LINE Yahoo Bans Pokemon Card Cartons, Empty Boxes, Mass Listings
Yahoo's rules now put the secondary market for Pokemon cards under the same kind of listing limits Mercari applied to 30th CELEBRATION packs, and the mass-listing ban is pinned to a 30th anniversary product line that has stayed short on supply.
Key Facts
- The mass-listing restriction applies starting with Pokemon Card Game 30th CELEBRATION, which went on sale September 16.
- LINE Yahoo and The Pokemon Company signed a memorandum of understanding in July 2023 on safe trading of trading cards.
- The announcement did not specify the quantity that counts as a mass listing or the length of the post-release restriction period.
Reporting from 4 sources: KAI-YOU, Denfaminicogamer, Magmix, Inside.
LINE Yahoo Corporation announced on October 13 that it will prohibit three categories of Pokemon Card Game listings on Yahoo! Flea Market and Yahoo! Auctions. The banned listings are Pokemon cards sold by the carton, empty boxes and empty packs, and mass listings of the same product during a set period after release. The mass-listing restriction starts with Pokemon Card Game 30th CELEBRATION, which went on sale September 16. The announcement did not specify the number of listings that counts as mass or how long the restriction lasts after a release. LINE Yahoo and The Pokemon Company signed a memorandum of understanding in July 2023 on safe trading of trading cards. Under the expanded arrangement, The Pokemon Company will share information about products and distribution that could lead to trouble or inappropriate transactions in the secondary market.
The 30th anniversary line is where the rules bite first. KAI-YOU describes the lineup behind 30th CELEBRATION: expansion packs, deck sets, and sets pairing cards with display stands. The packs carry special cards reproducing past designs, and expansion packs in particular have stayed short across the board.
KAI-YOU also notes The Pokemon Company introduced a My Number Card identity verification system alongside the anniversary product rollout, seemingly anticipating the demand.
The sequencing matters. As of September 15, Yahoo! Flea Market and Yahoo! Auctions did not list 30th CELEBRATION items as prohibited and had no price limits. Mercari moved first, running a temporary ban from September 16 on unopened expansion packs and all nine card sets. LINE Yahoo says the strengthened rules came out of talks between the two companies on market and transaction conditions, building on cooperative work since the July 2023 memorandum, which covered new product release information, rights-infringing listings, user warnings, and deletion of listings that break the terms of use.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.