One of Nintendo’s flagship IPs, Pokémon, officially reached its 30th anniversary this year, and the related Pokémon Trading Card Game also released a brand-new special bundle. But as has happened before, this new expansion pack attracted a large crowd of scalpers hoping to make a big profit. However, The Pokémon Company recently partnered with Japan’s LINE Yahoo! to jointly devise new anti-scalping measures, creating a fairer purchasing environment for Pokémon players and collectors in Japan.
Starting earlier this week, on October 13, the Japanese e-commerce platform LINE Yahoo! officially began fully banning listings of Pokémon card products sold by the case across its marketplace and auction platforms, even extending the ban to empty boxes and empty packs. Moreover, from then on, whenever a new wave of Pokémon card expansion packs goes on sale, the platform will also prohibit users from listing large quantities of the same product for a period of time, and the all-new Pokémon 30th Anniversary expansion pack scheduled for release on October 23 will be the first product subject to this rule.
In July 2023, The Pokémon Company signed a memorandum of understanding with LINE Yahoo!, announcing that they would jointly implement a series of new measures and make every effort to create an environment where players can buy, sell, and exchange trading cards with greater peace of mind. Since then, The Pokémon Company has continued to provide LINE Yahoo! with advance detailed information, including real-time release information for various new products, and has promptly reported listings that infringe its rights, while LINE Yahoo! has issued warnings and taken removal or disciplinary action depending on the circumstances.
After more in-depth negotiations, the two parties have now once again agreed to further strengthen information sharing and take more related measures to that end. In addition to providing the most up-to-date new product information and reports related to infringement, The Pokémon Company will from now on also share with LINE Yahoo! new details such as information on potential products that could lead to disputes or improper transactions, as well as information on the distribution channels for such products in the secondary market. In response, LINE Yahoo! will also continue to promote various corresponding fair trade rules on its platforms.
Source: KOCPC Chinese