Pokemon scalpers ruin Van Gogh Museum collaboration
Pokemon scalpers have caused chaos on the opening day of the Van Gogh Museum collaboration after they descended on the gift shop.
A limited edition Pokemon card is amongst the merchandise scalpers are eager to get their hands on to resell online from the collaboration with works by the famous artist.
Scalpers caused chaos in the museum gift shop
A tweet shared by @monkeloidtv shows huge numbers of people fighting over prints and other merchandise at the opening of the collaboration between Pokemon and the Van Gogh Museum.
The tweet, which translates to “Really looking forward to a day at the Van Gogh museum to watch Pokémon” has sparked a lot of conversation about scalpers and how they can ruin special collections.
One Twitter user said: "This makes me so sad and is why we can’t have nice things. 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."
Another wrote: "If you go to special events to pick up products just to sell on at massively inflated value and make a profit...you suck."
Ebay listings showing £70 plushes, £30 fridge magnets and £40 tote bags are already flooding the online marketplace in an effort to profit off of collectors.
A limited edition Pokemon card is the hot ticket item
A limited edition Pokemon card called 'Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat' is available free of charge to visitors to the museum between 28 September 2023 and 7 January 2024.
To collect a card, visitors must complete a 'Pokémon Adventure', designed for children to learn about Van Gogh's paintings and their stories, as the go around the museum.
Click to enlargeDespite this, the card is currently listed for between £150 and £800 on Ebay.
Pokemon Deals Community on Twitter issued a warning to collectors against buying the card for extortionate prices, hypothesising that the card will likely be restocked.
They said: "The Pikachu Van Gogh promo card should not and will not be a rare item. Pokemon will be restocking it for the next several releases.
"Don't fall for FOMO and buy it at the ridiculously scalped price it is today. Just wait. Be patient."
