In one of New York’s destination shopping areas, where each block is lined with high-end boutiques and exclusive clubs, robbers this week targeted a far more unassuming store: a Pokémon card shop.
Three men burst into the shop, Poké Court, a new addition to West 13th Street in Lower Manhattan, around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday and stole at least $110,000 worth of Pokémon cards, store managers said.
As the men entered the store, one immediately pulled out a gun and pointed it at customers and workers, said Courtney Chin, the owner of the store.
Another closed a curtain at the front of the store and guarded the door to prevent people from leaving, she said. No one was hurt.
Security footage shows two of the men approaching a display case and smashing it with a hammer before stuffing handfuls of Pokémon cards and packs into their backpacks.
The store typically keeps its most valuable products locked in the case, Ms. Chin said.
“They started systemically taking the items that had really large price tags, really high values,” including a professionally authenticated, first-edition card depicting the orange, dragon-like creature Charizard that is worth about $15,000, Ms. Chin said.
The products in the display case were priced from $400 to $18,000, said Peter Du, the store’s partnerships manager.
The men, who were dressed in black, also took an unknown amount of money from the cash register, Ms. Chin said. The entire robbery unfolded in about three minutes, she said.
The men made verbal threats and stole a phone from a 27-year-old woman, the police said. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is continuing, the police said.
The robbery happened during the Poké Court’s first community event since it opened in November. About 50 people were gathered for a free arts-and-crafts workshop to customize plastic display cases for Pokémon cards.
Ms. Chin was shocked that the store had been targeted the night of the event.
“It’s a beautiful place,” she said. “It’s a community space, and we obviously want to keep it safe and bright and cozy and welcoming.”
There was a heightened security presence in the store on Thursday, including four New York police officers outside. A handful of signs posted on the broken display case advised people not to touch the glass.
Keem Kim, a content creator who has supported the Poké Court since Ms. Chin started it from her spare bedroom in late 2023, said his “heart sank” when he heard about the robbery.
His first instinct on Thursday was to visit the store.
“There’s a whole table in the back of snacks and goodies that people sent, and that’s so special,” Mr. Kim said, sitting at a table at the Poké Court. “That is what the hobby and community should be about — people looking out for each other.”
Pokémon, short for pocket monsters, first became popular in the 1990s, when they were released as a video game and then as trading cards in Japan. The creatures live in a fantasy world alongside humans and have cultivated a fierce fandom.
The robbery was the latest in a string of Pokémon thefts at trading card shops across the country.
At least $300,000 worth of Pokémon cards were stolen this month from a shop in California. A burglar stole more than $100,000 worth of rare Pokémon cards and box sets from a Massachusetts shop in July.
“It’s something that all the card shops are wrestling with,” Mr. Du said, adding that some stores had embraced an appointment-only approach for card shopping or had limited the number of high-value cards on display.
When merchandise is stolen from small, local stores, it can be “back breaking” because a significant portion of their sales typically comes from single cards, said Corey Williams, an assistant professor of economics at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania who has researched the trading card industry.
The pandemic allowed many people to rediscover Pokémon when they had an excess of money and time, which fueled a cultural resurgence, Dr. Williams said. But some saw valuable Pokémon cards as low-entry-point investments.
It’s easier to speculate on which trading cards will go up in value than it is with a stock or bond, and certain influencers have advertised their financial stakes in expensive Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, Dr. Williams said.
“The parent companies of these games are making very conscious decisions, as well, to artificially increase the rarity of certain variations of cards, including Pokémon,” he said. “In doing so, they artificially inflate the price.”
For Syed Rezwi, an online creator and a longtime supporter of the Poké Court, there aren’t enough high-value cards to satisfy demand among players, collectors and investors.
Knowing Pokémon cards can provide a way “to make a quick buck” has made thefts more common, he said.
“That’s the terrifying part about this,” Mr. Rezwi said. “A lot comes back to there’s too much talk of the monetary value behind these things, rather than the play.”
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
The post At Least $110,000 in Pokémon Cards Stolen From Lower Manhattan Store appeared first on New York Times.
