Pokemon takes action against scalpers amid Van Gogh Pikachu card mayhem
The Pokemon CompanyThe Pokemon Company aims to mitigate scalping concerns ahead of the Van Gogh Pikachu card’s much-anticipated reprinting.
Late in 2023, Pokemon collaborated with the Van Gogh Museum to celebrate the establishment’s 50th anniversary. This unexpected partnership marked the milestone with exclusive merchandise, including a special promo card that featured Pikachu art modeled after Van Gogh’s ‘Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat.’
The museum gave away the card for free to anyone who visited and purchased at least one item. Scalpers swarmed the Dutch art museum as a result, looking to get their hands on the card so they could sell it for a steep price online. Suffice it to say, chaos ensued.
The Pokemon Company gave fans who shop at the Pokemon Center a chance to purchase the rare TCG card for themselves. Scalpers took advantage of the situation yet again. To combat it, the company will reprint the special Pikachu card in hopes of cutting down on the scalper-related madness.
Pokemon hopes to rein in Van Gogh Pikachu card scalpers
As reported by PokeBeach, while The Pokemon Company previously intended to distribute the Van Gogh-inspired cards to local hobby stores in the Netherlands, concerns about “pre-scalping” forced the corporation to scale back.
Early in February, the card game’s distributor, Asmodee, told stores that each one would only receive 10 “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” cards as opposed to the previously planned 100 per storefront.
The Pokemon CompanyThis cut down on supply to hobby stores reportedly means larger chains in the Netherlands will begin giving out the promo cards on February 10. The PokeBeach report claims that customers must spend at least €29.99 to receive the rare Pikachu card.
The following stores will participate in the limited-time promotion: Bruna, Game Mania, Intertoys, Media Markt, Primera, Top1Toys, and Smyths Toys Superstores.
It’s unclear how many copies of the card each store will receive, but PokeBeach estimates every chain will have at least 100 to give away. Should this prove accurate, such an effort could go a long way in flooding the market and potentially reducing the Van Gogh card’s resell value.