Van Gogh Museum limits Pokémon merch purchases after scalpers cause chaos on opening day

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Pokémon Gogh, Gogh, Gone

A split image showing Vincent Van Gogh (right) and Pikachu dressed as Van Gogh (left)
(Image credit: Pokémon Company / Van Gogh Museum)

The Van Gogh Museum’s collaboration with Pokémon is off to a rocky start after crowds swarmed the venue to grab a custom Pikachu card.

The Amsterdam-based museum partnered with the Pokémon Company to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary. The collaboration bore fruit with various drawing activities and exhibits reimagining iconic Pokémon designs in Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic art style. The museum’s official website says the partnership aims to teach the younger generation about the famous painter, while also drawing connections between his work and the Japanese art that inspired it. 

But the exhibit's launch yesterday - September 28th - was somewhat chaotic, as viral videos show crowds of people rushing to snatch custom merchandise, including postcards, plushies, and a card that has Pikachu cosplaying as Van Gogh. Judging by resale websites such as eBay, many have decided to list merch for hugely inflated prices. The aforementioned Pika-card, for example, is being resold for hundreds of dollars. 

A selection of promo items will soon be officially sold on the Van Gogh Museum's website and the Pokémon Center website, limited to one piece per person, so don't rush to nab these rare pieces just yet. For those looking to visit the exhibit in person, the collaboration plans to run until January 7th. For now, though, the museum is implementing some rules to avoid more scalper shenanigans.

In a statement to Polygon, a Van Gogh Museum spokesperson said: "Initial reactions were very positive! Of course, the situation shown in the videos isn't how we would like it to be. The collaboration with Pokémon has been carefully prepared. The safety of our visitors and staff is always our priority. However, there may be unforeseen situations that we cannot anticipate." From today, the museum will "limit the sales to one piece per product per customer, in our webshop and museum shop." 

It's also worth noting that the Pokémon Company's online shop appears to have added a pre-order listing for the Pikachu plush (a 7-incher) at one point, though the link is now dead and it's unclear whether orders actually went through. A custom Van D'oh, if you will. 

In the meantime, pocket monster enjoyers can check out everything announced at the latest Pokémon Direct.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.