When people say they collect Pokémon cards now, what they really mean is that they go into retail stores over and over again only to walk away with nothing. Being OK with leaving stores empty-handed is critical in a hobby where people bring inflatable mattresses to get in line at 4 a.m. Scalpers who make a living off of Pokémon products aren’t nearly as willing to take an L, though. Resellers have become such a problem that retailers like Target may need to bolt items down.
May 2 was Pokémon Day at Target, and the retailer celebrated by launching a new line of pocket monster products, like clothes and toys. Many stores also decorated for the occasion by lining up the front of the store with giant Poké Balls, and putting up displays with popular Pokémon. As expected, some Target locations sold out of the new products almost immediately. In those cases, the only thing that should have been left is the standees that denote Pokémon merch areas.
“Should” is the operative word here, because resellers are taking the displays from stores now too. On sites like Facebook Marketplace and eBay, there are plenty of listings showing cardboard cutouts of characters like Pikachu, Charizard, and Eevee going for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Some people have even managed to leave Target with the enormous backdrop displays on the shelves. How these flippers accomplished the theft without being stopped is anyone’s guess.
While the situation has become a meme for bewildered onlookers, for Target workers, it’s a small nightmare. Some workers say they’ve only encountered people who have asked for permission to take the displays. Just as many say their displays have been stolen, or say that the marketing materials have ruffled feathers with customers.
“I had someone argue with me that we were just going to throw them away, so they could take it,” one alleged Target employee wrote on the store’s dedicated subreddit. “I ended up having to call my TL up to checklanes to tell the guest because they wouldn’t listen to me.”
