GameStop gets roasted after announcing it will stop offering pre-orders on Pokémon TCG products to limit resellers

GameStop just dropped a new policy—no more pre-orders for Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products. That precious feeling of securing your packs in advance is gone.

Per the post on Pokebeach, user Water Pokémon Master states that this move came straight from an internal email to employees, spelling doom for online and in-store pre-orders.

Naturally, not everyone was feeling the decision, so they roasted it to a crisp. One X user said:

"So instead of being a reasonable adult and preordering in store, you’d rather have lines of 20+ people every Friday morning?"

GameStop really opted for Black Friday chaos… but every week.

A user hilariously declared:

"Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t care about Pokémon."

The user actually showed up to say he was leaving.

One user went on to say:

"How about increasing the amount of cards your stores get so that your foot traffic doesn't always leave disappointed? One of your TCG stores was alloted 4...yes 4...2 pack blisters for the entire launch. Stop creating scarcity to drive up prices."

4 packs is not a stock issue, that’s an inside joke.

A user quipped:

"cool, now i have zero chance to get any product."

You had a 5% chance before, now you just have a sad trip to the store.

A comment read:

"Awesome now refund me for my PRO membership that you made me purchase in order to get any product, while telling me that I was able to pre-order future sets with the membership."

GameStop made this user subscribe for benefits that don’t exist. This is exactly how supervillains get their origin stories.

A user roasted saying:

"I’m too employed for the Pokemon game now, I don’t have time to wait at 7 in the morning in line on a random Tuesday so some guy with a Neck beard whos been waiting there since 5 in the morning with his grandma to buy up the stock."

Damn! Not the grandma being the scalper sidekick.

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GameStop NUKED Pokémon TCG pre-orders

The big-brain reasoning is to curb the rampage of resellers and scalpers who have turned Pokémon cards into a modern-day gold rush.

GameStop hopes this change will bring more actual Pokémon fans into their stores, instead of having resellers clear out stock.

If you’ve been even remotely plugged into the Pokémon TCG scene, you know that trying to buy new releases is like battling Cynthia with under-leveled Pokémon.

It is impossible and kind of painful. (FYI Cynthia is one of the toughest Pokémon Champions in the video game series).

Demand for these cards is through the roof, and because of scalpers, everyday collectors have been left in the dust.

GameStop’s new policy takes a swing at this chaos. Instead of allowing pre-orders (which often end up snatched by bots or professional flippers), the company is sending all Pokémon TCG stock directly to stores.

The logic is that if you want cards, you gotta show up, wait in line, and actually exist in the store.

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So, what’s the catch?

With pre-orders out the window, GameStop is also hitting stricter purchase limits.

Previously, customers could buy up to two Pokémon TCG products per visit, with more flexible rules on booster packs.

But resellers found loopholes.

Now, with a walk-in-only policy, GameStop is trying to ensure that actual fans get a shot at scoring new packs.

And they’re not alone. Other retailers, like Target, have also had to adjust their policies after some Pokémon-related chaos.

In 2021, Target banned selling Pokémon TCG products after a brawl erupted in the parking lot over some booster packs.

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Mixed feelings from the community

As expected, the Pokémon TCG community is split. Some fans are cheering for this anti-scalper move, hoping it finally levels the playing field.

Other collectors worry that removing pre-orders won’t actually fix anything, since the real issue is supply shortages, not just resellers.

One GameStop manager even spilled the tea on Reset Era, saying that no other trading card game at the retailer has these restrictions. That means Pokémon’s distribution numbers might just be that low compared to demand.

Meanwhile, over on PokéBeach, one frustrated collector summed up the vibe by saying

“It feels like this hobby is under assault on multiple fronts right now.”

So what's next? GameStop is trying to soften the blow by offering little perks, like free card sleeves and savers during big product launches.

But if you can’t get the actual cards, protective sleeves aren’t exactly a game-changer.

The real question is whether this policy will work.

If The Pokémon Company doesn’t revamp their distribution, all these changes might just be a band-aid on a more prominent problem.