Pokemon is one of the biggest franchises in the world, and in the past few years, all of its goods have risen in popularity. From its anime to its video games, Pokemon is on the rise, but few pieces of the franchise have jumped quite like its trading cards. The market for Pokemon cards is hotter than ever for collectors, and now, one card shop in Japan is going viral as it has banned sales to anyone except children.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The report comes from Livedoor as it details the decision made by Hareruya 2 in Akihabara. The card shop has become a trending topic as it is no longer selling specific packs to adults. To be specific, the shop is restricting sales of two new card collections, Snow Hazard and Clay Burst, to anyone who is over junior high school age.
According to Hareruya 2, the decision to restrict sales was difficult but done in order to cut down on card resellers. The shop hopes sale restrictions will make these new collections easier to obtain for children, and Hareruya 2 has implemented strict policies to enforce this deal. When you check out at the store, guests will be ID’d, and even those who can buy the cards are limited to 10 packs per day.
As you can imagine, this decision has piqued interest across the globe, and that is because Pokemon cards are a hot commodity. In Japan, Pokemon’s new card sets sell out of stores in hours as fans will camp out to purchase stock, and many fans in the United States have followed the trend. Many stores like Target and Walmart now carry Pokemon cards behind cashier counters to prevent theft. Sales are limited as well to cut down on resellers, and yet, the secondhand market continues to rack up Pokemon prices.
It can be hard for new card collectors to get into Pokemon because of this competition, and that goes doubly for children. Adults can pick and choose where their discretionary funds go, but kids are at the whim of in-stock box sets more times than not. Hareruya 2 hopes its decision to cut off adult buyers will make it easier for kids to get into Pokemon. And if it works, well – don’t be surprised if other stores begin implementing this guideline.
What do you think about this latest Pokemon ban? Does this move sound like something other shops should adopt? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
