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Resellers are charging up to $100 for empty Pokemon Krispy Kreme boxes, and I’d love to say I’m surprised
Resellers have been listing empty Pokémon-themed Krispy Kreme doughnut boxes for sale online, with some asking as much as $100 for packaging alone once the doughnuts inside have been eaten. The trend highlights the intensity of collector demand around Pokémon merchandise tie-ins, where even disposable packaging is treated as a sought-after collectible rather than being thrown away.
The boxes stem from a Krispy Kreme promotion tied to Pokémon, which produced limited-edition packaging featuring the franchise's characters. Once customers finished the doughnuts, some began reselling the empty boxes on online marketplaces, with prices reportedly climbing towards the $100 mark for certain designs. The report frames this as part of a broader, familiar pattern in which Pokémon-branded collaborations consistently spark opportunistic resale activity, even for items with no inherent use beyond their branding.
In short
- Empty Pokémon Krispy Kreme boxes are being resold for up to $100.
- Packaging from a Pokémon-themed doughnut promotion is being collected.
- Reflects ongoing high demand for Pokémon merchandise and tie-ins.
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The case for
Those concerned about this trend argue that it exemplifies wasteful consumer behaviour driven by artificial scarcity and collector psychology rather than genuine utility. They contend that resellers are extracting significant profit from packaging that holds no functional value beyond branding, which raises questions about environmental sustainability and the exploitation of fans' passion for profit. The practice, in this view, reflects broader anxieties about unbridled consumerism and whether societies should encourage markets in essentially worthless goods purely because emotional attachment exists.
The case against
Defenders of this secondary market argue that resellers are simply responding to genuine demand from willing buyers who value collectible packaging. They note that voluntary transactions between consenting adults—where collectors knowingly purchase empty boxes at prices they're willing to pay—involve no coercion or deception. From this perspective, resellers provide a legitimate service by connecting supply with demand, and consumers' choices to purchase should be respected as expressions of their own preferences and values, regardless of whether outsiders find those preferences sensible.
Explained simply
Pokémon began as a video game series and has grown into a global franchise, with characters such as Pikachu appearing on games, cards, toys and other products. Companies often partner with Pokémon to put its characters on limited-run merchandise or packaging.
Krispy Kreme is a doughnut chain whose Pokémon promotion gave customers themed boxes with their doughnuts. Collectors may value items because they are scarce or feature particular characters, while resellers list them online in the hope that buyers will pay more. This helps explain why even empty packaging can attract attention.