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How Costco's three Pokémon queues went on November 13
On November 13, 2026, Costco ran three separate Pokémon queues, each for its own product: a 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box + Booster Bundle 2-Pack, an Ascended Heroes Mini Tins Bundle and a Perfect Order bundle. We have one member's app screens for the first, one screen for the second and only public posts for the third. Here is each queue's day in order, Costco's own words, and what we don't know.
In short
- Three queues in one day, one per product: 30th Celebration, Mini Tins and Perfect Order.
- Short notice: posts announced each queue 10 to 18 minutes before its stated drop.
- It can open early: posts said two queues were up 5 to 6 minutes before the stated drop.
- 10 minutes to buy: Costco's queue screen gives you 10 minutes once it's your turn.
- How they ended: the first sold out on one member's screen at 3:15 PM CT (4:15 PM ET); a post said the third "concluded".
Times are Central (CT), with Eastern (ET) in brackets; Costco's screens used Pacific, which we converted. Costco's words come from one member's app screens, one account at one moment. Lines marked Post are public posts we haven't confirmed. Where we say we hold nothing, that is as of 10:57 PM CT (11:57 PM ET) on November 13, 2026.
First queue: 30th Celebration ETB + Booster Bundle 2-Pack
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| 10:19 AM (11:19 ET) | Post: this product would drop that day, with the price and time to be announced and a pre-queue planned. |
| 2:24 PM (3:24 ET) | Post: the queue was up, with a stated drop of 2:42 PM (3:42 ET). |
| 2:26 PM (3:26 ET) | Post: $125.99 for members, with a limit of 1 per membership. |
| 2:33 PM (3:33 ET) | Screen: the countdown page, headed "You’re early!", with "The event will begin at: 12:42 PM PST" and a countdown of 8 minutes 7 seconds. |
| 2:35 PM (3:35 ET) | Screen: "Welcome! You Are Now in The Virtual Queue", before the stated start. A progress bar followed, with no count. |
| 2:36 PM (3:36 ET) | Post: the product was up, six minutes before its stated drop. |
| 2:36 PM (3:36 ET) | Screen: "Members ahead of you: 524825" and "Estimated time to enter: more than an hour". |
| 2:44 PM (3:44 ET) | Post: the product was confirmed in checkout at Costco; readers were asked to report if they got one. |
| 3:14 PM (4:14 ET) | Screen: "Members ahead of you: 469379", and a Costco notice marked "Message last updated: 1:09 PM PST" (3:09 PM CT). The notice wasn't on the earlier screens we have. |
| 3:15 PM (4:15 ET) | Screen: "The event has ended", with a message that the product had sold out. That is one member's screen, not when stock ran out for everyone. |
Costco app, a member's screenshots. Cropped; location, ZIP and queue ID removed.
Second queue: Ascended Heroes Mini Tins Bundle
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| 3:41 PM (4:41 ET) | Post: the queue was up, for an Ascended Heroes Mini Tins Bundle, with a stated drop of 1:52 PM PT, which is 3:52 PM CT (4:52 PM ET). |
| 3:47 PM (4:47 ET) | Post: the product was up, five minutes before the stated drop. |
| 3:54 PM (4:54 ET) | Screen: "Members ahead of you: 488727", "Estimated time to enter: more than an hour" and "Queue last updated: 1:54:37PM PST", two minutes after the stated drop, with a Costco notice marked "Message last updated: 1:53 PM PST" (3:53 PM CT), one minute after it. The screen doesn't name the product; we're going by the member's word that it is this queue. |
| 3:56 PM (4:56 ET) | Post: the Mini Tins were confirmed in checkout at Costco; readers were asked to report if they got one. |
We draw no conclusion about stock from this order of events. We hold no ended or sold-out screen or post for this queue.
Third queue: Perfect Order bundle
Posts named it two ways, a Perfect Order 2-Pack Bundle and a Perfect Order ETB + Booster Bundle. They may be one product.
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| 6:26 PM (7:26 ET) | Post: the queue was up, for a Perfect Order 2-Pack Bundle, with a stated drop of 7:39 PM ET, which is 6:39 PM CT. |
| 6:39 PM (7:39 ET) | Post: a Perfect Order ETB + Booster Bundle was up, at the stated drop time. |
| 8:28 PM (9:28 ET) | Post: a post in a collector community said the Costco drop for the Perfect Order 2-pack had concluded. It didn't say sold out, or when stock ran out. |
We have no Costco screen for this queue, so no screenshot is shown.
What Costco's screens say
- Countdown page, 2:33 PM CT (3:33 PM ET): "You’re early!" and "The queue for this product will begin soon. Please wait for the timer to reach zero, at which time you'll be redirected to the queue. We appreciate your patience and excitement."
- Queue screen, 2:36 PM CT (3:36 PM ET): "You are now in line and will be redirected to our site soon. When it's your turn, you'll have 10 minutes to complete your purchase." and "*Due to high demand and limited quantities, final availability will be confirmed at checkout."
- Queue screen, November 13: "After leaving the waiting room, please avoid using the back button or changing your network connection, and repeat your last action (such as adding to cart) to ensure it processes successfully."
- Costco's notice, seen in two queues: "Stock is running low and may sell out soon. Please stay in the queue if you wish to purchase."
- The ended screen, about 3:15 PM CT (4:15 PM ET): "The event has ended" and "We’re sorry, this product has sold out due to overwhelming demand. We truly appreciate your patience and interest. Please check back for future availability or feel free to continue shopping and discover more items we have to offer."
We have only these screens, so this is all of Costco's advice that we can quote.
What we don't know
- How the order in line is set. Costco's screens don't say. A post in a collector community at 2:33 PM CT (3:33 PM ET) said it is not first-come, first-served and that everyone in the queue when the product goes live is placed in line at random. We haven't confirmed that, and we found no statement from Costco on how places are assigned. We also can't tell whether a count before the stated start was a final place; it was lower on the same account's later screen.
- Whether you need to sign in or be a member to join, and whether this product was members-only online. The screens we have don't say.
- What a 2-Pack holds. We hold nothing that says what is in one, so we don't compare any price here with a printed price.
- The price and limit on Costco's page. We couldn't read Costco's product pages ourselves on November 13, so we haven't confirmed any price or limit from Costco.
- Whether refreshing the page changes your place. Costco's screens say nothing about refreshing.
- When stock ran out for everyone, how many units there were, and whether anyone got through to buy. Costco's screens don't say. Two posts said the first two products were confirmed in checkout, which we haven't confirmed and which is not proof that anyone bought. We hold nothing on how the second queue ended. For the first we know only what one member's screen showed; for the third, a post said it had concluded, which isn't a time that stock ran out.
- Past Costco Pokémon drops, and what non-members pay. We haven't read Costco's own pages on either.
Reports of people holding more than one place
Reported, not confirmed. At least one post in a collector community, seen on November 13, described opening the queue in several private browser windows to hold more than one place, and said that adding more than 1 per membership would likely get an order cancelled. We didn't see anyone do this, we don't know whether it worked, and we haven't read Costco's terms. We think some people used it to get around a reported limit of 1 per membership, and that it made the line longer than the number of people waiting. That is our view, not something Costco's screens show.
What to do next time
- Be on the countdown page early. Posts said two of the three queues were up before the stated drop, and one member was in the first queue before its stated start.
- Expect short notice. Posts came 18, 10 and 13 minutes before the stated drops. Costco's real notice may have been longer or shorter.
- Have what you need ready. Saving your delivery address and payment details first is our suggestion, not Costco's.
- A place in line is not a box. Costco says final availability is confirmed at checkout, and one member's screen went from hundreds of thousands of members ahead to "The event has ended" within about a minute.
Sources: a Costco member's app screens on November 13, 2026 (screens showing 2:33, 2:35, 2:36, 3:14, 3:15 and 3:54 PM CT, which we have), quoted as Costco's words; public posts, dated where used. We didn't read any other Costco page.