BODY: Scalpers hoping to cash in on Pokémon's big birthday may have to wait. Japanese marketplace giant Mercari has blocked listings for the franchise's most anticipated card release of the year, and it made the call just one day before launch.
On September 15, Mercari announced that products related to the Pokémon Trading Card Game's MEGA expansion pack "30th CELEBRATION" cannot be listed on its platform. The ban started on September 16 and will last for what the company called "a certain period." Mercari did not give an end date. It targets the "instant resale" rush that tends to follow high-profile card releases in Japan.
The expansion celebrates 30 years of Pokémon, and demand was expected to be huge. Anniversary sets draw more than players. Collectors and speculators want them too, since they expect prices to jump once shelves run dry. For many fans, that means getting outbid by resellers who bought up stock on day one.
Mercari's move takes away one of the easiest ways to flip those packs in Japan. It is one of the country's biggest resale apps, so pulling listings during the first days after launch could make buying in bulk to resell far less attractive. It could also give regular fans a fairer shot at buying packs at retail price.
The insider take
In Tokyo, a big Pokémon card launch can look like a concert ticket sale. Card shops and electronics stores often sell by lottery or limit purchases, and lines can form early. Resale has been a sore point with fans and retailers for years, as sealed boxes and popular cards show up online at steep markups within hours. Mercari has limited certain listings before, but a platform-wide ban on one product timed to its launch is a notable step. It shows how much pressure Japanese platforms face to act as a check on scalping. Since Mercari set no end date, many Japanese collectors will watch whether prices settle once the ban lifts.
Originally reported by AUTOMATON (Japanese).