Jakarta. Indonesia’s booming trading card market is drawing government scrutiny, with Trade Minister Budi Santoso signaling tighter supervision as soaring prices and fraud concerns grip collectors. 

The plan follows a surge in demand for Pokemon cards, some of which have reportedly sold for hundreds of millions to billions of rupiah, fueled by hype, speculative buying, and a growing secondary market.

Collectors say the current frenzy is not new, pointing to recurring boom-and-bust cycles in the hobby. Michael Pond Wijaya, a collector and owner of PokeChoice, said the market has gone through multiple “bubble” phases over the past two decades.

“Since 1999 up to 2026, Pokemon has experienced several bubbles,” he said during The World of Trading Card Collecting with Indonesia Card Show talk show held by @america on Saturday. “There was one around 2012 when certain cards suddenly jumped in value from almost nothing.”

He added that another surge in 2016, driven by the franchise’s 20th anniversary, followed by a pandemic-era spike in 2021 during its 25th anniversary. This year, Pokemon collecting is expected to boom once more as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

“Every time there’s a bubble, there’s also a correction,” Michael said. “I remember 2017 was a very bad year for sales after the 2016 boom.”

He added that prices in previous "bubble bursts" were significantly lower than today’s levels. “Back in 2017, an Elite Trainer Box could sell for around Rp600,000 ($35). You won’t find prices like that anymore,” he said.

While government oversight may be understandable, Michael cautioned that regulation alone would not address price inflation driven by scalping and hype amplified by influencers.

“Prices are high because of demand and speculation. Even without regulation, items are already hard to get,” he said.

Other collectors urged caution as details of the policy remain unclear. Edward Riady, owner of Nimitz Cards, said the industry is still waiting to see how the government will implement any measures.

“We don’t know yet what the regulation will look like, so it’s too early to judge,” he said.

Irril Darmawan, an NBA card collector and content creator, downplayed concerns that the hobby would face strict financial oversight, such as tax reporting requirements.

“I don’t think it will go that far,” he said.

The government has yet to outline concrete measures, but Budi said the ministry’s consumer protection directorate would handle supervision.

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