Across the country, people are geeking out over gaming cards.
Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokemon collectible cards are all fetching top-notch prices during the pandemic.
“These cards go for hundreds and thousands of dollars,” said Virgilio San Andres, the events coordinator at The Wizard’s Chest, where the top seller is currently out of stock.
“We’re completely sold out of Pokemon,” Andres said. “Pokemon is really, really popular and it’s the Japanese 25th anniversary this year as well.”
As more brick-and-mortar stores aim to increase their inventory of these popular playing cards, a new online startup is looking to help card collectors get more money online.
“Most of the sellers are unaware of the value of their cards,” said George Fang, CEO of Card Geisha, an internet consignment business specializing in gaming cards.
After seeing the values of these cards recently hit record highs, Fang’s team created a business model where people can mail in their cards, and have them scanned and priced accordingly by an algorithm, which he says helps people know exactly how much their card is worth.
“Why not find a way to efficiently these cards to new card collectors while also giving them a significant chunk of change in return,” Fang said.
Though taking 40% of the profits, Fang says Card Geisha’s payoff is still much more than traditional sales.
While the Wizard's Chest specializes in packaged cards, Andres believes this surge in sales will now have more people digging through their closets with the hopes of turning a childhood hobby into a way to make big bucks as adults.
“They actually might be sitting on what’s considered a small fortune within these cards,” he said.