Entertainment · Gaming · 9 hrs ago
Pokémon card demand fuels long queues and resale by scalpers
Pokémon card releases are drawing long queues in the UK and North America, with some buyers leaving without any cards.
Some successful buyers open their packs, while others list them for resale at much higher prices.
Scalpers are competing with hobbyists for limited supplies, though more than 10 billion cards are printed globally each year.
Interest has grown as adults who collected cards as children return to the hobby and share it with their own children.
Nostalgia and new releases have helped drive demand, including a 2023 set featuring the original 151 Pokémon and a mobile game focused on opening and collecting cards.
A record-breaking purchase of a rare Pikachu card also drew attention to the potential value of some cards.
Some packs sell for three times their original price, but the information available does not establish whether collecting cards is a reliable way to make money.
Queues for Pokémon cards in the UK and North America have grown as collectors compete with people buying packs to resell them.
At a toy shop in Kent, more than 100 people were waiting before it opened, and many more joined the queue.
Some buyers opened their card boxes, while others listed them for resale at three times the price they paid.
The article links renewed interest to nostalgia, the franchise’s 25th anniversary and new card-related releases.
Kyle Harper, owner of The Card Corner in Skegness, says the audience now includes adults with disposable income and families collecting together.
- Who
- Pokémon card collectors and people buying cards to resell them.
- What
- Strong demand is bringing long queues, while some buyers resell card boxes at higher prices.
- When
- The article describes scenes in 2026, including a Wednesday morning in October.
- Where
- At a toy shop in Kent, with similar scenes reported across the UK and North America.
- Why
- The article points to nostalgia, new releases and interest in collecting and opening card packs.
Collectors
Resellers
Access to cards
Collectors
Collectors compete for limited stock and some leave empty-handed.
Resellers
Resellers buy boxes and list them for up to three times the price they paid.
Purpose of buying
Collectors
Some buyers open the packs or collect cards with their families.
Resellers
Some buyers seek to make money by reselling the products.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game launched in the UK.
Millennials returned to old hobbies as The Pokémon Company marked the franchise’s 25th anniversary with a throwback set.
A new set celebrating the original 151 Pokémon was released.
Pokémon TCG Pocket launched as a free-to-start mobile game.
NME observed more than 100 people queuing outside a toy shop in Kent before it opened.
- Queue before opening
- More than 100 people
- Additional people
- Nearly twice as many joined before the doors opened
- Resale price
- Some buyers listed boxes for three times what they paid
- Annual printing
- More than 10 billion cards globally
- Store owner
- Kyle Harper, The Card Corner, Skegness
What people are saying
The demand [for Pokémon cards] has changed enormously in recent years
focus on the fun of opening packs and collecting cards