Popular gaming chain GameStop has issued a statement regarding a recent deal where one lucky customer received a major payout for a rare Pokemon trading card. The record-setting deal, which was identified as the most valuable single trade in the store's history, comes in the wake of criticism levied against GameStop for its supposedly low trade offers. The retail chain's official statement included a response to this criticism, delivered in a humorous tone that brings its seriousness into question.
The high value trade-in was completed using GameStop's PowerPacks system. PowerPacks is an official collaboration between the company and the Professional Sports Authority (PSA). Participants are able to purchase professionally graded trading cards digitally or physically, and then choose to sell the cards, have them stored in a "PSA Vault," or shipped directly to them. GameStop promises to instantly buy back any PowerPack cards that purchasers do not want. Currently, PowerPack offerings include baseball, football, basketball, and Pokemon trading cards — although the Pokemon packs in particular have attracted scalpers, forcing GameStop to issue a warning.
One Lucky Customer Received $30,000 For Pokemon Trading Card
According to GameStop's statement, made via the company's official Twitter account, on December 1, 2025, a customer in Grapevine, Texas received a high-value holographic Gengar Pokemon card in a PowerPack. Gengar has historically been a rare and popular Pokemon card, both physically and in Pokemon TCG Pocket. The PSA had given the card a rating of 10, indicating that it was in "mint condition." A 10 is the highest possible score given to trading cards by the PSA.
GameStop bought back the card for $30,494.70. In its Twitter statement, the company acknowledged that this was over $3,000 below the holographic Gengar card's fair market value — it was actually valued at $33,833.00. This would easily place the card on a list of most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold, although it wouldn't quite reach the level of the multi-million-dollar Pikachu Illustrator, which influencer Logan Paul received a Guinness World Record for purchasing.
The statement went on to say: "Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect. Any prior and ongoing objections to our trade values are now deemed without merit and factually invalid." This comes in the wake of criticisms of the PowerPack program and GameStop's increased focus on trading cards in general.
Responses to the Twitter statement were mixed. Some claimed that the holographic Gengar card was worth significantly more, and that GameStop had indeed underpaid the customer. Others expressed concern that GameStop was going to become a "luxury retailer," although the chain's recent Black Friday deals might reassure those commenters that this is not the case. Still others mentioned owning holographic Gengar cards (and Charizard, and other valuable Pokemon) of their own, and questioned whether GameStop would pay them $30,000 if they brought them in.
GameStop's PowerPack System Features Increasingly High Prices
Previously, GameStop had announced that $2500 Lunar Pokemon PowerPacks would be made available on Cyber Monday. Lunar Packs are the company's most expensive PowerPack to date, surpassing previous Gold, Diamond, and Platinum packs. This statement received significant criticism on Twitter, as many felt the price to be excessively high. Some accused the Lunar Packs of being a blatant cash grab on GameStop's part, and felt it was particularly out of touch to advertise such expensive offerings during the holiday season.
It has not been officially confirmed whether the $30,000 Gengar card was part of one of the highly priced Lunar Packs, but it is a definite possibility, especially as the purchase was reportedly made on December 1, which was indeed Cyber Monday. Even if the customer paid $2,500 for their PowerPack, they made a profit of over $25,000. Although, as even GameStop's official statement admits, the customer did not receive full market value for their extremely valuable Pokemon trading card.
GameStop is also hosting a unique trading-themed event, "Trade Anything Day," on December 6, 2025. Customers are encouraged to bring in "anything they want" (with several restrictions, such as no liquids, living creatures, or illegal materials) and exchange it for store credit. Perhaps some customers will bring in rare Pokemon trading cards of their own in an attempt to replicate this individual's success.