The recent Pokémon x Van Gogh collaboration is a unique one, reimagining some of the great painter’s works of art with Pokémon. Unfortunately, new collaborations mean more merchandise, which also means scalpers are there to ruin the fun for everyone.
Kotaku reported on the various merchandise that, at the time of writing, is no longer available to purchase in any normal capacity. Fans hoping to go to the Van Gogh Museum where the event was first advertised won’t be able to find anything to buy. There was briefly some hope when it was announced that the merch would be available online, but those were also snapped up by scalpers.
Unsurprisingly, some of the Pokémon x Van Gogh merchandise has already made its way to eBay with inflated prices. Anyone hoping to get a silly card of Pikachu in a Van Gogh hat will have to shell out $100 at the least, with some prices going up to $300. Even the plushies aren’t safe, as they’re often paired with the trading cards.
As disappointing as the situation is, no one is surprised by this behavior, especially fans of the Pokémon series. Fans trying to get newly announced trading cards are often out of luck, having to wait for restocks or, worse yet, actually buying from scalpers.
We’ve seen some stores try to fight back against the scalpers, though they usually find ways around them. In Japan, some stores don’t let adults buy any Pokémon Trading Cards after a certain amount of time.
Some Pokémon cards have even become the target of mass robberies, with more than one taking place in the past few years. This just goes to show how valuable some of these collectibles are, which never ceases to amaze. It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that some people could pay off their student loans with stolen Pokémon cards.
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Fans probably won’t get another chance to get some of the Pokémon x Van Gogh merch. If they do go on sale again, expect to fight a bunch of scalpers for them.