"Trick or trade" has replaced "trick or treat." On South Korea's secondhand marketplaces, with Halloween just over a week away, intellectual property-based Halloween merchandise is drawing attention — Sanrio plush toys in pumpkin hats, "Demon Slayer" acrylic stands draped in capes. Instead of costumes worn for a single day, shoppers are buying up Halloween limited editions of their "choe-ae," or favorite character. Halloween spending is widening from dressing up and joining festivities to collecting special versions of beloved characters.
According to Bunjang on the 25th, simple clothing searches for items such as costumes, wigs and capes accounted for only one in 10 Halloween-related searches between Oct. 1 and 20, while 90% combined a character name with the word "Halloween." Interest has shifted from what to wear on Halloween to which character goods to secure. Halloween product transactions also rose 18% from a year earlier.
The characters that opened wallets differed by generation. Teenagers sought "Demon Slayer" merchandise and acrylic stands, collecting even images of characters from favorite works dressed in Halloween outfits. Sanrio ranked first across consumers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The preference was especially clear among those in their 30s, for whom one in three Halloween purchases was a Sanrio item.
Halloween editions of "kuji," Japanese convenience store lottery goods, were also popular. Sylvanian Families appeared on the purchase lists of shoppers in their 40s. Tastes varied by generation, from animation merchandise to plush toys, but all shared a search for familiar characters paired with seasonal styling. Halloween goods are being consumed not only as children's playthings but as collectibles that signal adult consumers' tastes.
As collections grow, Halloween goods have acquired vintages. Because new Halloween versions of the same character are released each year, the production year has become important. Last October, one in five Halloween products bought by shoppers in their 20s and 30s carried "2025" in the product name. Buyers distinguish the items they want by adding the release year to the character name.
This year's listings include posts seeking or offering Starbucks Halloween mugs from 2021 and 2022. Prices jump when "limited" appears in the name. Halloween products labeled "limited" traded at 1.44 times the price of those without the label.
Collector-driven Halloween does not end on Oct. 31. Most high-priced Halloween goods traded over the past year sold between June and September, ahead of the Halloween season. A Halloween limited edition from a collaboration between Monchhichi and the U.S. brand Mischief found a new owner in June for 750,000 won. Halloween has turned from a one-day festival into a collecting season that runs all year.
Still, the peak is now. The busiest day for Halloween goods transactions last year was Oct. 15, two weeks before Halloween, with trading continuing right up to the holiday.
An official at Bunjang said users now collect that year's Halloween version of their favorite character rather than buying a costume, adding that a growing number of sellers are listing limited editions they bought last year ahead of this year's Halloween.