Two men have been charged in connection with a string of collectible card thefts in Melbourne over the last few months, with police seizing AUD $50,000 worth of goods in this investigation. Via ABC News, after executing search warrants, a range of collectible cards were recovered, including Pokemon, Disney Lorcana, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball Z, and AFL and NBA cards, as well as firearms, car keys, ammunition, and more.
Notably, a range of popular collectible stores in Melbourne have been robbed in recent weeks, with Cherry Collectibles, Good Games Greensborough, Sunshine Collectibles, and more, all reporting theft and vandalism on their social media pages. Many shared very similar stories: that vandals had targeted their collectible card displays.
As for why, unfortunately, that’s down to the ever-growing TCG reseller market. Over the last few years – driven by the isolation of the pandemic – more and more folks have adopted playing and collecting TCGs as a hobby. While trading cards have always been popular, they have experienced a spike in interest in recent years, and as a result, the market for rare or coveted cards has grown.
Many trading card games, including Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering, will occasionally include rarer cards in individual packs, with these marked out by shiny art, full card artwork, more powerful abilities, or sometimes, individual numbers. These can typically be resold for a higher price immediately – usually for upwards of AUD $200-500.
Read: Getting into Magic: The Gathering as an adult has reshaped my brain
With collectible cards being a core passion for many, these cards are easily sold on for a higher price. As an added bonus, these are goods that are hard to trace. Collectible card packs are not unique, and they typically share the same (or similar) SKUs. Once you open a pocket, it’s pretty much impossible to trace cards inside, due to their randomised nature.
One trading card sold online can’t be easily differentiated from another, so the likelihood of stolen cards being traced back to their original source is pretty much nil. That’s likely the reason we’ve seen a rise in trading card thefts in recent years, and perhaps what may have motivated the recent string of crimes across Melbourne.
Whatever the case, Victoria Police believes it has now tracked down the individuals allegedly responsible for these recent hits on Melbourne collectible stores, hopefully putting an end to the wave of thefts. As reported by the ABC, two men have been remanded and are set to appear at the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court later this year.
“We are confident that we have apprehended the main offenders who were sharing their criminal trade craft with lesser offenders,” Detective Inspector Patrick Watkinson said.
We expect to hear more about this investigation in the coming months.
