Questions
The ones we actually get asked. If yours is not here, send it over.
For schools
- What does it cost our school?
- Nothing, postage included. No fee, no subscription, no minimum, no contract. When a box is ready we email you a prepaid shipping label, so the school never pays out of pocket and has nothing to claim back.
- How much work is this really?
- A box in the office and somebody typing a number into their phone when a family drops cards off. There is no event to run, no date to pick, no volunteers to schedule, and nothing to sell.
- How do we actually get paid?
- We send the money to the school once cards are received and counted — 10¢ per verified card. Your dashboard shows what has been verified, what is earned, and what has been paid. Full details here.
- Which cards can we send?
- Any genuine Pokémon card in playable condition — commons, duplicates and bulk are exactly what we want, and soft corners or light scuffs are fine. We cannot pay for bent, ripped or counterfeit cards, or for cards from other games. When a drop-off is logged you pick whether anything unsellable gets recycled or posted back. The full list is here.
- Why is our number different from yours?
- Because two people counted the same shoebox. You log a rough count when the cards come in; we recount every card when the box arrives. Payment is on our verified count, both numbers are shown side by side in the dashboard, and we tell you if a shipment comes out lower than reported.
- Is there really a $10,000 limit?
- Yes — that is 100,000 cards at 10¢. It is per school. If you get close, talk to us; we would rather have that conversation than have you stop collecting.
- What kind of cards do you want?
- All of them. Bulk commons and duplicates are genuinely fine — that is most of what we receive and it still pays 10¢ a card. Cards do not need to be sorted, sleeved, or in any particular condition, though badly damaged ones may not count.
- Do we need to track which kid brought what?
- Only if you want to. Attribution drives class leaderboards, which is what tends to get volume up, but an unattributed drop-off counts exactly the same for the school total.
For families
- What do I actually do?
- Send your child in with Pokémon cards you are not using. Hand them to the office. That is it — nothing to sign up for, nothing to pay.
- Does it cost me anything?
- No. You are donating cards, not money. The school gets paid by us, not by you.
- Are you going to sell my kid’s rare card for a fortune?
- We pay a flat 10¢ per card regardless of what it is, and we resell in bulk. If your child has a card they actually care about, or one you think is genuinely valuable, keep it. Send the commons.
- Does my child need an account?
- No, and they cannot make one. If you want their donations credited to them, a parent creates the account and adds the child. That is optional.
- What do you store about my child?
- A first name or nickname, and optionally a grade and class. Nothing else — no last name, no birthdate, no photo, no contact details — and nothing about a child is ever public. The privacy policy spells it out.
- Can I take it back?
- Once cards are donated and shipped, no — they have been sold on. You can remove your child’s record from the platform at any time from your family page.
About us
- What is in it for you?
- We resell the cards in bulk. Buying them at 10¢ is the business; the fundraiser is why a family hands them over instead of leaving them in a drawer. We would rather say that plainly than pretend to be a charity.
- Are you affiliated with Nintendo or The Pokémon Company?
- No. Pokémon-athon is independent, with no affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship from Nintendo, Creatures Inc., Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company. All trademarks belong to their owners.
- Do you sell our data?
- No. We sell cards. We do not sell or rent personal information and there is no advertising on this site. Read the policy.
- Something is broken.
- Tell us — contact form here. Anything touching a school’s counts or payments goes to the front of the queue.