Costco shoppers brawl over coveted Pokemon cards: ‘Get off me’
Shoppers were captured on video brawling over coveted Pokemon cards as they cleared a store’s shelves within seconds.
Gotta snatch ’em all.
A California Costco turned into a fight club when a ravenous crowd of adults brawled over Pokemon cards as they cleared the store’s shelves within seconds, risking limb for an easy payout.
Wild footage captured shoppers at the Atwater Village Costco in Los Angeles fighting over large quantities of the coveted Pokemon cards on January 16.
The cards weren’t any normal Pokemon packs but the desired 151 Blooming Waters Premium Collection packs, the New York Post reports.
The collection of cards — originally sold for $190 to $240 ($US120 to $US150) — was highly sought after by resellers and scalpers after the wholesale franchise started to list them for under $95 last week.
One buyer — who wore a green jacket — wrapped himself around a younger man who was carrying two boxes in a battle for the box set.
The younger man appeared to elbow the other man in the face while a female shopper yelled at him.
“Get the f**k off of me bro,” one shopper said, according to a video posted on X by YouTuber DisguisedToast.
The unrelenting man continued to hold on to the pack while other shoppers struggled to carry their hauls away from the area.
People began ordering other shoppers to call the police because of the unruly crowd.
Police were not called to the store and no arrests were made, TMZ reported.
The store was handling the incident internally, according to the outlet.
No serious injuries were reported.
Additional footage from the LA-area store captured store employees yelling at the anxious alleged scalpers to walk as the store opened.
The hyper-fixated shoppers were seen pushing and shoving in the store attempting to get the limited box set, Pokemon forum PokéBeach reported.
A separate view captured the mad dash as people grabbed entire boxes full of the packs.
Costco has since implemented a “one unit per membership per day” policy for the packs.
The packs focus on the original 151 Pokemon, with the chance of some popular individual cards that are worth a pretty penny.
A box of the cards includes 12 booster packs of the trading card game, and four foil cards featuring Venusaur ex, Blastoise ex, Bulbasaur and Squirtle.
The cards are recommended for ages six and older.
The hype for the collection rose when Costco made the surprise drop of the Blooming Waters pack.
The packs were resold on the secondary market, including eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
One eBay was selling 10 packs for $2488 ($US1564.78).
The prized packs are scheduled to be released in BestBuy and other retailers on February 7, with Walmart advertising the set for $265 ($US166.90).
This story was published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission
‘Evil’: Quiet town becomes pervert hotspot
This stunning location has made headlines due to the unimaginable sexual depravities that have taken place on its streets.
Shock update in gruesome Aussie cold case
In July 1997, the body of Meaghan Rose was discovered at the bottom of a 40m cliff. Queensland police thought it was a suicide – until now.
‘Betrayal’: Woman’s deepfake porn horror
A Sydney teacher has shared how her life was turned upside down by photographs posted online. Warning: Graphic content