“Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” Finally Drops Below $100 (And Falling), Second Wave Sees Unprecedented Store Security, Saga Almost Over?

By: Water Pokémon Master · Posted Posted onMar 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM · 11 Comments

Last weekend the second wave of “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” promos released in the Netherlands. Customers had to spend €30 on Pokemon TCG products to receive one.

As we expected, this second wave was almost as large as the first — nearly doubling the first batch. The only difference was hobby stores were left out of this wave. Each of the 1,000+ chain stores again received between 25 and 650 copies, with an estimated mode of 150 copies.

Security was even stronger this time. We’ve learned Intertoys’s headquarters monitored the distribution of promos live. If a store checked out too many promos at once — as in an employee was scalping them — the store received a phone call from HQ. As we previously reported, stores had to scan the cards to give them out. This meant headquarters could compare how many cards they shipped to each store versus how many were distributed.

There are always exceptions, though. We received a photo of a master case that was illegally sold at consignment. It’s unclear if an employee from a smaller chain store bypassed security checks or if the box was stolen from the factory. However, based on the scalpers I’ve talked to, this is the only known example (outside of the museum employee that stole a master case). Thus, it does not represent a common issue.

So how did this second wave affect prices on the secondary market?

The price of the promo finally dropped below $100 on Tuesday, which was coincidentally Pokemon Day. The price now stands at $89 on TCGplayer — and it’s still falling. Right before the second wave, the cost was around $114. This means the second wave cut the cost by 20%. (We previously reported the first wave cut the cost by 15% to 30%.)

In Europe, the card was around €60 before the second wave. After the second distribution started, the price dipped to €40, but it’s now around €54. Thus, the second wave cut the cost by 10%. This dip is less dramatic because the card was already much cheaper. (The first wave cut the cost by 25% to 50%.)

Back in January the promo cost €120 and $160! This means the new waves slashed the prices by 55% to 60% in total. The prices started dropping on January 11th when we learned the store promotion would be starting in February.

We previously reported Intertoys was planning to hold distributions for a third wave. We haven’t heard anything about it yet, but will keep you updated. We know restocks are coming to smaller chains, such as Toy Champ on March 11th. There’s also rumblings of a restock coming to Game Mania stores. We are waiting for more information.

We will talk about this news on tomorrow’s episode of the PokeBeach podcast. The PokeBeach podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our YouTube channel.

Are we finally almost done with Pikachu Van Gogh? Hopefully! Here’s the entire saga from the start:

I never want to see this card again. Despite reporting on it for everyone, I never even got a freakin’ copy! XD