Melbourne Hobby Shops Face Surge in Pokémon Card Thefts

A shattered window, a stolen laptop, and a broken glass shelf that previously held Pokémon cards worth thousands of dollars, now missing.

This was the scene hobby shop owner Alex Balykov walked into last month after burglars targeted his shop in the Melbourne suburb of Hughesdale, just months after it first opened.

According to police, a suspect placed the stolen trading cards in a shopping bag and fled on a "motorbike with no plates".

Speculating on the financial value of Pokémon cards has evolved into a global trend in recent years, and crime associated with the hobby has risen accordingly.

Trading card-related crimes in Victoria rose from just nine burglary, break-and-enter or theft cases at retail stores in 2021 to almost one a week in 2025, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

There were 50 incidents of such crimes last year — an increase of more than 455 per cent in four years.

But Mr Balykov believes the man who targeted his store seemed to have a limited understanding of the trading card market, he said.

"He was pretty much a hand-length away from getting a few thousand dollars' worth of other cards," Mr Balykov said.

"But obviously, the thief wasn't smart enough."

Since the April burglary, Mr Balykov has taken extra precautions to protect his stock from further attacks.

"Everything's now being taken off [display] and locked up," Mr Balykov said.

Pokémon card trading sees explosion of popularity

Since launching in 1996, Pokémon has become the world's highest-grossing media franchise, spanning video games, anime series, movies, merchandise, and trading cards.

Packs of Pokémon cards can be purchased for less than $10, but individual rare cards can be resold for hundreds, thousands or even millions of dollars.

Internet personalities such as Logan Paul fuelled public interest in the hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2026, he sold a Japanese language Pikachu card for US$16.4 million ($22.7 million), making it the most expensive Pokémon card to date.

And the eye-watering value of some cards has put them on the radar of criminals.

Melbourne hobby shops that sell Pokémon cards said they've been forced to spend more on security or to move high-value products during closing hours.

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Hobby shop owner Trent Clarke has also had people try to steal his store's stock of trading cards.

He said the burglaries not only affected the store owners, but also the community that engages in the hobby.

"If somebody comes in here and steals from us, they're not just stealing from myself and my family, they're taking from everybody else who has put their money, belief, trust, time, effort, love, passion into this business as well," Mr Clarke said.

"And then it scales down. Every week, every weeknight, we have 100 plus people in here. We come in and disrupt the flow of that, 100 people get affected, and that's not good. That sucks."

Small business owners suspect they are targeted more frequently than large franchises that stock trading cards, such as EB Games.

"Trading card games, particularly Pokémon, have grown significantly in popularity in recent years, which has increased demand across the industry," EB Games brand director Camilla Hanbury said.

"While incidents reported in the media are concerning, our focus remains on creating a safe and welcoming environment for our teams and customers in every store."

Hobbyist community bands together amid rising crime

Anxiety among hobby shop owners reached a point after a series of attacks in 2025 that they created a group chat to notify each other of robberies and attempts by criminals to resell stolen products.

Owners previously told the ABC they believed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product had been stolen.

Ten incidents have been reported to the group in the past two months.

Mr Clarke said that the camaraderie among him and other card shop owners in Melbourne, whether it's through a group chat or face-to-face contact, had created a support system.

"We have to safeguard ourselves as a community because, for lack of a better term, we're all in the same industry,"

"It's to enjoy and be passionate about the things that happen within these stores."

Mr Balykov said his customers had also shown strong support in the wake of his shop being robbed, including providing spare change to a "window fund" even though he didn't need the extra help.

"Everyone that supported me, I couldn't thank you enough,"

"The community has been more than responsive and more than amazing."