You know, after years of viral videos showing scalpers camping out in front of trading card shelves, you’d think Walmart would have gotten embarrassed enough at how it has enabled these people to buy up massive amounts of cards before actual fans even get a chance that it would have done something about it. Well, it looks like one recent video might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the retailer is finally implementing a five-box purchase limit, a week after a video of someone buying literally thousands of packs at one of Walmart’s stores went viral on TikTok.
The video by TikTok user mromano2003 has accumulated over 12 million views on the original post alone, not counting all the times it’s been reposted elsewhere by other accounts on different platforms. It shows a scalper buying an entire display of Pokémon cards at one of Walmart’s Las Vegas stores. About a week later, Walmart stores are receiving word from corporate to enforce a five-package limit on purchases per visit. This seems to apply to booster packs, tins, and any other kind of Pokémon card package. The limit goes into effect tomorrow, November 5, and seems to apply to all trading cards, not just Pokémon.
Walmart’s internal announcement doesn’t cite the video itself as the determining factor, but when something like that blows up on this scale, it’s hard not to suspect it might be related. Mromano2003 speculates in the video that the store’s management was in on a reselling scam, but that’s just conjecture at this point. The internal announcement says that this is an effort to stop reselling efforts and accommodate unprecedented demand. We’ve reached out to Walmart for comment on the situation and will update this story if we hear back.
It’s so common for scalpers to buy up vast amounts of Pokémon cards that it’s become a thorn in the community’s side, making it nearly impossible for actual fans to collect cards without running into scammers trying to make a quick buck. Nevertheless, Pokémon fans persist even as vultures circle every new drop.
