Santa Cruz’s Pokémon skateboard blind bags cost $139.99, but buyers don’t know which deck they’ll get. That random draw has brought the trading-card chase to skateboards, with some resale listings asking as much as $9,000. Those are asking prices, not verified sales.
Released on Oct. 17, the blind bags feature artwork from the Pokémon Trading Card Game, ranging from base-set Charizard to the modern “Moonbreon” from Evolving Skies. There are 30 decks in all, plus three rare gold-foil “chase” variant designs, with only 500 chase examples worldwide.
The artwork isn’t just a card enlarged to fit a board. Designs extend beyond the original illustrations, usually adding details tied to the Pokémon’s elemental identity. Blastoise’s deck, for example, is covered in water waves.
In her reporting for Polygon, Patricia Hernandez attributes the immediate sellouts to eager fans and scalpers alike. You’re unlikely to find one in a store, while listings on eBay and Facebook Marketplace charge a steep premium for knowing exactly which design you’re buying:
- Less sought-after designs are listed for around $250.
- Fan-favorite Eeveelutions and starter Pokémon designs hover around $1,500.
- The scarce chase boards, which combine multiple cards into a single busy image, carry asking prices between $5,000 and $9,000.
Hernandez puts those prices in perspective: you could probably buy a handful of the rare cards pictured on the decks and still have plenty of money left. She describes the markup as absurd, but consistent with prices for other Pokémon products.
Can I buy a Santa Cruz blind bag from The Pokémon Center?
Yes, The Pokémon Center is a possible buying route, though a restock isn’t guaranteed. You can also sign up for restock notifications on Santa Cruz’s official website. A tool at the bottom of that page helps you find local skate shops that carry the boards, but Hernandez cautions that most, if not all, of those locations will likely be sold out.
According to restock Discord servers cited in the report, there’s a decent chance The Pokémon Center will release another wave of Santa Cruz skateboards sometime on Monday. That’s a possibility, not a confirmed drop. The release could instead be the much-anticipated 30th Anniversary Ultra Premium Collection.
Hernandez also warns that scalpers already have bots ready for whichever product appears. She expects Pokémon Center drops will likely involve long queues, while releases through Santa Cruz’s own website will likely produce connection errors or sell out immediately.
