Bunjang data on Pokémon cards

30s, 40s make up 67% of high-value trades

A collector holds up a Pokémon 30th-anniversary commemorative set trading card purchased after waiting in line outside a Best Buy store in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday (local time). [AFP]
A collector holds up a Pokémon 30th-anniversary commemorative set trading card purchased after waiting in line outside a Best Buy store in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday (local time). [AFP]

The release of the Pokémon 30th-anniversary expansion pack has triggered a surge in secondhand Pokémon card trading among consumers in their 30s and 40s.

According to secondhand marketplace Bunjang, the number of Pokémon card listings and the number of users searching for them rose 272 percent and 337 percent, respectively, from Sept. 1 to Wednesday compared with the same period a year earlier.

Buyers in their 30s and 40s accounted for 58.7 percent of total transaction value — more than half. Their share of high-value trades, those involving items priced at 150,000 won ($109) or more, reached 67.2 percent. The average purchase price among buyers in their 30s and 40s was 1.5 times higher than that of buyers in their 20s or younger.

The Pokémon 30th-anniversary expansion pack launched simultaneously worldwide on Wednesday. In the two days immediately following — Wednesday and Thursday — daily listings and transaction counts were 1.8 times and 1.5 times higher, respectively, than the daily averages from Sept. 1 to Tuesday. The number of sellers rose 2.3 times and total transaction value climbed 2.8 times. About 37 percent of sellers had no record of selling Pokémon cards in the 90 days prior.

Trading has been active across all price ranges. Among Pokémon card listings registered over the past 30 days, 36.6 percent were priced below 5,000 won and 16.8 percent fell in the 10,000–30,000 won range. High-priced listings of 150,000 won or more made up 11.1 percent of the total. Of cards listed over the past year, 54 percent sold within a week.

Meanwhile, Bunjang is running a promotion through Sept. 29 offering up to 100 percent cashback on Pokémon card selling fees, timed to coincide with the expansion pack launch. "It appears that the new expansion pack release drew both existing collectors and long-time holders looking to sell back into the market at the same time," a Bunjang official said.


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