A GameStop customer in Texas got over $30,000 for a rare Pokémon card in the company’s biggest trade-in deal ever.
The customer showed up with the card — a mint-condition holographic Gengar — at a store in Grapevine, TX, on Monday and walked away with $30,494.70.
“This event now constitutes the most valuable single trade-in ever recorded in GameStop history,” GameStop said in a statement.
The Pokémon card was a rare printing from 2003 that had a “gem mint” appraisal from grading company Professional Sports Authenticator.
An office for GameSpot, which paid a collector $30,000 for a Pokemon card. JHVEPhoto – stock.adobe.com
A holographic Gengar card, like the one sold in the record-breaking trade-in deal. Simon – stock.adobe.comThe customer had bought the card through a GameStop program that allows customers to buy random, pre-graded cards online and flip them for pre-determined values.
The company said the deal flies in the face of “trolls” who bash the company’s trade-in policy, which allows customers to hand over pre-owned merch for store credit or cash.
GameStop has a decades-old reputation for giving customers pennies on the dollar for their old Nintendos, PlayStations, and other gaming gear.
“Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect,” the company said.
The fair market value of the card was $34,883, the company claims — meaning the customer still may have shorted themselves by nearly $4,000 by flipping it at GameStop rather than selling the card at an auction or show.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has been popular since its debut in 1996, and the cards’ value has only increased. Jose – stock.adobe.com
A GameStop store, which offers customers cash or in-store credit for used merchandise. APThe 2003 holo Gengar card was printed during a surge of popularity for the Pokémon Trading Card Game cards after the 90s craze, and it was also among the last cards printed by game company Wizards of the Coast, according to Nicholas Ramirez, a Poké-expert interviewed by CBS.
But fans are still trying to catch ‘em all: The value of Pokémon cards has skyrocketed by 3,261% in the last two decades, according to recent data reported by Fortune
