Resellers steal Pokémon display standees from Target stores

7 articles · Updated · Polygon · May 5

After Target's 2 May Pokémon Day launch, workers said some displays vanished within two hours, while Facebook Marketplace and eBay listings priced Pikachu, Charizard and Eevee cutouts at hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Employees said some customers demanded the materials, arguing they would be discarded anyway, while others reported entire backdrop displays being removed from shelves after products sold out.
Some staff have tried pinning displays down, but others said stopping theft is not their job, underscoring wider strain around Pokémon merchandise, including scalping, fights and disappearing trading-card kiosks.

Are retailers’ anti-theft measures stopping scalpers or just pushing them towards more aggressive tactics?

With cardboard cutouts fetching thousands online, has the Pokémon hobby become a new target for organized crime?

Could the Pokémon market bubble burst, making today's high-value collectibles worthless like 90s comics?