Scalpers reselling exclusive Pokémon Van Gogh Pikachu trading card for hundreds of pounds
It was a free add-on for Pokémon Center orders until stores sold out.
Scalpers have been spotted on sites such as Ebay reselling merchandise from the Pokémon Center Van Gogh Museum collaboration which began last week.
The exhibit at the museum in Amsterdam consists of six paintings of Pokémon in the style of Van Gogh, accompanied by a range of exclusive merchandise and a special Pikachu trading card. Sadly, footage of the exhibit's opening day, showed visitors hurriedly grabbing whatever merch they could to resell.
The merch was also available to buy on Pokémon Center webstores, though it quickly sold out. The items appear to have been prevented from appearing when searching on the UK Pokémon Center website, though the pages can still be found through search engines.
Scalpers were indeed behind the chaotic scenes captured at sold out Pokémon Centers, as reseller listings are rife on eBay. Merchandise such as the Double Deck Box is being resold at ridiculously inflated prices compared to their original cost, and some listings have multiples available to buy.
The Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat trading card, a free add-on for each item bought from the collection, is being sold by a range of sellers for hundreds of pounds.
The Pokémon Company has apologised to fans who wanted to buy the exclusive Van Gogh merchandise from Pokémon Center websites, though the statement was met with criticism for the company's lack of measures to tackle scalping.
The Pokémon Company said it's "actively working" on providing more Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat cards with Pokémon Center purchases, and hopefully this extends to the exclusive merch too.