First it was Austin, then North Texas and now San Antonio; this summer all three cities were hit by burglars on an apparent mission to steal Pokémon cards and other valuable trading cards.
In July, Austin police responded to at least two gaming store break-ins. Two different store owners told local KVUE reporters they were each out several thousands of dollars after they say thieves took high-value products including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and One Piece cards. In early August, someone was caught on video breaking into a stash of valuable trading cards inside a family business in North Texas. Store owners told CBS News Texas the thieves went straight for a stash of, again, Pokémon cards. This past weekend, the pot got bigger in San Antonio, where thieves took around $15,000 worth of Pokémon cards.
These were all similar crimes, but there’s currently “no evidence they’re part of a bigger crime ring,” Captain Ryan Coe from the Keller Police Department told The Barbed Wire by phone on Wednesday afternoon. Immediately after the North Texas theft, Coe says he reached out to several neighboring departments in the metroplex and none reported similar thefts, but some gaming store owners don’t buy it.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, there’s clearly some level of organization,” Chad Koss, COO of Space Goblin Collectibles, told The Barbed Wire. His shop in Austin was broken into in May but it didn’t make local TV news. He said thieves also targeted his One Piece, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh stash.
Koss said across the state, game store owners are communicating internally about the recent thefts. He said it’s gotten to the point where they feel the need to take the investigations “into their own hands,” and suggested starting a “statewide level task force.”
Alex Glowacki, a partner at Space Goblin Collectibles, blames “commercialization of the nerds” for the increase in popularity and subsequently the value. He shared examples like Post Malone revealing his love for Magic trading cards and says people have realized there’s a lot of money in the industry. And some people may have caught on quickly, Austin Police says gaming store burglaries seem to happen in waves when suspects know what kind of shipments come in, how to “offload the stolen product to the right buyer to maximize the profits,” and also follow time frames around events like ComicCon.
Koss says his biggest question is where the cards are going. He says most valuable cards have traceable serial numbers, and with gaming store owners on the lookout for fakes and stolen cards, it’s a mystery where they all are.
Keller Police said they simply need more evidence for a task force. From there, a crime analyst would coordinate with regional intel units to see the best path forward, but right now, at least in North Texas, there’s no one in custody and it’s an open investigation. It’s a similar story for San Antonio Police, officers told The Barbed Wire. The latest theft is in the hands of their Property Crimes Task Force and also an open investigation with no suspects. In Austin, their investigations are also open, but public information officers do point out that “in general game stores are not targeted more than any other businesses, in fact, it’s a much lower rate than other businesses like liquor stores.”
Still, gaming store owners are frustrated.
“Nerds were always picked on in high school and it’s come full circle,” Glowacki told The Barbed Wire. He says it is refreshing, however, to see his community support and raise money for their small business including donating their own valuable trading cards and raising money for repairs.
“Nerds are looked at as easy targets in general and they happen to be neurodivergent — we tend to be targets for crimes,” Koss said. “We were always treated as others and outsiders as children and (trading cards and games) helped us find ways to connect with other people and it led to friendships and community.”
So while police keep trying to track down the people responsible for the thefts, game store owners say they’re trying to protect themselves from the business bullies as best they can.
