Sam’s Club Ascended Heroes Pokémon TCG release was awful, employees say
Sam’s Club’s release of Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Ascended Heroes set on Tuesday descended into chaos as the warehouse retailer failed to enforce purchasing limits, according to employee accounts. The issue stems from extraordinary demand for Ascended Heroes, which has become the trading card game’s hottest product since its January 2026 debut. The set’s popularity has created a lucrative resale market, with scalpers marking up prices as much as 450% above manufacturer’s suggested retail price. This represents the latest frustration in the ongoing struggle for consumers to purchase Pokémon cards at reasonable prices. Employees at various Sam’s Club locations reported that checkout procedures designed to limit purchases per customer were overlooked or ignored during the release, allowing some shoppers to purchase multiple units despite posted restrictions. The breakdown in enforcement appears to have exacerbated scalping problems, as uncontrolled bulk purchases by resellers further restricted legitimate customers’ access to the product and drove prices higher in secondary markets.