Pokémon TCG Pocket Trading Has Spurred a Strange Black Market for High Rarity Cards

Pokémon TCG Pocket's controversial trading mechanic has spawned a bizarre black market on eBay. Players are buying and selling digital cards for $5 to $10 each, exploiting a loophole in the system. Sellers exchange friend codes with buyers, sending a card in return. A typical listing might offer a Starmie ex for $5.99, requesting 500 Trade Tokens, one Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" in exchange. This violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service, prohibiting the buying and selling of virtual content. However, sellers essentially lose nothing; they trade a card of the same rarity, allowing them to repeatedly sell the same type of card.

Numerous eBay listings feature rare ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards, with entire accounts including Pack Hourglasses and rare cards also for sale. This, while common in online games, still breaches the terms of service. The online trading controversy isn't directly tied to initial player complaints about the trading mechanic itself.

The trading system, introduced last week, faced criticism due to its restrictions. Players must delete five cards to obtain Trade Tokens, enabling a trade of the same rarity. This, combined with the inability to trade publicly within the app, forces players to use external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay. Many players, such as Reddit user siraquakip, desired a safer, in-app community trading system.

The black market's existence predates the trading restrictions; the issue lies in the mechanic's limitations, specifically the requirement for player friendships before trading. The lack of a public trading system within the app fuels the external market.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned against real-money trading and cheating, threatening account suspensions. Ironically, the Trade Token mechanic, intended to prevent such exploitation, has backfired, alienating the community. While actively investigating improvements to the trading feature, Creatures Inc. hasn't offered specifics despite complaints dating back three weeks.

Many believe the trading system is revenue-driven, considering Pokémon TCG Pocket's estimated half-billion-dollar revenue in under three months before trading was even implemented. The inability to trade 2-Star or higher rarity cards further supports this, as readily available trades would reduce the need for costly pack purchases. One player reported spending approximately $1,500 to complete the first set, with the third set arriving last week.