Gaming community rallies after Pokémon cards swiped from Winnipeg shops

If you’re a child of the 90’s, there is nothing sweeter than the sound of opening a new pack of Pokémon cards, just dreaming of catching them all.

Flash forward to today, the small pieces of cardboard have become far more than just a playing card, with the rarest Pokémon cards going for hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, for a pair of Winnipeg card shops, with the card value at an all-time high, some would be collectors would rather try to steal them all.

“100 per cent I think they were targeting the pokemon cards,” said Curtis Howson, owner of First Row Collectibles, as the game’s popularity is surging. 

“It gives a lot of people new people to connect with when it comes to trading, buying and selling, but at the same time, we are attracting the thieves, scalpers, people just trying to make a quick buck,” 

Last week, Howson awoke Thursday morning to the news that his business on Main Street had been broken into, the thieves making off with more than $5,000 worth of merchandise. 

The store’s large collection of Pokémon cards, clearly a top target.

And while the suspects involved in the break-in at Front Row waited for the cover of darkness to strike, just down the street, Hoovers’ Cards was hit in broad daylight.

“Just blatantly did it during the day,” he said. “During waking hours while we had multiple people in the store.”

The store’s co-owner Tim Hoover says whoever took the cards made off with a pair of valuable cards, a rainbow Pikachu and a Charizard, in near mint condition valued at a total of $650. 

Fortunately, in this case, once the culprit realized the cards were going to be harder to flip, the shop owners received a surprise package Tuesday night delivered by a mysterious woman.

“She’s like: ‘I was paid to drop this off,’ and it was a really sketchy package, but when we opened it, it was our cards,” said Hoover.

Meanwhile back at First Row, while still out thousands of dollars, Howson is grateful to the community for how they have stepped up, with some even stopping by the shop on the day of the break-in to help clean up. 

“People coming down and making purchases and just trying to support and knowing we were hurt by this, so I can’t thank the community enough,” said Howson.