Pokémon TCG Pocket's controversial trading mechanic has spawned a bizarre black market on eBay. Players are buying and selling digital cards for $5-$10 each, exploiting a loophole in the game's system. Sellers exchange friend codes with buyers, sending cards in return for another card of equal rarity—often an unwanted "ex" Pokémon. This circumvents the game's terms of service, which prohibit the buying and selling of virtual items, yet sellers essentially lose nothing in the process. They receive a valuable "ex" Pokémon in exchange for one they already possess, easily repeating the transaction.

Numerous eBay listings feature rare ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards, with entire accounts, including valuable Pack Hourglasses and rare cards, also up for sale. While account selling is common in online games, this practice directly violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service.

The trading mechanic itself proved controversial from its launch. Besides the usual restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking to limit free gameplay, the introduction of Trade Tokens further fueled player frustration. These tokens require players to delete five cards from their collection before trading one of the same rarity, making trading expensive.

However, this black market likely wouldn't exist even without the Trade Token system. The core issue is the restrictive nature of the trading mechanic itself. The inability to trade publicly within the app forces players to use external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay to find trading partners. Many players, such as Reddit user siraquakip, had hoped for a more integrated and community-friendly trading system within the game.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned against real-money transactions and other exploitative behaviors, threatening account suspensions for violations. Ironically, the Trade Token system, designed to prevent such exploitation, has failed and alienated a significant portion of the player base.

Creatures Inc. is investigating improvements to the trading feature, but concrete solutions remain elusive despite complaints dating back three weeks. Many believe the trading system is designed to boost revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly generated half a billion dollars in under three months before the trading feature's release. This is further supported by the inability to trade 2-Star or higher rarity cards, a restriction that forces players to spend significant sums for a chance at obtaining these cards. One player reported spending approximately $1,500 to complete the first set.