McDonald’s is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pokémon with a promotion that changes the iconic Happy Meal box in Pikachu’s face. Along with this cherubic container are 50 collectible cards, including rarer holographic cards. And some people buy happy meals to get their hands on it.
Pokémon cards are such a hot commodity that some fans say they struggle to buy big packs at major retailers. Almost every week, a new record is broken for the dollars people spend on old-school packages – and new scams to go along with the uproar.
In other words, the McDonald’s promotion never stood a chance. People are wake up early to postpone which McDonald’s sells the new Happy Meals. Some people apparently buy the Happy Meals in mass numbers in the hope of getting all the collectibles, and just throw out the food. Some McDonald’s is even place restrictions on buying the Happy Meals, although scalpers have reportedly already turned around and selling the individual cards for a make-up. Some customers go around to several restaurants and can not find any happy meal. On sites like eBay, whole cards or sealed packages cost hundreds of dollars. It is unclear whether the boxes are bought behind the scenes and whether they are swept by employees.
@McDonalds @Pokemon I sure hope you do some sort of inventory control for your promo Pokémon cards, as some of your inventory is sold in sealed boxes, which means they do not even pick it up in your stores. It also happened with Tim Hortons Hockey. Retail $ 1.99 pic.twitter.com/kX8qZyRX2V
– redphoenixsportscards (@redphoenixcards) February 9, 2021
Yes …. this mature 28 year old man is looking for a McDonalds pokemon !!!!! Muahahaha !!!! Must have them all !!!!! Out of my way kids! Lol pic.twitter.com/hxJ2CVmQLW
– ARCADEGAMER (@ARCADEGAMER_) February 9, 2021
@McDonalds stop making people buy the Pokémon happy meal in bulk. No one has more than five children. Let the general public have a chance.
– Jay Rech (@ JoeZ10ARG) February 9, 2021
I’ve been to (and friends) about a dozen @McDonalds trying to get just ONE Pokémon card pack and each place said someone had already turned up and bought their entire lot. When you look at eBay, people are literally selling profit. Can we not allow it?
– Mr.ssippi (@Redeemed_Rebel) February 9, 2021
@McDonalds please prepare the pokemon commemorative card promotion to prevent people from buying the entire stock in one transaction!
“Can not be purchased separately” will help a lot!– LussCollects (@LussCollects) February 9, 2021
all these scalpers literally made me want to give up pokemon which I am so irritated. it looks like i’m spending $ 20 dollars to get a holo chikorita card from MCDONALDS. thanks scalpers
– Maggie (@Magskcrp) 8 February 2021
Granted, you do not have to be a child to appreciate a toy, and Pokémon nostalgia is completely the realm of adults. Plus, not everyone is a scraper or hoarder! Some people try to do well even when buying several packages.
I decided to go to McDonald’s to pick up some new Pokemon Card packs! Since you could not buy the parcels separately, I bought 10 delicious meals and I will distribute the food to homeless people in the area.
If you just want the cards, you need to do that too!#Pokemon #McDonalds pic.twitter.com/xPb7lNKQw0
– JJT Valor ✨ (@JT_Valor) February 9, 2021
If you are going to clean #McDonalds of their stock on #Pokemon please make sure you buy the meal, not just the cards, and give people what they need. Stop buying things out – there is no happy meal for the children who want it. pic.twitter.com/YrWDWS7AXJ
– Anthony Taddeo (@ Taddeo91) February 9, 2021
Some mass buyers even experience this a healthy dose of karma. But it’s wild to see that the fervor around the cards reaches such a fever that real kids probably can’t even make a product for it either. McDonald’s did not immediately comment to Polygon.