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It seems Team Rocket may be on the prowl in South Florida after unidentified thieves allegedly stole a man’s Pokémon card collection.
Tim Nguyen and his friend Ishaan were attending the Card Party 4 convention in Fort Lauderdale last month when someone allegedly broke into Ishaan’s car and stole a collection worth about $20,000, according to a GoFundMe.com campaign set up by Nguyen. And before you use moves like Mean Look or Taunt against someone for spending so much on trading cards, those in the know will tell you that Pokémon cards have long been a safer investment than some of the fastest-climbing stocks on the market.
Some traders have very specific collections — only cute Pokémon, cards with food in the photo, pink Pokémon — and no niche is too weird in this community. The collection Ishaan lost was his Pokédex binder, a common goal for those in the fandom that consists of every 1,025 Pokémon in existence when complete. While the full collection at its cheapest goes for $1,200 to $2,400 on eBay, the inclusion of rare cards can easily raise the price by thousands per card.
Nguyen launched the GoFundMe campaign for his friend, saying he’d spent countless hours at card shows over the past year building a collection “he poured his heart into.”
“Seeing it all taken from him in a single moment has been devastating,” Nguyen wrote. “He is contemplating of [sic] getting out of the hobby which I couldn’t imagine. A part of him would be missing. His Pokédex binder was valued at approximately $20,000, but its sentimental value was much greater. It represented hundreds of hours of effort, new friendships made, and experiences that can’t be replaced.”
Nguyen’s campaign page also states that Ishaan reached out to fellow fans and law enforcement for help. “The Pokémon community has been incredibly supportive, helping spread the word and reaching out to local card shops in hopes of recovering the binder,” Nguyen continued. Ishaan also filed a police report with Broward County law enforcement. We are losing hope that his binder and cards will not be found or returned.”
At press time, the fundraiser had raised $1,655 from 20 donations ranging from $10 to $500.
Nguyen declined New Times’ request for comment via a GoFundMe rep.
