Trading cards of all kinds, including the popular Pokémon card game, will no longer be sold at Target stores following an incident in which a customer drew a gun in a dispute over trading cards. This follows a similar move from Target's fellow retail giant Wal-Mart.
The embargo on trading card sales at Target will begin on May 14, as reported by Bleeding Cool. This will be one week after the incident, which took place in a Target parking lot in Wisconsin and began with an argument among customers over the limitations placed on sports cards. No shots were fired or injuries reported, according to local news source WISN.
Target issued a statement saying, "The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution, we've decided to temporarily suspend the sale of MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokémon trading cards within our stores, effective May 14. Guests can continue to shop these cards online at Target.com." Although not mentioned by name, other types of cards such as Digimon Card Game and Magic: the Gathering, which use different franchises in the same medium as the Pokémon Trading Card Game, are likely to be included in the suspension as well.
Players and collectors of these games will also be unable to find them at Wal-Mart, which has recently stopped stocking trading cards in its brick-and-mortar locations. This mandate preceded the incident at Target, but was likewise prompted by customers' behavior. No details on this behavior were given, but retailers have been known to report various problems related to periods of intense demand for the games, including scalping, theft and aggressive disputes in stores.
The companies behind trading card games have been hit hard over the past year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which forced many small businesses to close in 2020. Independent stores which specialize in comics and cards are in some cases still closed, leading gamers to seek new cards for their collections at the large retail chains. With Target and Wal-Mart both indefinitely suspending sales of trading card games in their stores, online shopping may be the only option for some customers until the mandates are lifted.
Source: Bleeding Cool, WISN