This makes me so sad and is why we can’t have nice things
— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) September 28, 2023
I saw so many wanting to go over in the first few days just to get any card and merch to resell. This is not an acceptable practice. If you do that, shame on you. https://t.co/vVHLHhVyZ1
Scalpers swarm Van Gogh museum for Pikachu Promo Card
Pokemon’s previous museum collaborations fetch a high price online
The launch of the Pokemon x Van Gogh merchandise collaboration has led to swarms of scalpers on the first day of sale.
The merchandise, which is being launched to celebrate 50 years of the Van Gogh Museum, will include a statue, a plush, a tote bag, and more.
Those who purchase any of the items will also receive a special Pikachu promo card, “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat.”
But following the release of the card, videos have appeared online of people swarming to the Van Gogh Museum to get their hands on the card.
Those unable to visit the exhibition, which runs until January 7, will be able to get the promo card by purchasing items from the Van Gogh collection via the Pokemon Center website.
This isn’t the first time that The Pokemon Company has collaborated with a famous museum. In 2018, Pokemon collaborated with the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum between October 27 and January 20, 2019.
During this time, visitors to the museum were able to purchase one of five promotional Pokemon Trading Card Game cards that featured characters drawn in the style of Munch’s The Scream.
These cards are highly sought after in the collector community due to their scarcity, and the fact they were only available during very limited periods. For example, the Pikachu Munch Promo card was available for one week, Japan’s Pokemon Week, which runs from December 10 until December 16.
According to the Trading Card price index Price Charting, the card is now worth roughly $670 (£540). This may explain the rush to try to get the exclusive card early, however the Munch promos were never sold online, and were available for a much shorter amount of time than this Pikachu card, which it seems will be widely available.