Firms often target consumers with "pre-approved" loans, subscriptions, or memberships to reduce frictions and boost uptake. We document a Groucho Marx effect: under certain conditions, learning that one has been accepted lowers subsequent evaluations of the accepting organization. Across three studies, participants imagined applying to either a prestigious country club or an ordinary community center and then rated the organization's exclusivity and quality. Participants told their application was accepted evaluated the organization less favorably than those told their application was under review. We identify unexpected acceptance as a moderating factor. In Study 1, the effect was stronger among participants with lower self-esteem—consistent with acceptance being less expected—while attenuating among those with higher self-esteem. In Study 2, measured surprise moderated the effect: greater surprise predicted larger post-acceptance declines. Study 3 manipulated objective selectivity (acceptance rates of 20%, 50%, or 80%). The effect was stronger at low selectivity, smaller at medium selectivity, and negligible at high selectivity. These findings are more consistent with expectation-violation account than with a simple Bayesian-updating account. The Groucho Marx effect emerged more robustly for judgments of exclusivity than for quality. The findings qualify assumptions from intergroup-favoritism perspectives and suggest practical implications for pre-approval strategies, luxury branding, and integration processes: when acceptance is unexpected, acceptance itself can depreciate perceived value.