Pokémon frenzy wins over young adults<

(Paris) “Pokémon cards rocked my childhood”. Tanguy, a 24-year-old marketing project manager, started collecting these Japanese game cards with the effigy of little monsters two months ago, part of a strong craze for these products that are more than 20 years old.

“I've always liked games of chance and I find that in Pokémon cards: I know what I'm buying, but I don't know what I'm going to receive,” says the young man.

Because the cards are sold in sealed packets. The buyer only finds out by opening his booster pack — a pack of 10 cards with an average price of 7 euros ($10) — whether it contains rare, higher resale value, or common coins.

Since May, Tanguy has spent around 400 euros ($600) on new Pokémon card packs and estimates the "high value" of his collection at 1,700 euros ($2,500) based on sales of similar products on the online trading site. eBay line. “Some invest in cryptocurrencies. Me, I invest in Pokémon, ”he laughs.

Colossal sums can be reached on resale, in particular when it comes to first generation cards released in France in 1999, acclaimed by collectors. On February 21, eBay recorded a record sale of more than 418,000 euros ($620,000) for a mint condition holographic First Generation Charizard card, the holy grail in the world of Pokémon trainers.

The number of searches for Pokémon cards on eBay.fr has increased by 244% since the beginning of 2021 and the site now has some 300,000 ads with the keyword Pokémon.

Speculation

More than 24,000 cards were published by the Pokémon Company, a Japanese company owned equally by the Japanese video game giant Nintendo, its subsidiary Creatures and the video game development company Game Freak.

The cards don't just target kids and seasoned collectors. PCA, the leading collection card certification body in France, estimates between 30 and 40,000 cards per month, compared to 500 to 1,000 cards in 2020.

The organization justifies this difference by a change in customer profile: "at the time, we certified ultra-rare cards, but today we receive more recent cards at a lower value, because if the state of conservation is good, people earn money compared to the purchase price, ”explains François-Xavier Colombani, director of PCA, to AFP.

“The market is becoming popular and is becoming less addressed to a microcosm of collectors,” he continues.

Authenticity is verified through an identification number. A score is then assigned, which drops sharply if the card is scratched, dented or damaged.

Out of stock

The brand is omnipresent on social networks. On Facebook, dozens of very active French barter or card selling groups have thousands of members. The hashtag “pokemoncards” reaches 1.8 billion views on TikTok.

In a YouTube video from May, rapper Lorenzo announced that he was selling his 15 most beautiful Pokémon cards on eBay: the artist pocketed more than 300,000 euros ($445,000).

And in toy stores, Pokémon has now dethroned Barbie as the top-selling brand, according to research firm NPD Group. At JouéClub, sales of Pokémon cards increased by 85% over the first five months of the year, compared to 2019.

“There is the natural interest of children with the release of new series of cards, but also the enthusiasm of teenagers and adults through the notion of speculation around the value of cards. “, confirms Franck Mathais, spokesperson for JouéClub.

At the Grande Récré, we talk about “a record year” with stocks, usually sold in three months, sold out in two weeks. So much so that purchases are now limited to one box of cards per person.

Which could create queues in front of stores when the next series, Sword and Shield - Celestial Evolution, comes out on August 27th.