Opportunistic criminals are systematically intercepting high-value trading cards sent through the post, with small businesses reporting thousands of pounds in losses as the Pokémon card market experiences unprecedented growth. The surge in thefts targeting mail-order sales represents a new frontier in card-related crime, moving beyond traditional shop break-ins to exploit vulnerabilities in the postal system itself.
The Pokémon franchise has evolved dramatically since its Game Boy debut three decades ago, expanding into a global entertainment empire encompassing television series, spin-off games, merchandise, and themed attractions. The trading card game remains central to this success, with billions of cards printed throughout the franchise's history. Demand continues to accelerate, with packs selling out almost immediately upon release, and a thriving secondary market driving prices to extraordinary levels. One card recently fetched £12 million at auction, attracting both serious collectors and profit-seeking speculators into the hobby.
This explosive growth has created what researchers describe as a genuine crime wave. According to Bloomberg reporting in April, the boom in card valuations has sparked organized criminal activity across multiple countries. In the United States, reporting from January identified Pokémon cards as "the hottest thing going for collectors — and criminals," citing numerous robberies and burglaries. The market itself has grown dramatically: CNN reported in April that card values had surged by more than 145% over the previous year, with consumers spending $450 million in January alone.
The shift toward postal theft represents a particularly insidious development for small retailers. Unlike traditional smash-and-grab robberies—such as a Chicago incident in April that resulted in approximately $100,000 in merchandise losses from a card shop—mail interception is difficult to detect and harder to prevent. Criminals view trading cards as attractive targets precisely because they function as what analysts call a "liquid asset": they can be resold quickly through established collector networks without the complications associated with fencing stolen jewellery or electronics.
How are UK retailers being targeted?
Small card-selling businesses across Britain have begun reporting systematic theft from Royal Mail shipments, with evidence suggesting deliberate, coordinated interception rather than random package loss. Ben Thyer, owner of Bath TCG—a specialist trading card retailer in the Bath area—experienced a sudden cluster of thefts that made the criminal intent unmistakable.
"We always get the odd parcel going missing, but because it was sporadic, we put that down to unfortunate incidents," Thyer explains. "Then [in late July], we had a message [from a customer] with pictures of a cut-open envelope, and the cards were missing. Then there was a second, and then a third, and then there were seven – all of them from the same batch shipped on the same day. We asked for images from each person, and every envelope had been Sellotaped … we don't use Sellotape because we have brand new envelopes, and we use our own labels over the seals. It's clear someone had done it deliberately."
The photographic evidence Thyer collected revealed a striking pattern: every intercepted envelope bore identical tampering marks, indicating a single perpetrator or coordinated group targeting shipments with knowledge of which packages contained valuable merchandise. The cards in those particular instances were not especially valuable, yet the reputational damage and security concerns forced Thyer to make a difficult business decision.
Unable to guarantee customer safety or protect his business's reputation, Thyer suspended all online card sales entirely. That decision has cost him between £4,000 and £6,000 in lost revenue—a devastating sum for an independent retailer.
"We've had to close down online card sales, considering the risk of theft and damaged reputation to his business to be too high."The financial impact extends beyond immediate losses; it represents foregone income that could sustain staff wages and inventory investment.
Bath TCG is far from alone in facing this problem. Daniel Stack, director of Mana Rock Games—a specialist retailer of Magic: The Gathering cards, another collectible card game experiencing similar value inflation—has encountered identical circumstances.
"I realised it was theft when two customers in different parts of the country sent me pictures of their packages already open with the contents missing, within minutes of each other," Stack said. "We'd previously had one sent to France turn up the same way a couple of weeks before, but I put it down to the buyer taking a bit of a chance that I'd have no way to hold them to account for pretending there had been an issue. In total we've had about £120-worth stolen so far – we had previously sent over 1,200 orders without any issues."
Stack's experience mirrors Thyer's: a sudden escalation from zero incidents to multiple thefts within a compressed timeframe, suggesting a shift in criminal targeting rather than coincidental package loss. He too halted online sales for a week, forfeiting £500 in revenue. Other sellers operating from the Bath area have reported similar experiences to Stack, indicating a localized crime pattern rather than isolated incidents.
Why are postal sales particularly vulnerable?
The structure of the online card-selling market creates inherent vulnerabilities that criminals are now exploiting systematically. Most UK card retailers rely on online marketplaces to reach customers, but crucially, buyers typically select their own delivery method—and the vast majority choose Royal Mail services. Cards are frequently dispatched in distinctive hard-backed envelopes designed to protect contents during transit, often bearing shop branding through stickers or custom seals. This visibility makes targeted interception straightforward for criminals who have identified which shipments contain high-value merchandise.
The problem extends beyond individual thefts. Retailers cannot easily shift to alternative delivery methods because customers control that choice, and switching to more expensive courier services would make their products uncompetitive. They face an impossible choice: continue offering mail-order sales and accept the risk of systematic theft and customer dissatisfaction, or suspend online operations and lose significant revenue streams.
What is Royal Mail doing about the thefts?
Royal Mail has acknowledged the problem and initiated formal investigations into the reported thefts. A spokesperson told the source publication:
"The safety and security of mail is a top priority and we take any reports of theft very seriously. We investigate concerns thoroughly and take action where necessary, including working with law enforcement."Investigations remain ongoing, but no public timeline for resolution or concrete security improvements has been announced.
The postal service's response comes at a time when Royal Mail faces broader operational challenges. Previous reporting has documented concerns about delivery performance and staff morale, with postal workers reporting pressure to meet targets amid ongoing service delays—issues that may indirectly affect the service's capacity to address security vulnerabilities.
What happens next for the card market?
The situation is poised to worsen significantly. Pokémon's 30th anniversary, marked on 27 February 2026, has already generated renewed collector interest, and a new highly sought-after anniversary card set is scheduled for release this month. Industry observers anticipate a surge in both legitimate demand and scalper activity, which will inevitably attract further criminal attention. Retailers are bracing for increased theft attempts precisely when sales volumes would normally peak.
The Pokémon Company was approached for comment regarding how it plans to address increased demand and the rise in theft-related incidents, but has not yet responded. Without intervention from either the franchise holder or postal authorities, small businesses selling cards online face mounting pressure to choose between accepting uninsurable losses or abandoning a significant revenue channel entirely.
