Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #522

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Target Pulls Pokemon Cards, Citing Threat To Workers And Customers
By Irina Ivanova
Target is pulling in-store sales of popular trading cards, citing employee safety, after a parking lot brawl in one of its stores last week. The retailer told CBS MoneyWatch it would no longer sell Pokemon and sports trading cars in its physi- cal locations start- ing Friday.
"The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution, we've decided to tem- porarily suspend the sale of MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokemon trading cards within our stores, effective May 14. Guests can continue to shop these cards
online at Target.com," a Target spokesper- son said in a statement.
Trading cards have surged in popularity during the pandemic. Pokemon cards, especially, are fly- ing off the shelves so fast the print- ing press
can barely keep up. Some early editions of the card game, which turns 25 this year, have fetched hun- dreds of thou- sands of dollars in online auctions; even recently printed Pokemon cards are quickly climbing in price.
Soaring card
prices are driving some would-be collectors to extremes. In recent months, scalpers have tar- geted Pokemon cards destined for McDonald's Happy Meals and ravaged cereal boxes on super- market shelves to extract the spe- cial-edition cards
within. In Japan, one man alleged- ly climbed down a rope to break into a store and carry away $9,000 worth of Pokemon cards, according to TheGamer.com.
Target last month limited card sales to three packs per person
per day, then to one pack per day. But the policy led to even more frenzied specula- tion with some shoppers camp- ing out outside the stores before they opened.
Last week, a shopper leaving a Target store in Wisconsin was attacked by three men in the park- ing lot, leading the victim to pull out his gun and neighboring stores to impose momentary lock- downs. No shots were fired, and the victim suffered only minor injuries, according to reports. It's unclear which type of trading card was the cause of the scuf- fle.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine