TCGplayer and Internationally Renowned DJ / Grammy-Nominated Artist and Producer Steve Aoki Form Exclusive Partnership to Bring $3 Million of Curated Pokémon Inventory to the Marketplace

ENTER THE VAULT HERE

SYRACUSE, N.Y., November 3, 2021 – TCGplayer, the leading technology platform for the collectibles industry and operator of the largest online marketplace for trading card games, today announced an exclusive partnership with internationally renowned DJ / Grammy-nominated artist and producer Steve Aoki. Together, TCGplayer and Aoki are bringing to the marketplace an incredible curated selection of high-value and graded Pokémon products worth an estimated $3 million in value.

As part of the partnership, Aoki is opening his personal vault and bringing to the TCGplayer marketplace hand-selected, graded and ungraded Pokémon cards for every value level of collecting. The Steve Aoki Vault collection includes high-value cards, exclusive products from Aoki’s personal collection of clothing, memorabilia and records, and hand-filled Mystery Boxes with once-in-a-lifetime experiences like artist meet-and-greets and concert tickets. The entire collection will be available on the TCGplayer marketplace through an exclusive consignment agreement powered by the Direct by TCGplayer program. Products will be released in waves, with new products dropping periodically starting on November 3, 2021, and running through 2023. TCGplayer will support the collection’s entire customer experience, providing end-to-end inventory management assistance from e-commerce services to listing and fulfillment.

“My journey into card-collecting was initially about connecting with a new community, as the pandemic made it impossible for me to play shows, tour or be with my fans,” said Steve Aoki. “As my love for the hobby grew, I started thinking about new ways to bring the products that got me hooked on collecting to a community that has embraced me from the start. This is exactly why I am so excited to partner with TCGplayer, which has given me the opportunity to bring the products I love to an even larger portion of the hobby community. In collaboration with the TCGplayer team, I’m now opening my personal vault, and bringing to the TCG community exclusive merchandise and curated experiences you won’t be able to find anywhere else. We’re embarking on a fantastic journey and I look forward to dropping new products on TCGplayer every week!”

"TCGplayer is proud to partner with Steve Aoki, a multi-year partnership that represents the next evolution of our Direct by TCGplayer consignment program," said Chedy Hampson, Founder and CEO of TCGplayer. “In addition to offering Steve’s carefully curated, personal Pokémon collection on our marketplace, I’m honored that he trusted TCGplayer to deliver the customer experience that fans have come to expect from him. I’m excited to bring this one-of-a-kind collection to the TCGplayer marketplace and look forward to growing our partnership with Steve in the months to come!” 

Opening the Steve Aoki Vault

Aoki and TCGplayer will release periodic waves of individually listed graded Pokémon cards and Mystery Boxes on the TCGplayer marketplace. Throughout the Steve Aoki Vault series, TCGplayer will advertise new products, with drop previews available on Mondays, one day ahead of the products’ live release on Tuesdays. Wave one will be listed weekly from November 3, 2021, through December 17, 2021, except for the week of November 29, 2021. The second product wave is planned to launch in early 2022.

For more information about the Steve Aoki Vault or to shop the collection, visit https://www.tcgplayer.com/featured-collections/steve-aoki.

About Direct by TCGplayer

Direct by TCGplayer revolutionizes the shopping experience. This consignment-style fulfillment service is built to save TCGplayer sellers time and resources, allowing TCGplayer to take on all aspects of order logistics, including shipping, fulfillment and customer service. When shoppers purchase products through TCGplayer’s Direct program, they have the ability to shop from thousands of local hobby stores around the country and receive all purchased products in one convenient package. Additionally, all Direct orders are shipped from TCGplayer’s headquarters in Syracuse, N.Y., and authenticated by a team of experts for rarity, condition and edition. Orders $35 or more ship for free. Visit https://store.tcgplayer.com/help/direct to learn more about Direct by TCGplayer.

About Steve Aoki

Counting nearly 3 billion music streams to his name, Steve Aoki is a true visionary. Billboard described the 2x-GRAMMY-Nominated artist/DJ/producer and Dim Mak Records founder as “one of the most in-demand entertainers in the world.” As a solo artist, Aoki boasts a lauded cross-genre discography that includes 7 studio albums and collaborations with Lil Uzi Vert, Maluma, BTS, Linkin Park and Louis Tomlinson amongst others. In 1996, he established Dim Mak out of his college dorm room, a trendsetting record label, events/lifestyle company and apparel brand. It has served as a launch pad for global acts like The Chainsmokers, Bloc Party, The Bloody Beetroots, and The Kills, in addition to being the home of early releases from acts such as ZEDD and Diplo. As a nightlife impresario, Aoki’s legendary Hollywood club night Dim Mak Tuesdays hosted early performances from future superstars such as Kid Cudi, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, and Travis Scott. A true renaissance man, Steve Aoki is also a fashion designer, author and entrepreneur. In 2012, he founded THE AOKI FOUNDATION, which primarily supports organizations in the field of brain science research with a specific focus on regenerative medicine and brain preservation. In addition, Aoki has pushed his clothing line Dim Mak Collection to new heights, both with original designs and collaborations with everyone from A Bathing Ape to the Bruce Lee estate. Steve has also always been a passionate collector of art, sports memorabilia, and most recently trading cards. Soon after becoming part-owner of the new hit trading card game MetaZoo, a highly successful Topps x MetaZoo collaboration debuted, which broke Topp’s website due to extremely high demand. As an avid card collector and lover for years now, Steve is especially proud of his huge Pokemon collection and substantial sports card collection. Aoki’s multi-faceted journey is chronicled through the Grammy-nominated Netflix documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2016) and his memoir BLUE: The Color of Noise (2019). In the summer of 2020, Aoki unveiled his Latin music imprint, Dim Mak En Fuego, continuing to break down musical and cultural boundaries ‘by any means necessary.'

About TCGplayer

TCGplayer is the leading technology platform for the collectibles industry. Founded as a digital media platform within the collectible hobby space, the Company has grown from its initial roots working inside Syracuse-based hobby stores selling comic books, sports cards, CDs, collectible cards, action figures, and tabletop games into an expansive eCommerce marketplace. TCGplayer develops applications and technologies that are revolutionizing the collectibles marketplace by connecting thousands of hobby and collectibles businesses with customers around the globe. The Company's ecommerce and data management tools power sales through physical stores, websites, mobile apps and the TCGplayer Marketplace. TCGplayer prides itself on creating a culture that fosters camaraderie, embraces diversity, and exudes passion and provides stock options to all of its employees. The Company has been ranked amongst New York State's 50 best employers and Fortune.com's top 100 companies for women in the U.S. and certified a Great Place to Work by our employees five years in a row. For more info on TCGplayer, contact press@tcgplayer.com.

MORE FROM STEVE AOKI:

ONLINE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER 

For more information on Steve Aoki, please contact 

Allison Elbl, Rebecca Shapiro, Mike Jones, Cory Councill at Shore Fire Media.