Thieves steal Pokémon cards worth $100,000
The new Bedford man has been arrested in connection with a recent theft of more than $100,000 on a collectable Pokémon card.
The Pokemon cards sparked a pandemonium among resellers around the world, including in Japan, where McDonald’s, where the promotion was ended, as thousands of people wanted rare collectibles rather than meals.
According to a statement posted on the company’s website, McDonald’s has cancelled a campaign called Happy Meal in Japan called Happy Set in Japan into a campaign. The resellers will leave food and trash outside the fast food restaurant, the company added.
Toys and Pokemon cards such as mini plastic Pikachu came into the happy meals that resellers were screaming for. According to the Associated Press, the meals sold out in one day, citing Japanese media.
McDonald’s has been selling Happy Meal for over 40 years. In Japan, it is usually sold for 510 yen ($3.40). The reseller lists McDonald’s Japan Pokemon cards on eBay for around $28 each, USA Today discovered.
In a statement, the company confirmed that its customers had purchased a large amount of happy sets to resell, which subsequently led to abandonment and disposal of the ordered food. The company apologises to its customers, staff, local residents and tenant owners for inconvenience, while also adding that it will not tolerate people who buy Happy Meal.
“We don’t believe in food abandonment and disposal. This situation violates a long-standing philosophy that we cherish as a restaurant to “provide a fun dining experience for our children and families.” We sincerely accept that we were not prepared properly,” McDonald said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.
USA Today contacted McDonald’s on Wednesday, August 13th, but did not receive a response.
“We vow to go back to basics.”
To ensure that this issue doesn’t happen again, McDonald’s Japan said on its website that it may limit the number of meals each person can purchase and end online orders. According to the company, those who fail to comply with the new rules may be denied services.
“We vow to return to the basics of what lies behind a happy set, which is to help bring smiles to our families.
Additionally, according to the Japanese restaurant website, those with a history of purchasing a large number of Pokemon Happy Meals will be eligible for cancellation of their official app membership.
How valuable are Pokemon cards?
Collecting Pokemon cards may have been a fun entertainment decades ago, but it is now extremely useful at the Belgian card shop Vinticars, with Pikachu illustrator PSA 10 (owned by YouTuber Logan Paul) estimated at around $5.5 million.
The value of some Pokemon cards even led to several crimes, including New Bedford, Massachusetts. There, the Collection Shop has recovered after individual editions and boxed Pokemon cards worth between $110,000 and $130,000 were not stolen.
