The Price Of Animal Crossing's Sanrio amiibo Cards Are Already Skyrocketing On eBay

I am really sick of store exclusives, it makes the scalping even worse.

Psst...
I used Amiibo Card clones to invite specific villagers.

Finally, a report on this. My friend and I were discussing this as he was trying to order these cards being a big Animal Crossing fan. Some Targets were selling them to people who walked in, despite the ad saying order pick-up only (order online then pick-up in-store).

The cards even got review bombed on Target's website. The situation was definitely a mess.

I picked up my two packs yesterday. It was worth the wait to finally get them at a reasonable price.

I would have bought more packs if I could have, but it appears that EB's has already sold out completely, and while EB hadn't advertised it as an exclusive, I am not aware of any other retailers that were selling them in Australia.

Pre-orders were up for a fair amount of time too (and I hadn't rushed to pre-order either). It was certainly miles ahead of the first batch, that happened to be exclusive to Nintendo's eBay store (and they only had 300 packs from memory!!!).

A family member and i went and picked a pack up, and the ordering was a pain. we were at the store but it was online order only with pick up at the store. so we had to spam the button to try and order becuse everyone else was trying to do the same nationwide, half an hour later we finaly got through then had to wait an hour for somebody to go to the back, grab a pack, bring it to the front, then bag it and hand it to us. So it took us nearly two hours for something that could have took ten minutes because of a stupid policy.

@iskim : It's absolute insanity that Nintendo have STILL produced these cards in pathetically low numbers, especially given how successful New Horizons has been.

Meanwhile, Nintendo is remaining radio silent in the UK about when they'll actually be released here.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a pack, but Target clearly didn't follow its own rules (selling some in-store despite their ad saying to order online), nor were they prepared for the onslaught of people bombarding their site.

The site itself, thankfully, didn't shut down. But myself and so many others practically had to spam "Checkout" in hopes that one of the clicks would lock it in. When I finally managed to get one order in, I tried to get a second one for good measure... and it was a good thing, because my first order was cancelled 30 minutes after they toggled the cards to "Sold Out".

I seriously don't understand how stores continue to botch this kind of stuff when you'd think the exclusivity would give them more stock to work with.

@Silly_G making it store exclusive on top of the low numbers is ridiculous too. I am getting tired of the low stock, and store exclusivity making it hard for fans too get stuff without scalpers snagging most of it.

Even if they were $6, why are you paying money just to invite some villagers in?

If I really want some, I'll go to Esty.

You can blame Target for this.

There just seems to be no real solution to the scalper issue.

@SwitchForce you can blame Nintendo. Rather than just include the characters and furniture as a small paid DLC (like every other publisher) they decide to lock it behind the amiibo paywall, they have than failed to make enough to meet demand (as usual).

You can always buy spoofed cards off of Etsy / Ebay, or better yet just download one of the apps available and make your own.

@iskim It's unfortunate but deterring scalpers is probably the reason they need to make it so inconvenient to buy the goods.
Easier to make the machine enforce the rules, than to leave it to the humans working there and their individual judgment of whether they will follow it or not (and undoubtedly endure verbal abuse by the scalpers if they don't get what they want).

@Sunsy yes, but it should have been common sense to try ~both~ ordering through the app/web A n d going physically to a Target store to attempt to purchase this.

@iskim I doubt the scalpers got most of them. They didn’t have anymore access to the app on launch day than any normal fan (you might argue..”but bots”), yeah but since it seems that a lot of stores were selling cards in person physically as well, then their “bot (bought) cards” were just as like to be cancelled as someone who chose to trust the website or app rather than going physically @ 9:00A.M.

The real fault is Target because instead of this hybrid web/physical launch, they should have just gone an all digital preorder (still limiting the order to 1-2 per customer, maybe even verified by web Internet address+payment to stop mass scalpers) OR gone all physical with “first-come-first-serve (still limiting those to 1-2 packs per walk-in)”.

@KingMike
No they use it for marketing and have been doing it for well over a decade now, Nintendo wants their products treated as important and something you don’t wanna pass up on. If Nintendo cared about stopping scalping they would have introduced a paid DLC option for things that Amiibo’s unlock.

The cards were suppose to be restock on march 26th, here in france there was 0 restock, waited but nothing so I ordered on aliexpress. I don't understand nintendo locking thing with amiibo cards that they don't sell anymore, and if you say restock do it for enough of people. So rip off cards is the only way to get the furniture, it's unacceptable !

@Silly_G and hello kitty is the second best profitable ip in the world.
https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/money-finance/the-25-highest-grossing-media-franchises-of-all-time/

Does anyone know when they will release in Europe (Germany specifically)? I keep looking online but there is no info whatsoever

NintendoLife Editors: Do you think you could put together a feature article showcasing a variety of the custom-made Sanrio Amiibo options you can find readily in stock on Etsy? Not only are these more attractive and well-made collectibles than simple Amiibo cards, but you also will be guiding people towards supporting small businesses instead of sending more desperate buyers into the hands of scalpers (even if that isn't your intent with this article).

Just a thought, it would be a nice change in direction for sites like this. We all already know what a problem scalpers are (ESPECIALLY right now), so it seems like reporting on them is kinda like feeding the trolls in that it gives them more attention. I'm more in the camp of ignoring the scalpers completely and just signal-boosting anything that helps destroy their "business."

@PeterAndCompany : Presumably due to their questionable legal status (like any merchandise based on IP to which the copyright holders do not receive payment).

@nathatruc : Wow, that's crazy. Now I see what the Pokémon critics have been yammering on about. (and with good reason!)

This makes the amiibo scarcity even more baffling. I'm a little surprised that Sanrio and Nintendo hadn't gone all out on figurines of the Sanrio characters as I'm sure there is enough of an audience for them.

@Silly_G I would think it would qualify as unsanctioned fan art, since no one is claiming ownership of the characters. But I'll admit I don't fully understand the text of the law in that area. I just know that I would much rather see independent artists be spotlighted instead of yet another story about how scalpers are still inexplicably being allowed to do what they do.

@PeterAndCompany : I certainly understand where you're coming from, and I too would rather give my money to an independent artist over a scalper as well, but the site also has certain obligations to fulfil (as they receive publicity and review copies of games directly from Nintendo, for example) so they would be remiss to publicly endorse unlicensed merchandise.

I do hope (and am confident) that Nintendo will restock the cards again sooner or later given the demand for them, and especially since they have gone through the trouble of adding those extra characters and items.

This "Making Amiibo exclusive to a store" is annoying and i hate it.
Nintendo, for the sake of the world, Stop Making the Amiibo a Store Exclusive. Stop.
and For Goodness sake. just add the new villagers and furniture as a FREE UPDATE stop locking them in a amiibo. if you're gonna do that add them in the freaking game for us and make the amiibo for the people who wants them that way.

and, i guess I'll have to buy a spoof of these amiibo. because Nintendo can't brother to fix it themselves.
😒

Seems like the Nintendo UK store just removed all history of these even being available on their site. They'd been listed as 'out of stock' basically since they first launched and now they're not even on there.

@Sunsy I haven’t seen these at ALL on targets website and I’ve been checking regularly since before release day. Umm what am I missing? This has been a hot mess roll out.

Nintendo hates making money. There is no other explanation, handling it all to scalpers and eBay counterfeits world.
It costs nothing to produce those cards, Nintendo could stop every illegal activity by flooding the market with legit cards and making big money

@LinktotheFuture,

Don't buy the originals then, I picked up a full set of plastic credit card sized ones, far more durable than the genuine cards and they look amazing too, and of course they do the exact same job.

Only really wanted the furniture items etc...

Please dont buy these at anything more than $10! Etsy has fan made versions that will work, so you could buy the collection there untill the official versions are more available

People obviously keep buying them from scalpers, otherwise they wouldn’t do it.
Make em sweat on it, so they panic and lower the price

@thisisatest,

I paid £6.99 for the full set on e-bay, amazing quality printed credit card size, I also bought one of those regular amiibo cards the size of a switch cartridge, they look very cool indeed.

@Ks123 That's because Target's website sold out. According the the Target ad, you had to go online, order, then drive to the store to pick them up. They did exist on Target's website, because the website sold out, it won't appear publicly on the site.

Friend tried to get a pack, and he was on the site after 9AM Friday. They were on the site at one point that day.

Hey, I am not judging here: I have multiple AC amiibo, a K.K. plushie, and two K.K. shirts. However, this kind of stuff is where my collecting stops. Yes, these cards look cool and I like the design, but I would rather spend my money on more games.

But, to each their own when it comes to collecting!

@RainbowGazelle Yeah they just act like it was there and everything is normal.....

@Sunsy gotcha, thanks for the info. Sounds like a giant $&@! show. And I followed all normal and reasonable steps to get these cards. I refuse drive myself crazy getting material crap. As a fan and collector, that’s disappointing, but I’d rather live without it than jump through these unreasonable hoops.

My assumption that their decision to make these online order only was due to the pandemic, and was a effort to help prevent swarms of people queuing up in groups.

If nintendo wants to be stupid then it's their loss and I'll just keep making my own amiibo nfc tags because I'm not gonna fight with these scalpers and their bots to try and buy limited stock.

Nintendo needs to make more and keep them (all types of amiibos and other accessories like the Zelda Joy-cons) and I wont pay scalper prices. The other thing, scalpers need to die in a fire! Nothing but scum and parasites.

@Alienfreaks04 Fun...? I mean, why else do spend money on games?

@johnvboy I did the same. I'll buy the real ones at retail if they ever restock, but no way am I paying someone $350.

please fix the stock issues Nintendo

I see alot of people saying to buy custom fan made ones but that really doesn't us who are amiibo collectors.

I guess if the flyer tells you the quantities are limited and they're only available through online ordering for pickup or drive up, you would assume all Targets would be on the same page. So WTF happened? A week before, I ordered a bootleg set off of Etsy on anticipation of this ending up a clusterf.

So who's to blame? Obviously, all parties share some fault. Though I am curious as to how Nintendo reacts to Target's issue with following, what I assume, was an agreed upon criteria on how these cards were to be sold

@UmbreonsPapa,

There are so many good sellers of the non genuine cards on e-bay, just check out the sellers history before you buy, simple, no need to be buying at crazy prices.

Then all this being someones fault, or indeed who's at fault, is moot. But i had the exact same feeling, as trying to buy genuine cards for normal prices is pretty tough.

How about introducing microtransactions to the console game, since it worked well in Pocket Camp? Can you imagine the exchanges?

I go on sites like ACbells and such. Bought the entire Sanrio set for 15. Sure it not 5.99, but I didn't have to leave my house or wait for shipping. And it's not $300/$1000, lol.

I got a set and would never sell them for more than I paid. Scalpers are the worst. Honestly they need to get a life.

Scalpers are scum. I don't care if you see it as the free market or capitalism or whatever other excuses they want to give. It's dirty, dishonest and exploitative behavior.

Why is every time I see scalper overpriced any gaming it's always the US version that gets the communist prices and when I look for Japanese versions cost about a handful of change.

Just to piss off the scalpers that I should just buy some packs of the cards from Japanese cheap and resell them on eBay for 1/10 of the scalper price because I some Japanese Animal Crossing Amiibo cards that works the same as US version cards.😏

"Scalpers" wouldn't exist without people willing to spend stupid money.

@Mr-Fuggles777 did you read what happened at Target stores and how someone could get 38 copies rather then the two. This is a reproduction from 2016 Nintendo had no reason to do so. This was solely at the feed of Target and it's poor release and nothing to do with Nintendo.

@UmbreonsPapa Though I am curious as to how Nintendo reacts to Target's issue with following, what I assume, was an agreed upon criteria on how these cards were to be sold
Well Target more or less had signed some kinda agreement with Nintendo if they were going to sell at two per guest as stated on their page so this is Target's fault not Nintendo. I doubt this is a Nintendo reaction as they would say it was stated in the agreement that it two per guest. We have to remember these cards were produced in 2016 not something new.

@SwitchForce if Nintendo produced enough in the first place it would be irrelevant how many people buy and there would be no secondary market stopping those kind of shenanigans.

Look at Amiibo in general, I grabbed Magnamalo and I'm going to sell it for more than the amiibo and game cost me, so I got MHR for free - I will likely end in profit after selling the steel book as well.
If there were enough around people wouldn't be willing to pay £60+ for a second hand plastic figure.

@Mr-Fuggles777 Your saying something that wouldn't happen regardless and for you to sell you Amiibo that is up to do with it buy it at retail. Why not sell it a retail if one is so Scalping so now we know a Scalper on NL.

@SwitchForce I guess my post wasn't clear. The way Target handled the release and sale is all on them.

But Nintendo bears some responsibility for either 1) Not being completely aware of just how popular Animal Crossing and any new content related would be (and there's a part me that seriously doubts that) or 2) Like many suspects they purposely do, create a sense of scarcity which leads to these kinds of situations. Like many have said, if these were widely and plentiful available, you may avoid these kinds of problems

Now, as far as my point in Nintendo's reaction to this, I agree with you in that they probably had a deal with Target that involved how these would be sold and how many per customer. Target clearly dropped the ball on this for whatever reason (s). So what's Nintendo's response to a business partner not holding up their end of the deal? We've seen in the past (or at least have heard rumors) of Nintendo packing up shop and moving on from a partnership when things don't go the way they want. So what's their response to how this all played out? And from what I've heard, this isn't the first time Target has bungled a video game related event exclusive to their stores.

@SwitchForce the only read people ate buying up 38 packs is because they are scarce and will attract a significant profit on the second hand market.
If Nintendo made enough stock so that anyone can get hold of a set, there wouldn't be a second hand market so there would be no motivation in scalpers bulk buying.
Even allowing the option to purchase "digital cards" via the eshop would go a long way in stopping scalpers.

As for me, as soon as I can find them in the UK, I'm going to be buying as many sets as I can get my hands on, with the express view of reselling - that extra money will get me more comic books or board / video games. The Mrs only budgets £200 a month for my hobbies, so anyway I can bolster that is a win for me.

In that regard I love how Nintendo creates scarcity, its like a real life stalk market - buy cheap / sell high and hoard those bells!

@UmbreonsPapa Those cards was from 2016 not a 2021 so they probably already made a limited quantity to start with let alone enough. If scarcity is the issue then Sony PS5 is also at fault but everyone seems to think it's only Nintendo but since this isn't a Sony Forum I guess that is for those sites to handle.

Also this is the main story not a Nintendo problem to deal with as you mentioned. As to future releases at Target I hope they gets denied from Nintendo now.
Now, as far as my point in Nintendo's reaction to this, I agree with you in that they probably had a deal with Target that involved how these would be sold and how many per customer. Target clearly dropped the ball on this for whatever reason (s). So what's Nintendo's response to a business partner not holding up their end of the deal? We've seen in the past (or at least have heard rumors) of Nintendo packing up shop and moving on from a partnership when things don't go the way they want. So what's their response to how this all played out? And from what I've heard, this isn't the first time Target has bungled a video game related event exclusive to their stores.

Typical Nintendo. Tone deaf when it comes to this nonsense.

The issue that most of us had wasn’t so much on the point of limited supplies,the fact is that target, who was the only retailer in the United States with an exclusive release of the reprints, blatantly lied in their advertisement. The ad said you can only purchase online, with drive up or pick up in store being the only options. (Pandemic, cares about community and employees, limited space in electronics departments, and ideally just not looking well to have something specific that could form a “line”) This is not a heard it from someone else, I could not purchase online, called the store, had the manager walk to the electronics department and grab me one of the last packs to be on hold, I think pointing out the complete lie of the ad helped. The ad said a release time. That too was not the case. There was a limit of two. I really thought target had put real thought in to this release. No lines, no obsessive buying to ridiculously over charge on eBay. So, what really happened was, they stocked items in store. There wasn’t a limit to really be withheld although I didn’t seem to find anyone selling more than ten packs on eBay. All of the people who set alarms, and abided by the ads “rules” ended with hundreds of people not able to get the item. If target would have said anything else besides the very specific ad, with certainty some of those people would have received a pack, or the limited two. It was by one a clock in the afternoon eastern time that one pack of cards on eBay was at a startling $512.00 being bid on by 77 bidders. I’ve sold items on eBay before, and yes they have fees, but I paid exactly $6.35 for one pack. So clearly $500 being paid for one single pack is absurd, and that’s an understatement. Throughout the day more packs became available, some around $30-40, which is still one heck of a profit, there were still packs being bid on into triple digits. Some sellers had/have pictures in their car with packs, more than two, that apparently, only went to purchase with the sole intent of making a profit. While, I’m sure some readers here will say “why complain, when I did get a pack”? It’s simply because I lucked out. I was already seeing the comments of not being able to obtain on website. So right away when I called I had that information to argue, so to say, the point of the false advertisement. It’s really disappointing to me how the whole thing was done. Why only target was giving the exclusive release I’ll never know, I think Nintendo chose the wrong way to release the cards through one retailer, and target definitely was a big failure on their end of releasing. Hopefully, there will be a restock, and those people who only wanted a pack for themselves, will get the opportunity to do so without paying a weeks check for it.

@SwitchForce They weren't available outside of Japan and Europe. So I don't really understand what point you're trying to make about their previous availability. Unless your implying the cards they're selling now is just left over stock from 2016. Even then, they can't be clueless as to how hot Animal Crossing is around the world. You would think they'd ramp up production of these things.

And I'm not sure if the PS5 is a great example. For one, there is no indication Sony is going to stop making PS5's in 6 months. There's history of Nintendo moving on from products after a limited time. Even when the demand is there The PS5 also isn't just limited to one retailer.

Today I learned that despite being advertised here, Germany as well as Austria and Switzerland don't even get the rereleased cards at all. Store exclusives are horrible but at least you have a chance.