Target was once the go-to big box retailer for collectors looking to find baseball cards. For years, the sporting goods section of every local Target store would have a sizable selection of newly released baseball card packages, boxes, and memorabilia for hobbyists of all ages to peruse. In recent times Target made the business decision to scale back and eventually remove baseball cards from their inventory altogether. This change left many loyal customers disappointed and searching for new local sources to fuel their baseball card collecting hobby.
Target’s decision came as the popularity of baseball cards began to decline in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The digital age provided new forms of entertainment that drew kids and collectors away from plastic packaging filled with glimpses of past and present ballplayers. Meanwhile, revenue from baseball card sales reportedly dropped off at Target locations across the country year after year. Store managers were given less and less trading card allowance space to fill as baseball cards transitioned from a guaranteed seller to more of a niche interest item.
The final blow was likely delivered when Panini America acquired the MLB trading card license away from Topps in 2010. This changed the entire baseball card landscape that collectors had known for decades. Suddenly, Target and other mainstream retailers were faced with carrying an unfamiliar and unproven brand if they wanted to offer any baseball cards at all. With revenue and interest waning, it was an easy calculated risk for Target to reallocate the shelf space normally used for cards to potentially higher profiting products.
Officially in 2012, Target customers began to notice baseball cards disappear from their local stores in waves. An internal Target memo from that year stated that due to “financial losses incurred from baseball card sales as well as a decline in customer demand, all trading card inventory would be removed from stores nationwide.” The change was strictly business and Target did not want to carry unpopular inventory that was taking up prime retail space and not turning a profit. Card collectors and hobby shop owners alike lamented this decision as it left a notable gap in accessible and affordable baseball card product distribution in mainstream markets.
With Target gone, former cardboard crazed customers now had to look elsewhere to feed their want for packs in their hands and rookies in their binders. Many flocked to local hobby shops and card show circuits for their fix but regretted losing the convenience that a nearby Target always supplied. Internet retail sites helped fill the supply gap as well but weren’t always as immediate or social of an experience. While big box retailers like Walmart, Meijer, and Fred Meyer trial-carried baseball cards at times in following years, none could match the consistent nationwide supply pipeline that Target provided in its heyday.
Other options emerged as stopgap solutions to Target’s absence for those seeking new baseball cards. Grocery stores and drugstores surprisingly carried limited releases during the initial post-Target era. Dedicated baseball card kiosks began popping up in unexpected venues such as laundromats and mini marts. And general merchandise big box chains like Dick’s Sporting Goods or general stores like Party City would seasonally stock blister packs and boxes near their cash registers hoping to capture impulse buyers. None truly filled the consistent storewide baseball card presence of Target.
It was a blow to the American baseball card collecting community to lose such a major retail partner. Target was akin to the local corner store of yesteryear that reliably stocked cards whenever a kid wanted to blow their allowance. But Target’s interests changed as the collectibles market shifted. They assessed baseball cards were no longer driving enough foot traffic or sales to justify dedicating product space to them. Over a decade since their removal from shelves, Target stands firm in their decision to refrain from stocking cards again despite pining from loyal collectors. The sporting goods giant aimed to make space for more profitable offerings and unfortunately baseball cards weren’t the steady profit earner they once were.
Today, the future remains uncertain for mainstream access to baseball cards outside of special promotions. Major retailers hesitate carrying full inventories, instead intermittently stocking popular licensed brands for seasonal or short shelf life sales. Many former Target patrons migrated their hobby online or back to specialty hobby shops. Renewed collector interest in cards from the influx of nostalgic 1990s kids could potentially reopen the category at general retailers once again. Only time will tell if Target or others change their stance now over a decade since removed baseball cards or if the collectibles market shift is indeed permanent. In the meantime, former patrons of Target’s baseball card counter still reminisce of the glory days stocking up on packs before games under the familiar red ball logo.
