Retailer GAME Accused Of "Scalping" Pokémon Cards Thanks To Insane Delivery Fees

Image: Nintendo Life

GAME staff have accused the UK retailer of "scalping" Pokémon cards after the company began hitching massive shipping costs to the online sale of 'Prismatic Evolutions' mini tins (thanks, Eurogamer).

These mini tins are no novelty for a TCG expansion. They contain two booster packs and a collectible coin and retail for £10.99, tidy. The problem is that GAME is adding a bulky £19.99 "Oversized delivery" fee on top of that, making the overall purchase a little less 'mini' than the name suggests.

Speaking anonymously to Eurogamer, GAME staff described the practice as the company "scalping" its own stock, with an unreasonable portion of Prismatic Evolutions items being hoarded to the online site rather than shipped to stores.

This, the employees said, has left them to take the brunt of customer complaints as stores have been unable to stock the highly sought-after set while the site cashes in on the demand.

For those out of the TCG loop, Prismatic Evolutions is the latest Pokémon Scarlet & Violet TCG expansion, and it has taken the world by storm. You see, the set contains a strangely high number of hit Eevee cards, which, when pulled, can sell for thousands before they have even been graded.

The promise of a quick buck has meant that the set is notoriously hard to come by in stores (The Pokémon Company itself even issued a rare statement addressing the situation), and GAME's practice of reserving the majority of its products for online sales has meant that customers were left disappointed even on the set's launch day — one employee told Eurogamer that their store was sent a single TCG pack on release.

But back to that "Oversized delivery" fee. As you might expect, Mini Tins are, uhh, mini, measuring in at roughly the size of an iPhone and not packing any extra weight to boot. They are certainly smaller than, say, a PS5 Pro, which you can still order from the site with the usual £4.99 home delivery — and the added 'Collect from store' option, which isn't available for the Prismatic Evolution tins.

According to the Eurogamer report, several employees claimed to have questioned their bosses about the delivery listing, only to be told that it was a deliberate decision with no further information offered. Hmm.

The delivery debacle continues what has been a strange couple of years for the UK retailer. Early last year, the company announced that it would no longer be accepting physical trade-ins before most of its staff were moved to zero-hour contracts and its rewards programme was brought to a close.