Why Resellers Went After Pokemon Squishmallows

The adorable plushes are a favorite among collectors

News

By RC Staff

12 March 2023

Key Points:

The Pikachu and Gengar Squishmallows mark the first collaboration between Pokemon and Squishmallow
They were sold exclusively through the Pokemon Center online store. They sold for $30, and were available only in a 12″ size
Both resell for $100 or more. The Gengar Squishmallow tends to resell for slightly more, usually around $120

Items

Art & Collectibles

Pokémon 12” Gengar Squishmallow

One of two initial plushes from the heavily anticipated from the Pokémon x Squishmallow crossover.

Art & Collectibles

Pokémon 12” Pikachu Squishmallow

One of two initial plushes from the heavily anticipated from the Pokémon x Squishmallow crossover.

If you’re familiar at all with Squishmallows, you’ll know that certain people are willing to shell out for certain plushes. Squishmallows are popular with resellers for their relatively low price, ease of resale, and scarcity. In November of 2022, an exclusive collaboration between The Pokemon Company and Squishmallows was released. The Pikachu and Gengar Squishmallows were sold online with no prior warning, and sold out in under an hour. Now, they resell for significantly over retail.

The Pokemon X Squishmallow collab

While the collection officially up for sale on 11/22, it was first teased back in July 2022. In a tweet exchange between Pokemon and Squishmallow, the first images were shown of the upcoming product. Of note, this tweet only showed the Pikachu plush, and the Gengar had yet to be revealed.

Just a few days later, fans attending Comic-Con 2022 in San Diego got their first in-person look at the new products. Squishmallow’s booth had a display of both the Pikachu and Gengar Squishmallows. While both were popular, fans singled out the Gengar plush as being very desirable.

The initial fan reception was extremely positive. While it would be several months before the collection was put up for sale, it seemed people were willing to wait. At noon Eastern on November 22nd, the Pokemon Center’s online store was updated to show the Squishmallows available for purchase.

There was no advanced notice given before the drop. A week before the release, Pokemon did make a tweet announcing they would be released “very soon”, but no definite date was given. While surprise releases like these are theoretically supposed to give the advantage to dedicated fans, the reality is they are extremely favorable to resellers using monitors to watch for new stock.

How much did the Pokemon Squishmallows cost?

Both plushes from the Pokemon Squishmallow collaboration sold for $30. While most Squishmallows are available in a range of sizes, the initial release of the Pokemon Squishmallows was only for 12″ plushes. $30 is a standard price for 12″ Squishmallows.

Squishmallow has made it clear this is not a limited time product. Immediately after the drop, they put out a tweet letting fans know more Pokemon Squishmallows would be available in 2023, in a variety of sizes.

Why did the Pokemon Squishmallows resell?

Well, the simplest answer is because they’re Squishmallows. There is a fairly dedicated culture of collectors based around the brand, with new releases frequently being hyped up and sold out.

Squishmallow tends to underproduce popular designs as well. Rather than letting stock sit on shelves waiting for people to buy, they prefer to churn out a limited number of plushes, then sell them all at once. This strategy has led to a dedicated following, many of which will race to buy new plushes before they sell out.

Of course, these being Pokemon branded designs made them even more popular. Fans and collectors had long been asking for a collaboration between the brands, so it makes sense that the first Pokemon Squishmallows would be extremely popular.

It took around 20 minutes for the plushes to sell out on the Pokemon Center’s website. They began to resell immediately. Within an hour of the sale’s conclusion, more than 100 sales were recorded for Pokemon Squishmallows through eBay.

Most plushes resold for around $100-$120. For a brief period in early December, prices for both designs rose past the $200 mark, with some sales nearing $300. By late December though, things had settled to around $120.

Ordinarily, the announcement that a restock was planned for the future would dampen resell prices considerably. In this case, the close proximity for the holidays would offset this. With many buyers picking Pokemon Squishmallows as holiday gifts, they could not simply wait for the restock, and would pay extra to resellers.

For more ideas on what’s worth reselling, check out our other articles. Whether you’re just looking to get started reselling, or a pro just looking for the next flip, we’ve got what you need.