Summary
- Pokemon TCG cards are a hot target for thieves due to their high value, making sellers and collectors vulnerable.
- A small business suffered a $1.2 million loss after two brazen heists targeting their Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic cards.
- Pokemon TCG cards lack individual identification, posing challenges in recovering stolen cards and proving ownership.
A business owner has revealed that their warehouse saw over a million dollars worth of Pokemon TCG cards stolen in two brazen heists. The loss is monumental for the business, and highlights a continuing problem in the Pokemon TCG community.
Unfortunately, crime can strike wherever there's an opportunity to make money, and Pokemon TCG cards have been a big target as of late. News recently broke of a mid-day robbery at a game store that ended with an employee being assaulted, all for the sake of stealing three Pokemon TCG cards. Thankfully, this new story doesn't end with anyone getting physically hurt, but it did incur a much more serious financial loss.
The crime transpired in Newton Aycliffe, England, at a warehouse for a shop called Total Cards. The owner, Adrian Marsden, says that on June 14 of 2023, the store's warehouse was broken into, and Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering trading cards were stolen from the inventory. The crime was reported and the hole that the burglars created to break in was patched up. However, this was only a prelude, as the thieves returned, apparently having decided that it was worth going again.
Pokemon TCG Thieves Return
The second theft was on June 23, and the perps seemed emboldened from their last break-in. This time after entering, the thieves immediately redirected the security cameras to avoid identification. They were reportedly in the building for 45 minutes, and carried out a large amount of merchandise to a waiting van. After the store owners returned, it became clear that the stock had been "wiped out" and that Pokemon cards had been the main focus. All totaled, Marsden believes the loss to be a million pounds, or approximately $1.2 million USD in stolen Pokemon TCG cards.
This has been a huge loss for the small business and, unfortunately, doesn't have a happy ending. While insurance was able to reimburse a large portion of the Pokemon TCG financial loss, the thieves weren't caught and the case was ultimately closed by the police. It's sadly likely that those cards are long gone, having been sold off and redistributed, potentially to countless new owners who don't know they're holding stolen merchandise.
Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem for Pokemon TCG sellers and collectors. Some Pokemon cards are ludicrously valuable, making them a big target, and they lack any form of individual identification. Even if a card were recovered, there'd be no surefire way of proving that it belonged to one person in particular, unless they had defaced the card with a personal marker. From big box stores to small business to individual collectors and sellers, selling Pokemon TCG cards seems to be risky business that can attract the worst kind of attention.
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Original Release Date
- October 20, 1996
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo's Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info