5 days ago
Metro Detroit trading card shop the victim of Pokémon card smash-and-grab
Several trading card stores in Metro Detroit have been burglarized this summer, with thieves stealing thousands of dollars in Pokémon cards.
A trading card store in Clinton Township was the latest victim after its store was broken into Tuesday morning.
When these cards first came out in the 90s, kids could buy them for less than $5. Three decades later, the price of certain cards is going for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Team Rocket wasn't behind this break-in at GreenLight Cards and Collectibles Tuesday morning.
"It was less than $5,000 in product taken. It was mostly singles," said GreenLight Cards and Collectables co-owner Billy Petts.
Petts says thieves aren't stealing Pokémon cards to build competitive decks, but for the chance for a life-altering payday.
"The cards you're seeing that are for $100,000 — these are the ones from 1999 that are low population reports; maybe there are less than 200 in the world that are a grade 10, and they're not bringing those cards back," he said.
A grade is an appraisal of the overall quality of the card, with a 10 being the highest. Petts says this skyrockets a card's value, but it also makes them traceable.
Their break-in marks the fourth Pokémon card heist in metro Detroit since May.
"Just raw, this card is about $900, but graded as a 10, it's around $20,000," said First Edition Finds owner John Gappy about one of his cards.
Gappy says he had $50,000 worth of Pokémon cards stolen in early August from his Sterling Heights store.
To him, it was personal.
"I remember every moment for these. They were just that big of a deal. We pulled a couple of these on Christmas morning when we were kids. They're still some of my earliest memories," he said.
Gappy says the string of break-ins is likely fueled by the price people are willing to pay for some of the rarest cards.
"It is starting to become more of a money situation. I think that's what's bringing in some of these people, realizing there are thousands of dollars in these cards," he says.
If you have any information that could help police find the people behind any of these break-ins, these owners ask that you bring that info to your local law enforcement.
