Pokemon scalpers steal Target displays to resell for thousands of dollars

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Target celebrated Pokemon Day on May 2nd, and fans came out in droves to get the new, exclusive Pokemon merchandise. This included clothing, toys, and even special Pop-Tarts, which were quickly resold at inflated prices. Some of the in-store displays are now being sold online for thousands of dollars.

It’s common to see high demand and quick sell-outs when new Pokémon trading card game sets or exclusive merchandise are released. When this happens, items often appear on resale websites for significantly inflated prices – typically two to ten times the original retail cost.

The demand for Pokémon merchandise is so high that Nintendo and retailers have had to limit purchases and even use quizzes to prevent people from buying everything up. Recently, after a Pokémon Day celebration at Target, resellers – often called scalpers – have started selling in-store displays, backdrops, and cardboard standees for incredibly high prices, sometimes thousands of dollars.

Scalpers selling Pokemon Target displays for thousands

After the Pokémon x Target collaboration items sold out rapidly, fans started collecting everything they could find, including posters and cardboard displays from both inside and outside the stores.

It wasn’t long before these items began showing up for sale online, on sites like eBay. Fans were listing them for prices ranging from a relatively fair $50 – considering they weren’t originally intended to be sold – all the way up to an incredible $2,250 for a Charizard and Gengar cutout. Some sold for between $700 and $900 as well.

While they are quite big and the art looks amazing, it’s worth remembering these weren’t actually for sale.

Target employees shared their frustration on Reddit, describing how customers were demanding to buy store displays. One employee recounted an argument where a customer insisted they take a display, even though it wasn’t for sale, and the employee had to get a team lead involved. Others reported similar experiences, saying they frequently have to explain that store displays are not available for purchase.

Some people at the event were taking the promotional displays as souvenirs, while others asked if they could have them first. Interestingly, these displays seemed to be more sought after than the limited-edition merchandise, and some people were reselling them for a profit – a surprising turn for Pokémon collectibles.

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2026-05-06 18:48