Contrary to published reports, Walmart confirmed in an email to The Verge on Friday that it has not suspended the sale of any trading cards, including the Pokémon cards that Target recently took off its shelves. There have been reports on social media of people seeing signs at Walmart stores indicating that the retailer would also no longer be selling the cards in stores, but it appears that’s not official policy.
There’s been a bit of a mania around Pokémon cards, and trading cards in general lately, with card rating companies being buried in “an avalanche of cardboard” as collectors try to up the value of their cards with an official grade. Apparently, the collectors’ market has people excited about buying new cards: the Pokémon Company has been rushing to produce more new cards, and there have been fights in parking lots and elaborate heists. Unsurprisingly, Logan Paul is involved, hyping up the value in the collectors’ market.
It’s gotten to the point where Target decided to call it quits, posting signs informing customers that Pokémon, MLB, NFL, and NBA cards would no longer be sold in stores. In a statement to The Verge on Thursday, Target said that the temporary suspension was done “out of an abundance of caution” for the safety of its employees and customers.
Walmart did say that it had, in fact, seen increased demand for the cards, and that it was “determining what, if any, changes are needed” to meet it, while still keeping everybody safe. So far, it’s unclear if the situation will change for Walmart and other retailers, now that people have one fewer store to buy their cards from.
