Scalpers Allegedly Hired Foreign Workers To Queue For Pokémon Cards— RM250 Profit Per Box, Zero Cards Left For Regular Customers

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Two individuals allegedly hired between 30 and 40 foreign workers to queue at Toys”R”Us Sunway Pyramid on 18 September and buy Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes (ETBs) on their behalf, while regular customers who had called ahead were told no stock had arrived.

The operation was first documented by eyewitness account in a viral Facebook post by user K13C, which included photographs of the queue, the cash exchange, and the subsequent handoff inside the mall.

The post drew immediate backlash from the local trading card game community.

According to K13C, each queue-stander was paid RM100 in cash, in full view of other shoppers.

The hired group purchased the ETBs and handed them directly to staff at a neighbouring shop.

The stock was stored under the counter while the two individuals managed the operation from nearby.

Customers who called the Toys”R”Us outlet ahead of time were told no stock had arrived, while customers physically present at the mall watched the hired group clear the shelves.

Profit, Precedent, and a Hobby Under Pressure

An ETB retails at RM349.

With RM100 paid per queue-stander, the cost per box stood at RM449.

Community members noted the boxes were later listed online at RM700 and above — a profit of over RM250 per box.

Community members also identified the individuals involved as the same scalpers responsible for clearing out local Beyblade and Hot Wheels stock using identical methods.

The Sunway Pyramid incident is one flashpoint in a broader surge of scalping activity tied to the global hype surrounding Pokémon’s 30th anniversary sets.

Malaysian collector Damiral Imran sold his entire collection for RM1.87 million earlier this year, a transaction that went viral and drew a wave of speculative buyers into the hobby.

Community group TCG Confession Malaysia has documented a pattern of scalpers swarming buy-and-sell posts, exploiting newcomers with below-market offers, and pre-order flipping at inflated prices.

The Community Responds

Across the Causeway, Pokémon Center Singapore has responded by removing shrink wrap from TCG boxes at the point of sale to reduce resale appeal.

Collectors have urged fans to submit evidence to Toys”R”Us headquarters and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN).

Retailers, they say, should enforce one-box-per-customer limits or require Malaysian identification cards for purchase.

Local collectors are also calling for a boycott of scalper prices, urging fans to wait for subsequent print runs — noting that Pokémon continues to print sets in large quantities.

By the time anyone else arrived, there was nothing left to buy — only content to make.

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Scalpers Allegedly Hired Foreign Workers To Queue For Pokémon Cards— RM250 Profit Per Box, Zero Cards Left For Regular Customers