euros each. “I knew (...) that I could benefit from it,” rejoices the teenager, interviewed by AFP on Leboncoin.

“Shining Pikachu”

If independent stores have found solutions, by removing the plastic packaging from the boxes, which prevents scalpers from reselling it “sealed”, Luigi would like “the Pokémon Company to find solutions” to this “deleterious practice”.

“Hodor”, a 41-year-old fan, deplores that “scalping” prevents young people from “creating memories for their adult lives.”

On the European market, 41% of buyers of new Pokémon cards are 12 years old or older, according to Circana.

However, for success to continue, children must remain the “new entrants” who will continue their collection into adulthood, underlines Florian Bourguet, expert in auctions, particularly of Pokémon cards.

“Even if it’s not a super rare card, a shiny Pikachu, it always pleases” children, who are much “easier to please,” smiles Laurent Seror.

© 2026 AFP

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.