Game shoppers furious over ‘greedy’ delivery charge on Pokemon trading cards as they threaten to boycott retailer
FURIOUS Game shoppers are threatening to boycott the retailer after discovering a “greedy” shipping charge being applied to new Pokemon trading cards.
The new “Scarlet & Violet Prismatic Evolutions” cards are in hot demand, with other retailers selling out immediately.
Game still has Prismatic cards in stock, but is applying an "oversized" shipping fee of £20 to orders, even though it will ship other items of a similar size or bigger for a standard delivery fee of £4.99.
Standard delivery takes from three to seven days, while oversized delivery takes between three to 14 days.
Scarlet & Violet mini tins, which are selling for £10.99 each, are subject to the hefty levy, bringing their overall cost to £30.98.
Another new Scarlet & Violet product, containing a sheet of stickers, a foil promo card, three booster packers and a code card for Pokemon live, costs £15.99, but also has a £19.99 shipping charge, more than doubling its cost.
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There are no other shipping options available on these products.
In contrast, a larger tin of Pokemon Paradox Destinies cards and a £79.99 box containing a card-display dragon figure and 10-booster packs can be delivered for the standard £4.99.
Even a Nintendo Switch console can be bought from Game.co.uk with standard shipping.
The levy on the new Prismatic range has sparked a furious backlash among fans, with many taking to social media to complain.
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One fumed on X, formerly Twitter: "How come a small tin of Pokemon cards currently costs £19.99 postage without the option of store collection. Seems like a money making scheme."
Another added: "Greedy f*ckers taking advantage of limited stock items. £20 postage charge on an £11 Pokémon tin that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand with no other options... what a joke.
"Customer support says this is intentional pricing. Never buying from u again."
A third said: "Why are you charging a £20 delivery charge for a small item that costs £15.99??? Pokemon TCG tech stickers. Are you jumping on the scalping bandwagon too???"
A fourth moaned: "Why are you charging so much in postage for The Prismatic Pokémon cards? £20 for a triple blister pack is crazy."
And a fifth joked: "Are you on crack? £20 delivery for some Pokemon cards?
"I’m literally just outside of London fam. This store is jokes."
According to the Eurogamer website, staff working for Game stores had to deal with angry customers who were unable to buy the cards in-store on release day.
The new sticker set is also available on the Sports Direct website, which is owned by the same retail group, for the same delivery fee.
Sun Online approached the Frasers Group, which owns Game and Sports Direct, for a comment.
Delivery charges skyrocket
Retailers say they want to give shoppers a wide range of options and customers can often use click and collect to dodge fees.
But consumer expert Martyn James says many delivery charges don’t “bear much comparison to reality” and it’s almost “impossible” to know what it actually costs to send goods.
He previously told Sun Money: “Buying online has become so easy. But the speed at which retailers move us through the checkout means we often miss vital costs, like how much it will be to post an item and how much it will cost to return it.
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“The differences between prices can be huge, from a few quid to £40 to £50 or more.”
In an exclusive investigation last year we compared delivery charges across 20 of our readers’ favourite brands.
How to compare prices to get the best deal
JUST because something is on offer, or is part of a sale, it doesn't mean it's always a good deal.
There are plenty of comparison websites out there that'll check prices for you - so don't be left paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers.
Here are some that we recommend:
- Google Shopping is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web. Simply type in keywords, or a product number, to bring up search results.
- Price Spy logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and the supermarkets. Once you select an individual product you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which have it in stock.
- is another website that lets you compare prices between retailers. All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the website will rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive one.
- only works on goods being sold on Amazon. To use it, type in the URL of the product you want to check the price of.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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