Thieves steal rare Pokémon cards in string of break-ins at Edmonton collectible shops

Edmonton collectible shops have been hit by a string of robberies, with thieves making off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Edmonton police are investigating break-ins at 11 gaming and collectible trading card shops since September, as the prices for rare trading cards like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering rise.

CityNews spoke to the owners of three of those stores.

Cerberus Gaming

First there was the break-in at Cerberus Gaming on Oct. 20.

Surveillance video shared with CityNews shows two masked thieves breaking in the front door, climbing over fencing and counters, and filling duffle bags with merchandise – all in about three minutes.

The robbers made off with at least $20,000 worth of goods.

“It’s violating. It’s very violating,” said co-owner Darcy Gouldie. “I try not to get too upset about it, because, I mean, this stuff happens unfortunately, but the only thing we can keep doing is keep moving forward and hope that police catch them.”

Red Claw Gaming

Three weeks later, on Nov. 9, Red Claw Gaming was the target of a break-in – after an unsuccessful attempt by thieves about a week before. This time, they took about $8,000 worth of Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards and sets.

It’s devastating for owner David Bibby, who opened his shop just a few years ago with the goal of building a community for collectors.

“I’ve invested my time and my savings from being in the military to create this, which, for the most part, has been an incredibly positive journey,” Bibby said. “But then you get someone who breaks in to steal stuff from you, and it’s like, I’m not Walmart; all of this is coming out of my pocket. It’s very frustrating and it’s very annoying. You feel taken advantage of, really.

“I try and pay my employees a living wage, that’s where that money is going.”

Teaspot and ENV Collectibles

Days after that, on Nov. 11, Teaspot and ENV Collectibles was hit. The break-in there cost about $40,000, including damage to the shop.

“We came in and noticed there was glass pieces everywhere,” said owner Elisa Huang. “And then we walked over to our collectibles side, noticed all our display got shattered.”

Surveillance showed two masked men wearing hoodies taking items from the display and putting them into duffle bags.

All the store’s most valuable items were taken, as thieves made off with binders full of rare Pokémon and One Piece cards – some worth $1,500 each.

The cards, Huang explains, are not only expensive but hard to find.

“It took us about two to three years to collect some of these cards, to be put on the shelves here,” she told CityNews. “So it’s unfortunate things that this happened, and we’re just hoping that we can recover it, or hopefully these thieves stop going around stores and doing that to everybody else.”

Owners are now increasing security and calling for the public to be vigilant when buying collectibles.

“Someone who doesn’t seem like he plays the game suddenly has a whole bunch of cards, maybe you should ask some questions or buy from a store as opposed to an individual,” Bibby said.

‘Not like you’re stealing the Mona Lisa’

Dan Jones, an Edmonton police officer turned criminologist, says shops selling Pokémon and other high-value trading cards are an attractive target for criminals.

Calling it a “very smart crime,” Jones says thieves have the potential to make a lot of money quickly while risking relatively low prison sentences if caught.

“It’s not like you’re stealing the Mona Lisa or the diamonds from the Louvre where they’re gonna send a team after you,” said Jones, a criminologist at NorQuest College. “There, you’re stealing Pokémon cards. Yeah, they’re expensive, they’re valuable, but they’re untraceable and not a top priority, I would suggest, for most law enforcement agencies.”

Jones says the surveillance footage suggests the thieves knew where they were going and likely had been in the stores before.

He recommends the shop owners store their most valuable items in safes that can’t be moved overnight.