US retail giant Target stops selling Pokémon cards for safety of staff and shoppers

The US retail chain Target will not be selling the much-demanded Pokémon playing cards anymore, solely for the safety of their staff members and other shoppers.

This decision was taken by the retail giant after a man pulled out a gun in the parking lot of a Target store in Brookfield, Wisconsin on May 7. As the 35-year-old man left the store, he was approached and allegedly assaulted by four men, aged between 23 and 35. Within minutes of the fight, the man pulled out a gun, the local police said.

Considering the fight was simply about playing cards, Target has decided to stop the sale of Pokémon, MLB, NFL and NBA cards.

"The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority," Target told a games website. "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."

The resale value of playing cards of MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokémon increased manifolds during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

"When Covid-19 hit, a lot of Gen X and Millennials were looking for things to do and we found a lot of these guys and girls started playing Pokémon again because they grew up with it," Joe Maddalena, executive vice-president at Texas-based Heritage Auctions explained the reason behind the increase in value of playing cards.

(With inputs from agencies)