GameStop Offers Mystery Pokémon Card Packs Priced at $5,000 Each
As GameStop attempts to acquire eBay with a staggering $56 billion in imaginary funds, it’s also ramping up efforts to boost its profits by inflating prices on collectibles like trading cards. Today, the retailer unveiled a new strategy: offering single, randomized, PSA-graded Pokémon cards for a jaw-dropping $5,000 each.
This wild initiative launched on GameStop’s website as part of its “Power Packs” program. Power Packs have been around for several months, thanks to a partnership with the card-grading service PSA. Customers can pay a set amount to “rip” a digital card pack that contains one PSA-graded sports or Pokémon card. After revealing the card online, you can opt to have it shipped to you, sell it through GameStop’s platform (with GameStop taking a cut), or, for some reason, store it in a climate-controlled facility in Delaware until you decide to retrieve it.
The cost to “rip” a pack ranges from $25 up to the new high of $5,000. Previously, the maximum was $2,500. The idea is that the more you spend, the better your chances of pulling a high-value card, but a quick look at the “estimated pack value” on the site shows that the odds are heavily stacked in favor of the house. If you drop $5,000 on a single PSA card in the “Neutronium” tier (yes, that’s the name), you have a mere 0.4% chance of snagging a card worth over $40,000. On the flip side, there’s a 72% chance you’ll end up with something worth less than what you paid, and a 25% chance of getting a card that’s just slightly more valuable. And remember, these are just estimates from the site trying to sell you this stuff. But hey, you might just pull a PSA 10 Charizard! There’s a chance! Maybe!
This setup is reminiscent of those Lucky Box vending machines, but with a thin layer of legitimacy that GameStop clings to. It highlights the absurdity of adults losing their cool over a children’s trading card game, alongside the spectacle of grown men nearly brawling over vending machine packs and the skyrocketing prices of recent sets driven by adults willing to spend hundreds to clear out stores. It also underscores GameStop’s relentless pursuit of profit, as evidenced by its refusal to offer fair prices on various Pokémon TCG products. The company has explored numerous strategies to turn its fortunes around and cash in on trends in recent years, from NFTs to Bitcoin to its current focus on retro collectibles. I guess Cohen has to find a way to fund that eBay acquisition somehow.
