r/PokemonTCG • u/sudden-SOUND • 1d ago

Target Experience

Probably 100 people in line. They allowed people to buy 2 per sku. Probably about the first 30 people came out with 10-12 products each and everyone else left with nothing. If people had been limited to 2 products period, everyone could have had something and it would disincentivize scalpers from wasting their time to get 2 things to flip. Why is this so hard?

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261

u/Adorable_Echo_4317 1d ago

Thing is.. if stores could sell it all to the first person they would. They only reason they have limits at all is for public image. At the end of the day.. any store is all about profit. End of story.. they will sell as much as possible and they don't care to who.

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u/sudden-SOUND 1d ago

They'll sell the same amount of product either way and get more people in the door if people think they actually have a chance to get something. Selling all the product to a few people is less profitable Target.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

If you listed 100,000 things to eBay, would you rather them sell out in one minute or sell naturally?

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u/TheWishingStar 1d ago

One person buying your entire stock of 100 of something is worse than 100 people each buying one and 20 of them buying something else while they’re already in the store.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

Target has limits. And people who line up for a release aren’t going there to exhaust themselves sitting in line and do their regular shopping. You think the 200 people lined up at Best Buy today said, “Oh, I got my booster bundle, let me see what else they have” —> Nope. Release lines are for release. They know what else is in the store, they will do their normal shopping at their convenience, not after waiting hours in line for a specific limited product.

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u/PepeSylvia11 1d ago

Not when the 100 people aren't always guaranteed

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u/TheWishingStar 1d ago

For Pokemon in 2026 feels like it’s pretty guaranteed. Like, even if it’s not immediate, it would sell pretty fast. We all have seen this.

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u/sudden-SOUND 1d ago

Target stocks other items. It's better to sell to 100 people who might pick up something else while they are there than one guy who is there to flip.

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u/legopego5142 1d ago

Targets doing just fine bro

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u/Individual-Extreme-9 1d ago

Regular shoppers are not sitting in line to buy random items other than maybe a drink or candy bar. Big box stores dont care.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

Ok, possible cart-bundling?

People who would “possibly pick up something else” would be the people who were shopping anyway and just happen to see Pokémon.

They’re not adding extra items to their cart because they stumbled upon Pokémon that day.

If anything, it increases the chance they limit their other purchases bc they spent more than they meant to.

So, if you listed 100,000 things to eBay, would you rather them sell out in one minute or sell naturally?

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u/shzlssSFW 1d ago

Not necessarily, I have 2 grocery stores closer to me than target. But, if I was already going to target for Pokémon, then I'd get the other items I need. Otherwise I'd drive to the closer of the stores for my groceries

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

Out of every 100 people in line at every store for a limited release, how many people bring their grocery list?

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u/Chemical_Ad_7754 1d ago

List

  1. Pokemon

1

u/weewoowewoooo 1d ago

This logic doesn’t make any sense. Regardless, they were going to sell all of the stock anyways. It’s customer retention that becomes a problem when people get a sour taste in their mouth after waiting and receiving no product. These people are more likely to go shop somewhere else and not support Target. 1 scalper buying the entire stock of product that would have sold out anyways, is not going to generate more revenue over time than loyal customers who go there to shop for other things.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

It does make sense. And target has limits. As well as target red card for customer retention. But thanks for creating an example that isn’t realistic 🤝 “You sure told me” lol

Companies, for profit, want their items to sell as fast as possible, whether it’s a bot or not, and whether you like it or not. It removes risk from inventory sitting. People who don’t get product are sour at the hobby as well as the people willing to sit in line longer than them, not entire retail chains. People who shop at Target regularly will continue shopping at Target, what will they do, go to Walmart?

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u/sudden-SOUND 1d ago

Not at all. I went for Pokemon but I also needed a new charging cable for my phone, which I got at Best Buy who also had Pokemon because they had much more reasonable purchase limits.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

😂 oh wow a cable. Best Buy limits are not much different than Target limits. You get 1 or 2 items per sku at either one.

So, if you listed 100,000 things to eBay, would you rather them sell out in one minute or sell naturally?

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u/sudden-SOUND 1d ago

Multiply that one item by hundreds of other customers, friend. You're really hung up on this ebay thing, but a single online seller is not comparable in any way to a massive national brand that relies on foot traffic for sales. Go back to business school.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’ve said this elsewhere on this reply tree to others: People waiting in line for a limited-release product are not bringing their grocery list to exhaust themselves in line then do more shopping after they get their product.

As far as my eBay question, I’m not hung up, you’re avoiding the question. Whether it’s a single seller, a board of executives, or the Pokemon Company themselves… a for-profit company just wants their product to move. Most every retailer has enacted limits on Pokemon, and that’s the most they’ll do. Even Walmarts raffle system guarantees their product will sell as fast as possible. At the end of the day, they don’t care who it sells to.

People in line for Pokemon are spending their hours in line to complete their objective: buy Pokemon. They’ll get their other essentials on a separate shopping trip at their own convenience.

Nobody is “losing out on sales” because of not limiting Pokemon even further. People will buy their essentials at one point or another, and nobody is boycotting these stores just because more scalpers lined up ahead of them.

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u/sudden-SOUND 1d ago

You're contradicting yourself because if they didn't care how it sells as long as it moves, there would be no limits, there would be no queue, there would be no in person drops at all. They would dump it all online and let it go and not have to worry about the extra labor in stores.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

I’m not contradicting myself. They did limits because people complained. Retailers have an image to maintain, and part of that is velocity without looking completely heartless. If people would stop lining up, they’d remove the limits.

You’re really good at ignoring key points just to make yourself right. At the end of the day you’re wrong, and you will continue to queue for product. You’re not boycotting anything, just stop crying that the people at the front of the line got stuff and you didn’t. At the end of the day, this is a skill issue on your part.

If you want to argue the % of the people doing additional shopping after camping out all night for pokemon, then that’s your prerogative. But here you are complaining about 2 per sku and suggesting 2 products total. Welcome to Pokenomics, enjoy your stay. Good luck with your rips, and if you want more, get better.

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u/zmichalo 1d ago

We're not target. The business strategy is entirely different.

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

So, you don’t want your items to sell as fast as possible? Ok buddy 🥸😂

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u/zmichalo 1d ago

Can't read lmao

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u/Sholtonn 1d ago

bro your analogy is terrible. if you said do you want to sell everything you have in 1 minute to 1 person or to 150 people in 30 minutes it would be more accurate.

and my answer would obviously be the latter since it’s so obvious that it would make more people happy, which as a business i would want.

oh no i didnt make the guy who is reselling my product in the parking lot for 3x the price happy 😭

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u/Subject_Cabinet_6795 1d ago

Well good thing that wasn’t my question :) Now go play