Robbers raid a Pokémon store and steal merchandise worth 100,000 dollars. Pokémon products, especially trading cards, are very popular. One reason why scalpers buy the cards in bulk and resell them at high prices.
What exactly happened? The English-language magazine NBC.com reports of a robbery at a Pokémon store in Manhattan: Three individuals allegedly robbed the store by threatening customers with a gun and smashing the display cases with a hammer, as shown by the New York police and the surveillance video of the incident.
No one was injured in the incident; those present were left shaken. The store owner stated to NBC New York that merchandise worth around 100,000 dollars was stolen. This includes goods, cash, and a staff member’s phone.
Such robberies have occurred more frequently in the USA in the past, reports NBC:
- In Burbank in the Greater Los Angeles Area, thieves broke into a store and stole merchandise worth around 100,000 dollars, including Pokémon cards.
- A group of robbers attacked a customer leaving a card shop in West Los Angeles and stole his Pokémon collection worth around 300,000 dollars.
Pokémon trading cards are being sold at high prices by scalpers
Why are robbers interested in Pokémon cards? Pokémon cards are so sought after by collectors because they combine strong nostalgia, beautiful design, and a playable trading card game. The value of individual cards increases mainly due to rarity, condition, and the popularity of the respective Pokémon.
Other Pokémon merchandise is also highly sought after, sometimes to the extent that scalpers, children, and their parents fight over Pokémon merchandise.
Many trading cards, packs, and other products do not reach players or collectors anymore; instead, they go to so-called scalpers. These buy trading cards in large quantities to resell them at exorbitant prices.
Some individual cards are sold for thousands of euros, and unopened boxes go over the counter for hundreds of euros. The robbers presumably expect to make a large profit when they resell the stolen goods later. Some dealers have now decided to stop selling cards because they are afraid of their customers.
This also shows how complicated the situation has become around such Pokémon products.
One example shows particularly well how extreme scalpers can act when it comes to Pokémon trading cards: In August, the McDonald’s chain in Japan offered a special promotion. Each Happy Meal included a promo card pack.
However, scalpers shamelessly exploited this promotion. The food ended up in the street and in the trash, while the cards were sold again at a high price. It went so far that even McDonald’s had to react: Pokémon fans are so crazy about a Happy Meal that McDonald’s enforces drastic measures.
