McDonald's Takes Action Against UK Scalpers Ahead Of Pokémon Happy Meals
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Featured Image Credit: LumberJackFrost via Twitter, The Pokémon Company
McDonald's will actively impose limits on the number of Pokémon Happy Meals that may be bought by a customer in the UK, in order to avoid replicating the chaos that occurred in the US.
This collaboration is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series of games, and across the pond, the gift inside the Happy Meals were "four Pokémon Trading Card Game Cards featuring Pokémon from every region." There are 50 collectible cards in total, and as the meals were only $2.49, it was worth a shot to purchase the promotion and see whether you were lucky enough to snag a rare card or two. If you're savvy, The Pokémon Trading Card Game is able to rake in some serious cash, as the cards from prints in the past are auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars. That's on the proviso that they're in excellent condition, so if the dog's chewed some of them, then they're best left in the attic. However, for lots of people, the game is how they fell in love with the world of Pokémon and struck up friendships that would stick with them for life. We spoke to Leonhart, Frosted Caribou, Serebii and more to hear about their memories of the iconic game, which you can watch right here.
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In the US, scalpers snapped up Happy Meals with a formidable relentlessness. People tumbled out of bed with the sunrise to park themselves outside their local restaurant, ensuring that they were at the front of the queue once that McDonald's opened for business. They'd buy huge numbers of Happy Meals to grab the cards and claim their potential value, and there were even reports of customers scattering the food onto the floor. That's possibly the most shocking part of this, especially given that the pandemic is still ongoing. Unopened boxes of the packs were also seen on second-hand seller websites like eBay, suggesting that the cards weren't even arriving at McDonald's before they were passed along to the highest bidder.
Fortunately, reports are coming in (thanks, Eurogamer) that the company will be curtailing the number of Happy Meals that can be bought by one customer in the UK. We're yet to learn what that restriction will be, but it is heartening news that scalpers won't be able to get ahead of the game in the way that they did earlier this year. It is thought that the promotion will go live on May 19th, following the end of the SpongeBob SquarePants promotion, so be sure to keep a Keen Eye on announcements from The Pokémon Company and McDonald's.
