GameStop wants you to start trading in your prized Pokémon cards

Market for high-end collectibles similar to rare cards has exploded in recent years and GameStop seems to I need a bit of it. The gaming retailer told some store managers this week that it can begin testing the choice of buying Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)-rated trading cards later this month because it seeks a brand new business strategy as its meme craze continues.

“Exciting news” – read the within message shared yesterday on the GameStop subreddit. “We are excited to announce that we are officially entering Graded Collectibles. Starting tomorrow, all associates will have access to the home menu education course on accepting PSA-rated collectibles (trading cards only for now).” The company said this system’s rollout will begin next week in just 258 stores, including some in Texas, where GameStop is headquartered.

It’s not yet clear how this system will work, whether GameStop plans to resell the cards in-store or what the limit will probably be on the costs it will possibly pay. Some self-identified staff on the subreddit they speculated that stores will only have the ability to purchase collectibles graded PSA 8 and above. Still, their prices can range from, say, $50 each Angry Bolt E.g from the recent Temporal Forces set at over $29,000 per rarer Charizard from the unique core set.

GameStop’s core business used to be video games. Once players complete the new edition, they’ll resell it to the corporate for a fraction of the MSRP, which GameStop will then turn around and sell to a brand new player for nearly the total cost of the new edition of the sport. This “circle of life” gave GameStop huge profits in the early 2010s, however it fell apart when most game purchases have gone digital.

The company recently doubled its production of branded merchandise and collectibles similar to Funko-Pops and video game character statues to make up for the shortage. Despite making $1 billion in a meme-fueled stock bonanza, GameStop’s deal with cryptocurrencies, gaming hardware and even televisions has failed to open up a brand new path of growth for its failing business. All along, GameStop employees were born put an end to the corporate’s excesses, lapses and resulting cuts.

It’s unclear whether GameStop’s long-standing repute for poor trades will carry over to its recent collectibles program. “10% of the market price, take it or leave it,” one person joked on Reddit. “5% of the market price in cash, 10% of the market price in store credit and they sell them at 500% of the market price.”