There are some things that are not – and never again will be – available. When McDonald’s produced an adult Happy Meal, consumers were treated to a blast of nostalgia. But it turns out that nostalgia may have a price tag on auction sites like eBay – and it’s at least four digits long.
Collectors love quite a few different items: sealed VHS boxes, signed memorabilia, trading cards, and even happy meal toys. With the adult Happy Meals coming with toys, people have actually bought so many meals that some McDonald’s locations are sold out. Meanwhile, on eBay, sellers are listing their toys for as much as $300,000. On top of that, some bidders are actually buying. What’s been the ripple effect of this mouth-watering trip down memory lane?
People are listing adult Happy Meal toys from McDonald’s on eBay, asking for thousands of dollars
cactus buddy! got all four will u? pic.twitter.com/yYeeYxZiWk
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 3, 2022
Earlier in September, McDonald’s announced the introduction of adult Happy Meals, available at participating locations starting on October 3. With this, the familiar excitement of opening the famous red and gold box usually reserved for kids can be experienced by adults – complete with a toy of either Grimace, the Hamburglar, Birdie, and a Cactus Buddy. This is part of a collaboration between the golden arches and Cactus Plant Flea Market.
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The magic words here are “limited edition” and “limited time.” Just like with a limited number of specially minted coins, those toys now have a new potential price tag because of their limited availability. Those same toys that were just released are popping up on eBay with some high price tags. Probably the most extreme example is one listing that asks for $300,000.95 for an unopened Cactus Plant Flea Market pack of adult Happy Meal toys. The listing says it features Birdie, the Hamburglar, and Cactus Buddy.
Adult Happy Meal toys are in particularly low supply
One of the main goals of this collaboration was “taking one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences and literally repackaging it in a new way that’s hyper-relevant for our adult fans,” says Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s chief marketing officer. The collaborative Cactus Plant Flea Market Box is also part of a comfortably familiar meal combination, featuring fries and a soda, along with either a Big Mac or 10-piece chicken nuggets.
While the meal ends up eaten, the toy endures – although sometimes that has changed ownership, in the last few weeks. While the $300,000.95 eBay listing hasn’t been purchased yet, 112 people have been watching it within the last 24 hours by time of writing; there have been 334 watchers in total. Other listings have had better luck, too, such as one seller who asked for $2,400 for a pack of 150 sealed toys. This may truly be the only avenue for securing these toys, since CNBC notes that McDonald’s is working on its next limited-edition campaign.
Do you still have any Happy Meal toys from McDonald’s, or did you get any from this special rerun?
