Sale of Pokémon cards and sneakers at crazy prices: Who do these new business benefit?<

They are now more expensive than bitcoin or works of art, Pokémon cards and sneakers are popular with collectors.These purists objects have their own market and resell at crazy prices.Last April, a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1 worn by Kanye West awarded to 1.8 million dollars exploded auctions.Pokémon cards are also worth gold, since in February 2021 a Dracofeu 1st edition card was sold for 506,969 dollars, or 418,000 euros, absolute record to date.

Because they understood that there was a market to conquer, some decided to embark on this business.Thanks to Com ', very limited editions and partnerships with athletes like Michael Jordan or US rap stars like Travis Scott, Nike, Adidas and others, managed to stir up the hype around the sneakers.These are no longer just simple sports shoes, these are now real symbols of urban culture.

The resale market, which previously concerned luxury products, was invaded by urban brands, thus seeing the threat of counterfeiting increase.Like any product that has value and sells on the internet, it is difficult to ensure yourself from the authenticity of a pair.A new job then appeared, that of logistician specializing in sneakers authentication.Quentin, a sneakerhead - The name given to collectors - works for the resale platform Wethenew, launched in 2018.In less than three years, the company has become a reference on the Sneakers resale market in France.On the site, it is possible for customers to buy or sell a rare authentic warranty pair, safely.

"When I arrived in July 2020, we authenticate 600/700 pairs per day, today, we are at 1,000/2,000 pairs per day.You have to be all the more vigilant because with such a flow, we try even more to have us with false pairs,""he says.

UV lamp, smell, sewing...Everything is examined

While in the universe of the Pokémon card that is exchanged and resells, it is not a question of authenticating, but of certifying.In 2016, precursor, the company PCA Grade opens in France.It is the only company specializing in the certification of Pokémon cards that exists today in the country.PCA offers collectors around the world to send their cards so that they are noted on their condition and plasticized, to preserve them for life.Each PCA card is scrupulously noted from 1 to 10+ by three experts, in order to ensure that the note listed on the label is faithful to the state of the card."The fiduciary value of the card depends on its quality, therefore on the note that is attributed to it, but also on its rarity, explains François-Xavier Colombani, manager of PCA.Having a card certified would be a guarantee of quality that would increase its value by 30 %.It takes 9 € and around 40 days to receive your certified card.

In the world of sneakers, Wethenew has a very specific process that starts from the packaging:""We look at the outside of the shoe box and the labels, for example if they are transparent and that we see the logo behind, C'is a sign of fake, explains Quentin.We check the paper and the smell of shoes, the glue used by Nike is very recognizable by the smell, while glue on fakes has a very strong smell"".Then Quentin examines the seams, the sole, the patterns, the holes.For Yeezy or Adidas, a UV lamp allows you to see hidden seams."It's not exact science.When I have a doubt, I sometimes get a real pair of the same model in stock to compare.""

Last summer, Wethenew sold a pair of Jordan 1 Dior for ten thousand euros.To such an amount, it is therefore essential for the customer to be certain of the authenticity of his shoes. D'après Jean-Baptiste du site spécialisé The Sneakers Bible, la valeur des sneakers"" à la revente a été amplifiée grâce aux réseaux sociaux"".

In three years, the price of Pokémon cards multiplied by 10

In terms of Pokémon cards, collectors are exchanged or selling themselves mainly on sites like eBay, Leboncoin, Facebook groups or by word of mouth.But practice is professionalized. Depuis 2018, ces cartes ont fait leur entrée dans le milieu prisé des ventes aux enchères, chez le français Vermot & Associés. C’était à l’époque une première en Europe, lancée au départ pour le"" fun"", mais qui s'est avérée être un succès, comme le raconte l'expert en charge de ces ventes, Florian Bourguet :"" Depuis 2018, les prix de vente ont été multipliés par 10.Last February, a very rare card distributed during a tournament sold 12,000 euros."Every day, the expert, specializing in comics originally, receives dozens of cards to estimate for future sales.

With the 25th anniversary of Pokémon this year and confinements, these game cards with the image of little monsters born in Japan, in the world of Nintendo, finds success with children and thirty -something."" On attire un nouveau public plus jeune, qui n'est pas habitué aux ventes aux enchères"", se félicite l'expert.

For certification, they hire every week

The market of these two phenomena is expanding.Last year PCA certified around 1,000 cards per month, today, they reach 30,000.The company of a dozen employees continues to grow and recruits every week."" Pour être certificateur de carte Pokémon, il faut forcément être collectionneur au départ, précise le gérant de PCA.For the plastic part, it is essential to be meticulous, so as not to damage the cards.""

Same observation at Wethenew, the French company went from forty to sixty employees in less than a year."" Si tu n'es pas du milieu depuis longtemps, c'est compliqué"", précise le logisticien spécialisé en authentification.In this world of streetwear, recruitments are mainly made by word of mouth.

"What is interesting for sneakers is that it is very close to the watchmaking market or luxury leather goods. Même de seconde main, déjà portées, cela se revendra toujours, et plus on les conserve en bon état, plus elles ont potentiellement de la valeur"", détaille Jean-Baptiste de The Sneakers Bible.

Next step for the French market, the organization of an auction of sneakers?