Pokemon Collectors go gangsta!
ndleo
Posts: 4,236 ✭✭✭✭✭
A shop in Burbank was hit in a huge Pokemon robbery. This is at least 3rd store robbery in Burbank since the boom a few years ago. It seems that all of the recent card shop/dealer robberies in SoCal have been Pokemon related. I have some thoughts on why this is happening in the area but I'll keep them to myself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXzz2gAB-WwMike
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I am honestly surprised that card/coin shops are not hit up more often. they are liquid assets that are easily sold by theives i would imagine. graded cards/coins are easily cracked out and either sold raw or resubbed.
it is a shame this happens
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Please give your thoughts as this is what a message board is for. To express opinions and discuss events in our hobby. One of my daughters lives in Burbank- she works for Disney animation which is in Burbank so I'm very interested in your comments.
2 Cape Cod MASS. shops were robbed of Pokemon about a week or 2 ago. Both robbed within about a week I believe.
Yankees70 - I don't think your daughter has anything to worry about. Burbank is a very safe city with their own police dept as you know.
I've seen a rougher element at shows surrounding the Pokemon tables. At local Targets, they have to have security to bring out the new Pokemon boxes. I'm amazed how much more shady stuff is happening in that market. Theft is out of control.
Also, really nice for the local news to tell every gang banger in the Valley that our stuff is UNTRACEABLE!
Locally:
I imagine being a brick & mortar dealer is hard enough as it is, but having to worry about people thinking of creative ways of breaking in and stealing invetory takes it to another level. In the latter dealer's case, his focus is moving product quickly, so he gets in and out of new releases and then will reload when he runs low or runs out. The TCG stuff is so hot that he usually sells out quick, so he stays lean on inventory in the store. When he's had the break-ins, he hasn't been hurt too bad on theft, but it's still a violation and costly to have to repair damage.
As a resident and homeowner in a nearby community, I can tell you all that Pokemon cards are not our only concern these days. There have been numerous break-ins and robberies committed to homes and businesses throughout the SFV. The law enforcement can't keep up, but somehow manage to at least gain access to information from witnesses and footage provided with cameras to watch the habits and methods of the perps. It's rewarding emotionally to see when they actually catch a band of thieves, but it seems like for every feel good story we see in the news, there are several more sad ones.
"Collectors" .....
Years ago, I lived above a gaming store that had a lot of Pokémon products. There were at least 5 late-night attempts to rob it that I can remember. One of the instances, I heard a loud bang, I ended up going outside to see what it was, and these two guys in ski masks were outside. They heard me coming out, so they ran to their getaway and sped off. In hindsight, it was probably not the brightest move on my part to walk out into that.
Absolutely disgusting behavior. I bet if the minimum penalty for doing something like this was 5 years in prison the number of these type of incidents would drastically decrease. Breaking into one's home or business and stealing items is one of the lowest forms of non-violent criminal behavior I can think of.
When I was 18 some lowlifes broke into my parents home and stole a bunch of items. Nothing worth much in monetary value but they took jewelry from my mom that was worth less than $100 but was priceless to my mom as it was a gift to her from her deceased father when she graduated high school.
If the Pokémon mafia finds you, they’ll chop off your picachu.
Let's face it. We ain't street like the Pokemon crowd. We soft.
I think/hope it's a lot harder to get away with reselling this loot than people think. With high profile items taken as per the news story, it should be easy to trace back whoever owned it when it resurfaces. They may not get caught today or tomorrow but they will eventually get caught.
Time for dealers to consider putting Air Tags on/inside extremely valuable items and inside the safe. I'd like to think that is already a method being used regularly.
It's one thing to steal from a bank. Yeah, that it has money but someone's livelihood is another matter. Should be stiffer penalties.
Another heist from this past Thursday. Sheesh. 🙄
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/losangeles/news/thieves-tunnel-woodland-hills-sports-memorabilia-shop-steal-merchandise/
Amazing. This is almost exactly what happened to the shop here, except here, the storefront they broke into before going through the wall was vacant. This also sucks for the restaurant - they have to deal with replacing the broken glass. Two businesses were violated in this one.
Just awful. In this heist, one of the perps left DNA behind. Hope they get caught.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball cards
also collecting US & Canadian silver coins