Pokemon TCG Scalping Causes Target To Open Sealed ETBs

Target Is Starting To Open Pokemon Elite Trainer Boxes To Combat Scalpers Published Aug 6, 2026, 9:15 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Sign in to your TheGamer account A Target store has been spotted opening Pokemon Elite Trainer Boxes seemingly in an attempt to deter scalpers from easily reselling them. Over the past few years, the TCG scene has suddenly but surely blown up in popularity, with tons more people looking to get into games like Magic: The Gathering, Disney Lorcana, and, of course, Pokemon. While a bigger audience sounds like a great thing on paper, it’s really just ended up attracting the worst kind of people. Scalpers have always hung around tabletop games, but it’s become exponentially worse in recent times, and Pokemon has easily been hit the hardest. Scalpers have not only caused tons of cards to jump up in price, but they’ve also regularly been spotted bothering people and raiding stores of new releases, something that Target is clearly sick of. Target Is Opening Pokemon Elite Trainer Boxes To Deter Scalpers You Love To See It Earlier this year, Nintendo announced that it was trying to figure out a way to stop “speculative buying” of Pokemon cards, but while we wait for whatever the official solution ends up being, others have taken matters into their own hands. Some Japanese stores have even ended up damaging Pokemon releases themselves, which Target seems to be embracing. As pointed out by Dexerto, Twitter user PokeTCGAlerts shared a video that was recorded in an unnamed Target. The clip shows employees stocking Elite Trainer Boxes for the Pokemon TCG, and removing the plastic wrapping from them before putting them up on the shelves. It’s not clear if this is just one Target taking initiative, or something that more stores are implementing. Whatever the case, the store is clearly trying to make Pokemon ETBs less desirable for scalpers, as removing the shrink wrap will reduce their value and make them harder to sell on. It’s a noble idea, but it does raise some concerns about gifting the boxes, their contents being easier to steal, and the prices they’re sold at considering they’re not technically new. On the flip side, you could also argue that this will just end up making the sealed products more expensive and harder to come by. Whatever the case, scalping is so bad for the Pokemon TCG right now that it’s clear Target is trying to figure out literally anything it can do until Nintendo and The Pokemon Company come up with something. Even then, I can’t imagine either company being happy about this particular fix. Franchise Pokemon Original Release Date October 20, 1996 Player Count 2 Age Recommendation 6+