by Finn, Grade 7
Despite the condition of the world due to COVID, the 25th anniversary of Pokémon and its celebrations are carrying on, with the most recent one being in the form of Happy Meal exclusive booster packs and a Pikachu box. But, Pokémon and especially the trading cards are really big right now, with vintage packs selling for thousands on auctions and modern products being sold out everywhere due to the demand and card shortages. And this all led up to what’s going on right now. So, let’s go over what’s happening with McDonald’s.
Envelopes and Packs
For those who don’t know, McDonald’s has always teamed up with Pokémon every year to make some toys or some exclusive cards for Happy Meals, but this year they’re doing it a bit differently. Instead of getting a random toy and some random exclusive cards, this year they’re giving out the cards in 4 card booster packs with one holo inside of each of them. This exclusive set includes all of the starters from all of the generations along with a Pikachu. These packs come in envelopes with another little bonus inside each of them, with 4 different bonuses total. Each envelope does come with a pack though, so it’s not like the packs are exclusive to envelope 1. So, off the top of my head, here’s what each envelope has:
1: Pack + Mini Card Holder
2: Pack + Stickers and Scene
3: Pack + Card Frame
4: Pack + Jumbo Stickers
What’s the Deal?
So, now that they’ve officially released, here’s what’s happening: Many McDonalds in the US have already received their packs and have begun to roll them out either yesterday, today, or on Friday, with some stores starting with envelope 1 and working their way back while others are doing a mix of all of them. That’s if you can even find them. Chances are these envelopes are sold out due to an unexpected amount of demand, someone buying all of them to resell, or employees stealing full cases of 150 envelopes and selling them on eBay for $800-$1,000. And individual packs are going for $5-$10, with the holo Pikachu going more than some expensive cards in the latest main sets like Vivid Voltage. And these packs/cases go for even more in places where the promotion hasn’t begun to roll out, like in Europe. Individual McDonald’s locations are doing their best to make sure everyone gets these cards though, with some limiting purchases to only 1-3 Happy Meals per person. But others aren’t doing the same, whether it’s employees stealing the cases or actually selling the packs individually for as little as 60 cents to up to $3.75. But, there has been some good that’s come out of this. Many people buying these meals for the cards are donating the food to local food reserves and encouraging others to do the same. So while it’s crazy that scalpers went to PS5s to Happy Meal bonuses, there has been good and some people have actually managed to get a few packs of the cards.
Oh, and General Mills
But McDonald’s isn’t the only one getting exclusive packs. General Mills are too, and they’re already scalped even before officially releasing. These packs come inside certain cereals and other General Mills products, and are already being put on store shelves and stolen weeks before officially releasing. These packs function the same to the McDonald’s packs from what I can see, but without the envelope and bonus. While not as hard due to it not being officially released, full boxes of cereals with the cards are already selling for twice as much, sometimes even three times as much. The packs individually are also selling for $5-10, so even unreleased products aren’t safe from scalpers.
So yeah, that’s where we are today. Despite the loads of scalpers buying these packs/envelopes by the bulk, people have still managed to get their hands on a few packs and are even making a change in their community because of it. So while scalpers may take a small victory and communities might too, there are two real winners throughout all of this: The Pokémon Company and McDonald’s.