Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said last week that the Pokémon TCG market coagulates around scalping. The company pledged to work with The Pokémon Company to curb high‑priced resells, but the most visible culprit remains GameStop.

GameStop lists the 30th‑anniversary Ascended Heroes Booster Bundle at $90—over 200 % more than the $27 retail price at Pokémon Center. Elite Trainer Boxes swing to $170 from a $55 base price, while the Ultra‑Premium Collection jumps to $600 versus the $120 price of last year’s Ultra‑Premium.

The retailer withholds online pricing for upcoming releases, letting in‑store pre‑orders surge. A $130 Elite Trainer Box pre‑order requires a 50 % deposit, leaving buyers paying $85 upfront. Reddit users reported prices climbing as early as the first pre‑order window.

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are GUIDING account verification and made‑to‑order sales to limit scarcity, and a new 1.27 million‑square‑foot facility in North Carolina should raise supply in 2027. If distributors could refuse to restock over‑marked inventory, GameStop’s abuse would likely shrink, restoring access for families that want cards at reasonable cost.