Target shopper got the last Pokémon 30th anniversary product, then says employees complained the adults in line were ‘taking it from the kids’

A recent Reddit post by deadmaster79 highlighted just how tense the atmosphere has become between some retailers and adult Pokémon TCG collectors. The Reddit user shared their experience on the PokémonTCGCollectors subreddit in a post titled “Target employees made me feel guilty for buying this.” 

“I randomly showed up around 1:30 because usually I can buy something before it’s all gone. Didn’t even care what it was,” the user wrote. Upon entering, they were directed to a small line that had formed for a surprise mini 30th anniversary drop. “Even though they said one product per person I was lucky to get the last 30th anniversary product they had. BUT THE ENTIRE TIME the two target employees watching the line were loudly complaining.”

Allegedly, the employees were “calling everyone scalpers and trying to make everyone guilty because ‘we’re taking it from the kids’ and ‘we’re all grown adults.'” It upset the user, who wrote, “WELL SO SORRY THAT I SHOWED UP AT THE WRONG TIME I GUESS! I’m almost tempted to file a complaint because I shouldn’t have to feel bad just because I want to show up at the store one day and buy one thing. I didn’t even show up for a 30th drop and I’m pretty sure none was announced.” It should be noted that this is only the Reddit user’s account, and the employees’ side of the story couldn’t be verified.

The post triggered debates around store policies and adult collectors

The community reaction to this post was varied and heated. One user defended the adult collector demographic, stating, “Pokemon is really only hobby fandom trend that adults are getting the hate saying they are taking away from the kids. They are celebrating 30 years of long time success which means making and keeping consumers for that long. Now if it was Star Wars, somehow that’s a different story? Let the millennials have their moment. It’s been a rough 25 years for us.”

One user remarked, “Hot wheels/matchbox has the same issue. The Target employees were 100% correct.” Others offered practical advice on how to handle similar encounters. One person shared that they once tried to buy cards kept behind the customer service counter and were allegedly denied when they asked for specific products. The employee reportedly changed their mind when the user called corporate in front of them.

Then there were the users who asked a fundamental question. One wrote, “How do they think kids get product?”

This ongoing friction between retailers and collectors isn’t happening in a vacuum. Polygon noted that Target has been instituting new policies regarding purchase limits for Pokémon merchandise to combat the reseller problem. While some stores are enforcing a one-item limit, others have been spotted with flyers claiming they no longer sell to resellers at all. The challenge remains determining who is a genuine collector and who is a scalper.

Thunderword wrote that scalpers are to Pokémon cards what Team Rocket is to the Pokémon series. The report highlights that scalpers buy up stock to resell at significant markups, which makes the hobby difficult for everyone else. As collector James Carey told Thunderword, “They’re greedy, they don’t care about the game and they just want the money from reselling all the cards they got at more expensive prices.” Tensions over Pokémon restocks have boiled over before, including a Connecticut Target incident that ended in a scalper’s arrest.

Calvin Pham pointed out who really gets hurt. They told Thunderword, “It’s fine if I don’t get Pokémon cards, I’m a college student, but I am thinking about the kids who want to get cards but can’t because scalpers make them more expensive and harder to find.”

Adult collectors have their defenders outside of Reddit, too. Hearns Hobbies noted that collecting serves as a way for many adults to preserve nostalgia, reduce stress, and engage with a community.