Target will enforce stricter purchase rules for its Pokémon 30th Anniversary release on Sept. 16, with some stores adding security, limiting line formation and, in some cases, narrowing how many items a customer can buy. BritBrattv, who first flagged the change, told fans to expect a stricter sales system for the anniversary products.
The timing matters because collectors have already been watching Target stores throughout September, where elaborate Pokémon product displays have appeared near the electronics section in the back of the store. On the release date, those displays are expected to feed into a buying process that looks more controlled than Target’s usual approach, especially for shoppers trying to reach the set early.
Many Target stores are preparing for long lines with added security personnel to manage crowds and direct parking lot traffic. Some locations are going further: customers may not be allowed to claim a place in line with an empty lawn chair, and some stores will not permit lines to form until Target officially closes on Sept. 15 or until a few hours before opening on Sept. 16. In some reported cases, the store may not let everyone in line enter at once when doors open.
The clearest sign of how uneven the rollout may be came from one Target store flyer that showed a limit of one item type per customer, rather than the retailer’s typical limit of two. That is the part fans will be watching most closely on Sept. 16, because it suggests the rules may not be uniform and may depend on which Target location a customer visits.
The friction is that these stricter measures are being described by Target employees and a leaked flyer, not by an official Target announcement. Retail workers at Target have also been backing up BritBrattv’s warning in comments on her social media post, which gives the report more weight even as the company itself has not spelled out a companywide policy. Best Buy has already published a release-day guide telling customers how to behave in line, and some Barnes & Noble locations say they will not sell any 30th Anniversary items on Wednesday until late in the day.
For now, the safest reading is that Target is treating the Pokémon 30th Anniversary drop as a controlled event, but the exact rules still appear to vary by store. The next test comes on Sept. 16, when shoppers will find out which locations allow a normal queue, which restrict the line, and which go all the way to one-item limits.
