For the card and hobby shops that survived the pandemic, the reinvigorated interest in Pokemon cards has helped grow the industry to incredible heights after the financial lows of COVID-19. But for businesses and traders alike, it comes with an additional cost: security risks.

Pokemon cards have existed for 30 years, and while the brand — by way of the television shows; the trading card game, or TCG; video games; and other merchandise — has maintained a high baseline level of popularity, the TCG in particular has seen an explosive boom in demand since the end of the pandemic. CNN reported in February that since 2004, the market for the most popular Pokemon cards has seen a 6,208% jump in value, and buyers spent $450 million on cards in January alone.

“We have a collection of product that people will ask, ‘How much is that?’ and it’s like $1,000. And you know what? They don’t even flinch,” Anthony “D” Veloz, owner of Parkside store Versus Games, told SFGATE over the phone Tuesday. “We’re not a toy store anymore. We’re not a game store. We’re basically like a luxury Louis Vuitton store.”

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Cards that were perhaps once shiny keepsakes to show off to friends on the playground in the late nineties have become legitimate treasures worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. The classic example is the 1999 first-edition base set Charizard. According to Card Ladder, a site that tracks the trading card market, a virtually flawless copy sold for $462,500 on June 26. But even a version with some minor creases or scratches could sell for over $15,000, as one did on Wednesday.

Pokemon cards on Sept. 27, 1999.

Unfortunately, the bad actors have since followed the hype. Across the world, card shops have been the target of smash-and-grabs, which can mean the difference in a store’s survival with the industry’s thin margins. Back in February, three thieves........

© SFGate