Posted in: Card Games, Games, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Opinion, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop, Wizards of the Coast, Yu-Gi-Oh! | Tagged: magic, MTG, PTCG, target, TCG, YGO

OPINION: Target Should Be Fair To TCGs – It's Likely On Pokémon

For the past few long, long months, various big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target have been limiting how many of a certain kind of product can be sold to individual customers. Trading cards, such as Pokémon cards and Magic: The Gathering cards, but also sports cards of various types, have been limited to three, two, or even one of a kind of product per customer. This feels absolutely unfair to most of the consumers of these products, namely because it feels like Pokémon collectors are expressly the issue.

For literally months, I've seen what is looked at as the "Logan Paul effect", or the hype created by controversial influencer Logan Paul upon the trading card game industry, affect packs and boxes of Pokémon cards across mass-market stores such as Target. However, despite this, I have not once seen Magic cards or even sports cards be affected by the same level of hype-induced demand leading to scarcity in individual products, save for in products that have a naturally-low supply, such as Collector Boosters or products with a low print run, like Time Spiral Remastered.

It is therefore baffling to me that Target wants to maintain limits on Magic cards, or any cards (besides perhaps Pokémon cards). It makes sense for them to limit Pokémon cards, as those are scarce due strictly to demand and typically collected more than played, but to deny Magic players, Yugioh players, and other TCG players their necessary tools of play borders on absurdity. Collectors are not buying Magic packs (et al.) at Target unless they're seriously valuable, and none of these packs have had a high expected value to them as of late, except for Time Spiral Remastered, which flew off of shelves despite any imposed limits. It's most probable, anyhow, that the players who buy packs from Target are actually using the cards to play with. You wouldn't impose a limit on board games, right? This is effectively the same concept. Ugh.

So in short, Target, consider just imposing your weird embargoes unto the only game that really demands it right now, and leave us other card game players alone. If you, dear reader, agree with this, consider leaving your two cents in the comment section below.

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