Caught 'em all? Pokemon Go players making thousands selling accounts on eBay

If the novelty of Pokémon Go is lost on you, news that you can get rich from the app might be enough to get you playing. Users are listing their Pokémon-loaded Go accounts on eBay, some of which are selling for thousands of pounds.

Before we go any further, we should probably point out selling your PokémonGo account is technically illegal, as it breaches the terms of service you agree to when you sign up to the app. Clearly, that's of no concern to players who have given up on their dream of becoming a Pokémon Master and have decided to make all those wasted hours worth it.

Incredibly, one user managed to sell their Level 23 account on eBay for £7,300 on 19 July, complete with several rare and fully-evolved Pokémon including Dragonite, Gyarados, Lapras, Electabuzz, Scyther, Hitmonlee, Lickitung, Mr Mime, Chansey and more.

A user in the US sold their Level 20 account – complete with Charizard, Golduck, Clefable and an over 1500 Stardust – for $500 (£455) on the same day, while The Guardian reports another auctioned theirs for $1,500, suggesting there is money to be had in the Pokémon trading business.

There is of course every chance that the sellers will end up not getting paid as fake bids happen all the time on eBay, meanwhile if the seller ends up being stiffed there's probably not a whole lot they could do about it given the legally murky nature of the transaction. It's also testament to how much people are willing to spend to avoid exercise and completely destroy the whole point of the game – but who are we to judge? Besides, you'll be at less risk of being shot at or stumbling across dead bodies.

It probably won't take long for Nintendo to crack down on these dodgy dealings, so anyone hoping to profit from other people's laziness may be out of luck. If you want to do it the old-fashioned, honest way IBTimes UK has a wide collection of guides to on finding and catching Pokémon, levelling up and evolving them and competing in Gym battles to help you become the very best.