Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images/Toei Animation
Fandom can make people do some crazy things, and that’s certainly the case with enthusiasts who can’t get enough of One Piece. The Japanese export was responsible for a huge spike in ticket prices at some college basketball games last season, and it now has people shelling out hundreds of dollars for plastic boxes from Popeyes on eBay.
It’s been close to 30 years since the first installment of the manga One Piece was published in Japan in 1997. The long-running saga, which revolves around the exploits of Monkey D. Luffy and the ragtag crew of pirates known as the Straw Hats, spawned an anime that debuted a couple of years later, and Netflix gave it the live-action series treatment in 2023.
One Piece reached “Global Sensation” status after experiencing a spike in popularity during the pandemic, and it has more than managed to sustain it heading into 2026. It boasts a large contingent of incredibly rabid fans who will go to great lengths to get their hands on memorabilia linked to the series, and that’s certainly the case with a new collaboration.
One Piece bento boxes that are being sold at Popeyes are fetching some wild prices on eBay
One Piece has mastered the art of marketing with the help of fans who are not shy about dropping some serious dough to secure officially licensed merchandise.
That includes the trading cards that were given away at some college basketball games last year, which led to a huge bump in ticket prices thanks to people who were subsequently able to flip them for upwards of $500 online.
Now, we’ve been treated to another sensation courtesy of Popeyes, which whipped up some limited-edition offerings inspired by One Piece that were officially rolled out on April 13th.
That included the Luffy Bento Bundle, which is being served up in cardboard boxes at the majority of the chain’s locations. However, there were six stores that were supplied with plastic collectible containers, and while the people who got them only had to fork over $13.99 for the meal, they were able to get significantly more by listing them on eBay.
Dozens of those boxes have sold for north of $300, and one person dropped $500 on the most expensive one that’s been offloaded as of this writing.
The boxes (and other items) will also be up for grabs on the Popeyes website on April 15th, but I have a feeling they won’t be available for long when the sale officially goes live.