Pokémon cards have been stolen by the thief: "They should handle it like jewelry stores"

If you have old Pokémon cards featuring Pikachu or other figures from the Japanese Pokémon universe gathering dust on your attic, you might want to check them out.

The cards are once again in a period where they are skyrocketing in value and can be quite a lot of money if you have the right ones.

It can be noticed in several stores, which recently have had burglaries targeting the colorful comic cards. The latest was in Aarup on Funen, where a Book and Ide store unexpectedly had a visit.

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> People see it as easy money

> Alexander Valeur, Pokémon enthusiast

First, they tried to force their way in through a back door, but ended up smashing a glass door in the entrance.

- They took a small bag of change and all the Pokémon cards we had, says store owner Pernille Schreiner in P1 Morgen.

The value lost by the store is still not determined. Pernille Schreiner also has a store in Odense, which was also targeted by a similar burglary over the weekend. The same thing happened in Middelfart's Book and Ide the night before Monday, where the owner Jesper Bendix tells that in addition to a few PH lamps, Pokémon cards worth 12,000 kroner in sales price were stolen.

The value of the cards can quickly exceed the price, if the thieves are "lucky". That explains Alexander Valeur, who is a Pokémon enthusiast and works with selling the very cards in his own store.

- If they open a package and find the right and rare one and send it for appraisal, it can run up to 20,000 to 30,000 kroner for a single card, he says.

Alexander Valeur has his own store, where he sells Pokémon cards. (Photo: © Private photo)

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Value doubled in a few months

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The Japanese comic universe has been popular since it was created in the mid-1990s, with TV series, films, countless video games, and collector cards.

The value of the rarest cards of the kind has several times reached a new high. This happens about every five years, when interest increases, tells Alexander Valeur.

And right now we are in such a period. In addition to the Funen stores, it has also been noticed in several other stores here at home since the summer, as TV 2 has described. ( https://nyheder.tv2.dk/krimi/2025-10-08-endnu-en-butik-ramt-af-pokemon-indbrud )

And the significantly increasing value is also something that Alexander Valeur can feel.

- I have a hard time getting stock in because so many are hoarding their cards, as they can see that they are becoming much more valuable if they wait a few months to sell, he says and gives an example:

- A special set of Pokémon cards cost a few months ago around 500 kroner in stores. Now it costs a thousand.

Here is the card set that has doubled in value in a few months. (Photo: © Alexander Valeur)

According to analysis company Card Latter, which collects information on sales prices for various types of collector cards, the value of Pokémon cards has generally increased by over 3,000 percent since 2004. This is written in The Wall Street Journal. ( https://www.wsj.com/finance/pokemon-cards-investment-0163e058?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink )

Alexander Valeur is also involved in organizing PokéKon, where fans meet for among other things to exchange collector cards.

He is angry that price explosions are making it harder to get a hold of for example children. That happens because some see the cards as an investment that should give returns, rather than a hobby.

- People see it as easy money, but it becomes inaccessible if it becomes too expensive, he says and tells that he has even experienced that some offer to trade cards with Rolex watches or cryptocurrency at Pokémon events like the ones he is involved in organizing.

Pokémon was created in 1996 in Japan and is still very popular. It was seen earlier this year, where people queued up at McDonald's, after they had put collector cards in their Happy Meals. (Archive photo). (Photo: © Richard A. Brooks, AFP/Ritzau Scanpix) Read also: McDonald's in Japan must apologize after campaign ended with a rush ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/mcdonalds-i-japan-maa-undskylde-efter-kampagne-endte-med-hamstring )

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Store owners will ensure better security

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After the many burglaries, more store owners in Book and Ide are considering better securing the collector cards.

This is told by the director of the company behind Book and Ide, Marianne Lyngby Pedersen, in a message to DR News. They are experimenting among other things with placing empty packaging on shelves, where customers can pick up the cards when they come to the cashier.

- Many owners are considering placing dummies out, so the theft can be reduced. We hope generally that the police will make an extra effort, after the black market with Pokémon has grown, she writes in the message.

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> Such burglaries, as we had the night before Monday with professional thieves, are not something we can guard against

> Jesper Bendix, owner of Book and Ide in Middelfart

Jesper Bendix, who owns the store in Middelfart, has already taken the necessary precautions, by having the cards placed behind the counter in the store, so that visitors with long fingers during opening hours cannot slip them away.

- Such burglaries, as we had the night before Monday with professional thieves, are not something we can guard against, he says.

Not only the cards are popular. In the Pokémon universe, an annual world championship is held in video games with Pokémon. Here are the winners from this year, who were crowned in August in California. (Photo: © Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Ritzau Scanpix)

Also Pokémon enthusiast Alexander Valeur has experienced burglaries. About four and a half years ago, thieves forced their way into his store, Hanada Cards in Helsingør, after closing time.

- I was robbed of more than a million kroner, he says.

In his store, he has installed grilles, alarm systems, and surveillance cameras and recommends that dealers of Pokémon cards, such as Book and Ide, do more to take care of their merchandise.

- They are forced to deal with it, just like if it were jewelry stores or watch stores. There should be grilles and steel plates on doors and the whole layout, says Alexander Valeur.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.