McDonald's Pokemon Card Sells For $500 On eBay
In our quest to catch 'em all, one Pokemon fan has shelled out a whopping $500/£359 on a rare McDonald's Pokemon card that was part of the recent Happy Meal promotion. 2021 is a huge year for The Pokemon Company as it marks 25 years since Pokemon Red and Green released in Japan. Alongside the long-awaited Diamond and Pearl remaster, there's the announcement of the open world Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a next-gen version of Pokemon Snap, and the rerelease of the OG Pokemon Trading Card Game in supersized form. To make the most of the Silver Anniversary, Ronald McDonald wanted a piece of the action.
McDonald's is no stranger to Pokemon promotions, but safe to say, this one has become a craze of its own. We haven't seen this many adults buying Happy Meals since the madness of Teenie Beanie Babies. There's an impressive array of 25 starter Pokemon, available in both normal and holo form to make a grand total of 50 to collect. With the average Happy Meal promo set to run for 4-8 weeks, Pokefever could end around the middle of March. Then again, McDonald's hasn't confirmed when it's due to round off.
How did a Happy Meal Pokemon card sell on eBay?
There have been widespread reports of scalpers making a pretty penny from reselling cards online. The fast food giant has been limiting how many Happy Meals you can buy, but the problem has been exasperated by the fact you can buy Pokemon Cards separately. Whole cases have been going for upwards of $1000 on auction sites like eBay, but now, someone has broken records by selling a single card for $500. According to GameRant, this record-breaking action took place on February 25.
So, how did a single card that should come free with a Happy Meal end up going for so much? It's a well-known fact that Pokemon Cards with defects tend to go for more. This rare Pikachu wasn't even one of the rarer holographic cards, but went for such a huge sum thanks to the fact it has diagonal-cut corners instead of the usual rounded ones. McDonald's has done plenty of Pokemon Card promotions over the years. In 2011, Pokemon Black and White had a McDonald's tie-in that gave away a series of toys with one of 12 cards. Although the 2011 cards only sell for around $1 on sites like eBay, the latest run of cards seem to be already climbing in value.
Should you buy Pokemon Cards on eBay?
As with any kind of scalping, you're advised against being part of the problem. The $500 price tag for a Happy Meal Pokemon card on eBay is likely to do with artificial inflation. Similar to when we saw the new PlayStation 5 going for extortionate prices on auction sites, it's a false supply and demand. Even if the rare Pikachu card is worth $500 now, there's no telling whether it'll continue to be worth that.
Of course, we've seen a booming market for second-hand Pokemon Cards. Only recently, a rare First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box sold for a record-breaking $408,000/£293,000. Added to this, there was another record-breaking sale of an ultra-rare Blastoise card for $360,000/£258,000. When it comes to the Base Set, the new owner was already accepting offers for over $500,000.
There's clearly a mass market for Pokemon Card resale and collection, meaning we're still obsessed with being the very best (like no one ever was) some 23 years after Pokemon Cards were first released. We'll have to keep an eye on how long the McDonald's Pokemon Card bubble will continue to grow before it bursts.
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