The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has decided not to sell a special Pokemon card because they are worried about the safety of visitors and the museum itself.
Putting together a display with Pokémon
As part of Pokémon’s show, which looked at Vincent Van Gogh’s ties to Japanese art and culture, the card was for sale. Videos shared on social media say that after the show started in September, a lot more people bought Pokémon-themed things from the museum’s gift shops.
What the gallery did to keep people safe
They are afraid about the “undesirable situation” that has arisen because of the acts of a very small group of people. Because of this, they had to make the tough decision to take the museum card that showed Pikachu wearing a gray felt hat.
Putting the safety and happiness of visitors first
When the choice was being made, the health and happiness of museum visitors and workers were the most important things. The goal was to make sure that people had a good time and felt safe in the museum. It looked like Pikachu was painting himself with a gray felt hat, like Van Gogh. There were safety concerns at the museum that meant the card could not be used, but the card did have Pikachu on it.
There are problems with scaling and high prices for reselling
People were looking for these cards with the plan of getting them and then selling them for a profit. Word got around on game websites. It found out that the cards were being sold on the internet for far too much money. As much as €8,060 (£7,000) was being asked for some of them.
I’m sorry about the sale and the fact that it’s online
As soon as the limited edition Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat playing cards went on sale on September 28. The first day the show was open to the public, they were all gone. Because of this, The Pokémon Company International sent email fans the next day to say sorry. The Van Gogh Museum says that people from the UK, the US, and Canada will able to buy the card online. At the beginning of next year, the card will be sold in some shops in the Netherlands. However, the Van Gogh Museum will not sell it to regular people.
There was no response from the museum
The BBC asked the Van Gogh Museum to say something about it, but it didn’t. After being asked, the museum declined.
