A small, fairly common object present in many homes has gained a lot of value and now attracts burglars.
While the value of certain items is beyond doubt, such as jewelry, technological items, etc., other goods can also be of great value. Certain old objects, for example, can today be resold for very high prices. It is always useful to check the contents of your cupboards because they may contain unsuspected treasures.
Old toys are among those goods that have acquired a certain value to the point of sometimes being resold for hundreds of euros. There is a particular type of game that arouses lust, particularly that of thieves. The latter recently focused their interest on a small flagship object from playgrounds that students have been exchanging for decades now. These are the famous Pokémon cards that have never stopped increasing in value and can now bring in big returns.
As revealed BFMTV, collectors of these cards have been on alert for several months as thefts increase. The media indicates that in January 2024, a Pokémon card collector was attacked and then robbed in Ille-et-Vilaine. The thief would have left with loot worth 100,000 euros. The price of these cards can quickly skyrocket, as François Thierry, collector’s card expert for the Aguttes auction house, explains to BFMTV. According to him, certain old, rare and well-preserved cards can be worth several hundred or even thousands of euros.
Questioned by the media, a collector of these cards explains that the thieves are not necessarily fans themselves, but that they are attracted by the value of these objects. Pokémon cards have several advantages that make them a prime target for burglars. As another expert interviewed by BFMTV explains, the cards “are loot that fits in a shoebox and for which there is no traceability.”
Faced with this risk, the community of Pokémon card collectors is organizing and helping each other. Members now rely on discretion and are sometimes “forced to take enormous precautions” as the owner of a YouTube channel specializing in the Pokémon universe explains to BFMTV. He explains that he is careful never to give out his address and not to have his packages sent from home. He adds that he uses remote monitoring and motion detection devices at his home. Seasoned collectors are also suspicious of newcomers to the community and take care to find out in advance about the identity of an unknown seller or buyer. According to information from BFMTV, there are lists of “safe profiles” that members can consult to ensure the authenticity of a newcomer.