A Japanese retailer is trying to stop Pokémon card scalpers by making them take a test first

A Japanese retailer is taking steps to prevent Pokémon card scalpers by making them prove their knowledge first.

At least one branch of electronics retailer Bic Camera, which has 45 stores across Japan, is reportedly demanding that would-be customers looking to buy the latest Pokémon Trading Card Game set have to take a test first.

As spotted by X user Ryo Saeba, the Bic Camera branch in Ikabukuro, Tokyo has posted a sign for anyone who wishes to buy a box of Mega Evolution: Ninja Spinner cards, which contains 30 packs.

The sign says boxes are limited to one per customer, and even then they won’t be sold unless three conditions are met.

Firstly, the customer has to take a quiz (which Saeba says consists of 15 questions) based on the Pokémon universe. “Only those who answer the quiz questions correctly will be able to purchase the item,” the sign says, warning that if anyone takes a photo of the quiz questions, they will be refused service.

The customer also needs to have either a Bic Camera rewards card or the Bic Camera app. Finally, they have to agree to let the cashier remove the shrink wrap and cut along the box’s perforations. By doing this, the customer can no longer resell the item as new and unsealed.

While scalpers – those who purchase products at retail price and resell them for a huge mark-up – have been a problem for The Pokémon Company for a long time, the practice has become more widespread in recent years as more stories are told of cards being resold at high amounts.

A number of stores in Japan – including the official Pokémon Center stores – have been removing the plastic film from the outside of sealed booster boxes when purchased in those stores, in an effort to dissuade scalpers (because customers on the secondary market can’t trust that the packs haven’t been tampered with).

For a normal consumer buying cards at the Pokémon Center or the Bic Camera branch in this story, the removal of the outside packaging makes no difference, as the packs themselves remain sealed, and there’s no chance of the cards being tampered with as they are being purchased from a reliable retailer.