McDonald’s Japan is cracking down on scalpers after Pokemon Happy Meal promotions triggered chaos and piles of wasted food earlier this summer.
Back in August, the chain was overwhelmed by demand for Pokemon Happy Meals, known locally as Happy Sets. Each set included a promo card pack containing a guaranteed Pikachu plus one random card from a pool of five.
The promotion saw massive lines outside restaurants and even abandoned bags of food on the streets. Some customers reportedly bought meals only for the cards, discarding the food entirely.
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McDonald’s Japan adds new rules to prevent scalping
With a new Happy Meal promotion rolling out on September 12, McDonald’s is limiting sales to three meals per group and restricting mobile orders, similar to what they did with the second half of their latest Pokemon collab.
In an official statement, the company said: “McDonald’s does not tolerate food being left unattended or discarded. We strictly prohibit purchases or resale of Happy Sets for the purpose of resale, or other purchases for commercial purposes.”
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McDonald’s Japan has apologized after limited edition Pokemon Happy Meals containing exclusive cards sold out in less than 24 hours
People were buying the meals just to resell the cards on eBay, with some customers just throwing out their food pic.twitter.com/pdZrnWBD0Z
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) August 9, 2025
The new rules also suspend delivery and mobile ordering for Happy Meals. Only in-store and drive-thru purchases will be allowed on release day.
This comes as the latest toy launch features four new Sanrio-themed Happy Meal sets: “Plarail,” “My Melody and Kuromi,” “Let’s Play With Cinnamoroll,” and “Moon Universe Nanchara Kotetsukun.”
McDonald’s also warned stock will be limited and advised customers to, “Please refrain from inquiring about inventory at each store.”
Despite the restrictions, scalpers are still expected to target the short sales window. McDonald’s says it will reassess its policies after the first day, meaning further rules could follow if chaos returns.
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If these policies prove effective, it will be interesting to see if the chain implements these rules worldwide, especially for major collabs that result in consumer frenzies and scalping.