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Pokémon trading cards 2010 series.

Target Pulls Pokémon & Sports Trading Cards From Stores

Pokémon trading cards 2010 series
Pokémon trading cards 2010 series.

There’s a Pokémon trading card frenzy happening right now that seems to have stemmed from folks being stuck at home for so long. Now, Target is pulling all Pokémon trading cards, as well as sports cards and presumably any entertainment cards, from their in-store shelves.

The move follows an unfortunate event that happened at a Target in Wisconsin, where a man was assaulted by four others over sports trading cards.

“The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority,” said Target.

Starting Friday, May 14 all MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokémon cards will be removed from shelves. The cards will be available, however, through Target.com.

Target had been limiting sales of cards to one pack per customer, and reserving the sales for early Friday mornings at 8:00 a.m. Apparently, fanatics had been attempting to sleep out at night to line up for cards. Target managers have been advised to call local police to disperse campers.

The secondary market for Pokémon and sports cards has exploded in the last year. There are numerous reports of cards being sent in by collectors for grading but not hearing back for weeks, or even months, about the status of their orders.

Recently, a Michael Jordan rookie card sold for $738k after selling for $215k just weeks before.

The removal of MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokémon cards from Target stores may only be temporary, but Target has not indicated when the cards would return.

“Given the significant interest in trading cards, we recently began limiting MLB, NBA, NFL and Pokémon purchases to one item per guest, per day, and asking guests not to lineup overnight. We’re continuing to evaluate the protocols we have in place to ensure safety at our stores related to this category.”