The passion of accumulating Pokémon playing cards will be an costly and typically irritating one, however in 2026, it is beginning to really feel more and more harmful, as armed robberies have turn into a worrisome development. On Wednesday, one in every of New York Metropolis’s largest business areas to purchase high-end Pokémon playing cards was robbed at gunpoint, with thieves making off with greater than $100,000 value of money and merchandise.
A trio of armed robbers hit fanatic retailer Poké Courtroom, which homeowners describe as “NYC’s one-stop store for Pokémon TCG and merch,” brandishing weapons and destroying show circumstances. On Wednesday night, police responded to a 911 name for a theft at 412 W thirteenth St,in accordance with particulars shared by legislation enforcement of their ongoing investigation into the Poké Courtroom theft. Upon arrival, officers have been knowledgeable that three unidentified males entered the shop, displayed a firearm, and made verbal threats. The person then eliminated a number of items of merchandise and U.S. forex from the placement, and a cellphone from a 27-year-old feminine. There have been no accidents reported, and no arrests at the moment, and the investigation is ongoing.On Poké Courtroom’s Instagram account, store homeowners shared what was stolen on the retailer’s first-ever group occasion. Objects embody a number of PSA-graded Pokémon buying and selling playing cards, a few of which have been value 1000’s of {dollars}, and irreplaceable mementos, like a fan-made commemorative Poké Courtroom card.
“Sadly, a trio of robbers got here in throughout our high loader adorning evening and began pointing weapons at individuals and began smashing circumstances to steal objects,” Poké Courtroom homeowners mentioned on Instagram. “This passion needs to be a protected and welcoming place and whereas cardboard will be changed, nobody ought to ever must undergo this. We’re so glad our clients are protected and respect the love and assist we’ve gotten from the group.”Safety footage of the theft was shared with New York Fox affiliate Fox 5, which reported on the theft on Thursday.
Robberies involving Pokémon merchandise have turn into an unlucky development as the value of Pokémon playing cards continues to skyrocket. The primary weekend of the New Yr noticed thieves strike on two separate events in Los Angeles, with one robbing a Pokémon buyer for lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} at gunpoint.On Jan. 4, at RWT Collective in West LA, one of many store’s regulars was robbed at gunpoint by two males within the underground car parking zone at evening for his uncommon playing cards. The worth of the playing cards was roughly $300,000.Throughout the identical weekend, burglars broke into Simi Sportscards in Simi Valley and stole Pokémon playing cards as effectively, half of a bigger string of robberies throughout Southern California.
Though the homeowners of RWT Collective say they’ve bolstered safety by putting in surveillance cameras across the store and car parking zone the next Monday, that won’t be sufficient. Poké Courtroom in NYC is within the Meatpacking District, down the block from a large Rolex retailer with safety. It is going to take nothing wanting massive, burly males to make Poké thieves suppose twice. It might bolster card and buyer security, however defending Pokémon playing cards like jewellery or Rolex watches hardly appears like a enjoyable place to go to simply to partake in a passion (for whoever Pokémon TCG is a passion today, and never a supplementary earnings for resellers).Polygon has reached out to Poké Courtroom for an announcement and can replace this story when representatives reply.
