A Jersey trading-card shop has told a customer it would rather lose their business than see unwanted Pokémon cards dumped in the countryside.

Paperclix said it was “absolutely appalled” after one of its staff members discovered a large number of cards discarded in a hedge while walking home, and revealed it was not the first time its team had found cards littered in the area which is frequented by wildlife like ducks and their ducklings.

The shop believes the cards may have been discarded by someone opening packs in search of valuable or desirable cards – known in the collecting community as “hits” – and throwing away those they did not want.

Photos shared by the business show dozens of colourful cards scattered among vegetation and debris, with a staff member collecting them from the hedge in the rain.

“No reason to litter”

In a strongly worded Facebook post, Paperclix said: “All because you either didn’t get hits or only wanted the hits, that is no reason to litter and throw these into a hedge.”

The business pointed out that unwanted cards could instead have been returned to the shop to be given to children, donated to charity or handed out at Jersey’s first dedicated card convention, which is taking place next month. 

Pokémon cards in particular have enjoyed a surge in popularity locally, with Islanders queuing outside shops for new releases and sought-after individual cards appearing for resale at significant mark-ups. 

What is Jersey Card Con?

The free Jersey Card Con is due to take over St Clement’s Parish Hall on 13 September, bringing together around a dozen vendors as the Island’s trading-card community continues to grow. Read more…

“We’d rather not serve you”

Paperclix said a member of staff picked the discarded cards out of the hedge despite the wet weather.

Sharing a blunt message for whoever was responsible, the store continued: “We don’t care how much you spent or might spend in the future.

“We would rather not serve you going forward and we hope you enjoy ripping and tipping elsewhere.” 

The post has so far attracted more than 100 reactions and prompted criticism of the littering from Islanders.

“This makes me so sad and angry!” one commenter said. “There is no need for this, as you said they could have been donated or passed on to someone! The reason why I stopped buying Pokémon was due to the lack of them for the kids. It’s a sad time we live in, that kids can’t experience Pokémon the way we did and to see them being treated this way is heartbreaking.”

Pictured: Pokémon has hugely surged in popularity in recent years, with collectors often eagerly queuing outside shops when there is a new release – here, Islanders were outside the Entertainer in Bath Street, waiting to purchase a Pokémon First Partner Illustration set in June.

Another said: “Please don’t turn a brilliant game into litter, so sad.”

Responding to one commenter, Paperclix said it was not only “a bad reflection of us, but also the Pokémon community over here”, adding: “We love where we are based in our slice of St Lawrence and would hate to be seen negatively in any light within our community.

“With our local wildlife, like our ducks and ducklings, we take pride in monitoring the carpark and the brook for rubbish. Even climbing into the brook on the odd occasion to remove rubbish and helping monitor debris in the winter to prevent road floods.”

The store said it had its suspicions about who was responsible but would “give the benefit of the doubt one more time”.