Select Target stores are enforcing a strict one-item-per-customer cap on the new Pokémon 30th Anniversary exclusive collection, half the retailer's usual purchase limit, as demand for the cards overwhelms locations nationwide.
A leaked store flyer, first shared on Facebook, spells out the restriction in plain terms: "Due to high demand, we will be limiting the purchase quantity to 1 unit, per item, per guest, for the Pokémon x Target Exclusive Collection." The document, attributed to one Target location, signals that at least some stores are cutting their standard two-item cap in half for the release, The U.S. Sun reported.
Target has not officially confirmed the policy. The U.S. Sun said it reached out for comment but received no response before publication.
The purchase cap is not the only crowd-control measure stores have rolled out. Pokémon influencer BritBrattv said on social media that some locations planned to station security near Pokémon displays to manage long lines and enforce the item limits. Some stores went further, banning customers from holding spots in line, including leaving empty chairs, and refusing to let anyone queue up until after the store opened its doors.
The anniversary set itself is driving the chaos. It features 30 different Pikachu cards and six unique holofoil cards described as part of a new rarity tier. For collectors and resellers alike, that combination makes the product a magnet for bulk buying, exactly the behavior Target's one-item rule is designed to stop.
Target is not alone. Best Buy and Barnes & Noble have also issued their own store-level rules for the Pokémon anniversary release at select locations, though the specifics of those policies have not been disclosed.
This is not the first time Target has imposed purchase limits on Pokémon products. The retailer has previously capped customer purchases during earlier waves of collector demand, and past product shortages have forced similar interventions. That history suggests the one-item limit is less a surprise than a predictable response to a market Target knows runs hot.
Still, several questions remain unanswered. Target corporate has not said whether the one-item cap applies nationwide or only at a handful of high-traffic stores. The leaked flyer came from a single location, and no broader corporate directive has surfaced publicly. Which stores are enforcing the tighter rule, and which are sticking with the standard two-item limit, appears to vary.
When a big-box retailer has to post security guards and ban lawn chairs from its checkout line over trading cards, the free market is sending a message. Whether Target's limits protect everyday buyers or just slow down the resellers who will find another way in is the question nobody at corporate seems eager to answer.