While the Pokémon franchise has existed for nearly 30 years, interest in the trading cards has grown significantly recently — and it’s brought on a wave of crimes.

In Cassar’s western Sydney home, the walls of his living room are lined with unopened Pokémon card boxes, carefully preserved in perspex display boxes.

Andrew Cassar has been collecting Pokémon cards since 2022. Source: SBS

He points to a collection of four boxes — unopened Japanese-made sets displaying the Pokémon character Eevee, each worth about $2,500.

While he treasures these objects, Cassar is aware of the risks of having a collection as valuable as this in his home.

Pokémon card crimes

The meteoric rise in popularity of Pokémon cards in recent years has led to a spate of crimes in Australia.

Interest in Pokémon card collecting increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: SBS

In February, Victoria Police arrested four people who were charged with burglaries at collectible cards stores and stealing cryptocurrency ATMs across Melbourne’s north-west.

Two men were charged as the primary alleged offenders in the organised crime syndicate.

The card, which was believed to be worth more than $8,000, was retrieved, but police are continuing their investigation.

“A lot of people are actually very disturbed by it,” he told The Feed.

Andrew Cassar believes he’s accidentally bought packets of Pokémon cards that have been tampered with. Source: SBS

“And the community is completely against acts like this.”

“I would usually tell everyone to meet at a public location, for example, like a coffee shop or a shopping centre, where there’s people around and where there’s also cameras as well,” he says.

‘Wild’ profits from investing in cards

However, the recent resurgence in interest in Pokémon trading cards traces back to COVID-19 lockdowns.

David Rong is a passionate collector of Pokémon cards and says the community has been ‘disturbed’ by a recent wave of crimes. Source: SBS

In 2021, Texas-based auction house Heritage Auctions reported a mint-condition card of the character Charizard had sold for over $463,000. In 2019 similar Charizard cards were listed for $24,700.

Online celebrities such as YouTuber and professional wrestler Logan Paul and US DJ Steve Aoki have fuelled interest in Pokémon card trading by documenting their own obsessions with the hobby.

While the price of Pokémon card packs varies, a standard pack of 250 assorted cards currently costs around $20.

“When you look at the data behind it, unless you have Pokémon come out and be able to print a couple billion cards more than what they’ve been printing so far, it’s going to be very hard to see how prices come down.”

Losing the spirit of the hobby

Rong says he has seen collectors leaving the hobby entirely because others have ruined the enjoyment of Pokémon cards.

Some Pokémon cards can sell for millions of dollars but Pokémon card seller David Rong encourages collectors to buy cards that are within their means. Source: SBS

“When there’s not enough supply in the market but a very a high demand for Pokémon cards, you don’t have that equilibrium anymore,” he said.

“Don’t think about what everyone is showing on social media — don’t think about what Logan Paul is doing.”