Hailing from Nagoya, Komeda Coffee (コメダ珈琲店) is a popular cafe chain, and many of you have probably enjoyed a meal there. They recently announced an exciting collaboration with Pokémon, featuring exclusive menu items, merchandise, and various events kicking off on July 24.
However, just as the event launched yesterday, some stores saw their collaboration menu items and the highly anticipated "Poké Ball keychain" vanish in a flash! The official website has already posted notices about certain stores ending sales, leading to a wave of lament from disappointed fans.
Despite the event only just starting yesterday (July 24), the official channels quickly announced today that "sales have concluded at some stores," explaining that "the Pokémon collaboration menu items and 'Poké Ball keychains' have already sold out at select locations." They advised customers to "contact individual stores for detailed sales information."
The "Poké Ball keychain" is a super cute original charm that reimagines Pokémon's iconic Poké Ball using the classic fabric from KOMEDA Coffee's sofas. The product page even explicitly stated "limit one per person" and "purchases for resale are prohibited," with a price tag of 1,920 JPY. Unsurprisingly, demand exploded upon release, with not just Komeda fans but also Pokémon enthusiasts scrambling to get their hands on one.
As soon as the news broke, X (formerly Twitter) erupted with comments like: "Selling out in half a day is insane, I'm so bummed," "Can't they consider pre-orders? There are already tons of people reselling at high prices," "How did it not even last a day?!" "The number of resales on auction sites is exploding," "At least save some for people who can only come on weekends lol," "This is just cruel..." A torrent of confusion and frustration poured out.
Of course, complaints about scalpers and fierce competition for these kinds of collaboration items have become increasingly common in Japan lately. Similar incidents have occurred with McDonald's and Yoshinoya, and even when brands try to prevent it, it seems incredibly difficult to stop.