Latest news with #1stEditionCollectibles
USA Today
9 hours ago
- USA Today
$113K Pokémon heist: Rare collector cards stolen in local overnight break-in
Police are investigating the recent theft of 'high-value collectible items' from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The items, which are reported to be Pokémon cards, are estimated by the shop owner to be worth $113,000. The business owner stated that sometime after 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, someone broke in and stole the high-value items, said Holly Huntoon, a New Bedford Police Department media relations specialist. Huntoon said the incident remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made at this time. The shop is owned by three men — William, Filipe and Sean — and has been in business in the New Bedford downtown area in Bristol County for more than four years. William, who asked that their last names not be used, said the collectibles were worth over six figures. He also said police had the surveillance photos from the robbery, and that changes are being made to the location since the break-in. According to the shop's Facebook page, the business will be closed until Friday, July 18. 'We just want to revamp security measures.' William added, 'It was probably the worst news I ever woke up to in my life. It was really bad.' The cards that were stolen were some of the rarest cards out there, he said. One item was an original box set from 1999, and another from 2000, ranging from $25,000 to $30,000 in value. 'They definitely knew what they were doing. It had to be planned. They were in and out in like 20 seconds,' William added. 'The big thing is the more eyes out there, the better.' Their social media post on the robbery has over 250,000 views, he said. 'There's not many places to bring these cards for sale. It's a pretty tight community, so the more people, the more shops that know about it the better.' The following items were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles: For now, the business is thankful for the concern from local residents as police continue the investigation. 'We appreciate the community support we've received; it truly means so much to us to see you all come together to spread awareness and keep an eye out for the stolen items.' Follow 1st Edition Collectibles on Facebook or @1steditioncollectibles on Instagram to stay up to date with the story.
Observer
17 hours ago
- Observer
Rare Pokémon Cards Worth More Than $100,000 Stolen From Shop
More than $100,000 worth of rare, high-end Pokémon cards and box sets were stolen from a Massachusetts shop that specializes in trading cards and collectibles, an owner of the store said. A burglar used a hammer to smash open the door of the shop, 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Massachusetts, around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Once inside, the thief dashed to a display case and stashed the Pokémon collectibles in a bag before taking off, according to William Gilmour, one of the store's three owners. He said that the stolen items, which included five rare cards and some vintage box sets, were valued at $100,000 to $113,000. 'They were in and out of our store within 30 seconds,' Gilmour said Sunday about the burglar. 'They went straight to these high-value items.' The stolen cards included a BGS 8.5 First Edition Shadowless Charizard and a BGS 7.5 First Edition Shadowless Blastoise. (BGS stands for Beckett Grading Services, a company that grades collectibles and trading cards.) The sealed boxes included a Pokémon base set Unlimited Green Wing Booster Box. Gilmour said that a booster box contains 36 packs of original cards. 'They are really rare because how many sealed boxes are still there from 1999 to 2000?' Gilmour said. The shop, which sells Pokémon items, sports trading cards and vintage video games, is in downtown New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston. 'We are small but mighty,' Gilmour said of the store, adding that he opened the shop with his childhood buddies 'for the love of the city and the love of the hobby.' Holly Huntoon, a spokesperson for the New Bedford Police Department, said that the break-in remained under investigation and that no arrests had been made. On Facebook, the store's owners posted a surveillance video image of the burglary and a list highlighting the stolen items to raise public awareness. Pokémon, short for pocket monsters, first became popular in the 1990s, when they were rolled out in Japan as a video game and then as trading cards that introduced a collection of creatures who live in a fantasy world alongside humans. The monsters, who are more cute than scary — think of the yellow, mouselike Pikachu, which has a lightning-bolt shaped tail and can discharge electricity from its red cheeks when angered — have cultivated a fierce following among fans and collectors. Pokémon have appeared over the years in many commercial forms, including as figurines and in animated series, films and video and smartphone games. Followers enjoy collecting the characters through various games. 'They hit the marketing nail on the head with the 'Gotta catch 'em all' catch line,' Gilmour said, explaining Pokemon's enduring popularity. —NYT
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Nearly $115,000 in rare Pokemon cards stolen from Mass. collectibles store
Nearly $115,000 in rare Pokemon cards were stolen from a New Bedford collectibles shop early Tuesday morning, according to one of the store's co-owners. Around 2:30 a.m. on July 8, a man smashed two glass doors to get into 1st Edition Collectibles on Purchase Street, co-owner Filipe Andre said Thursday afternoon. The thief quickly stole two vintage Pokemon card booster boxes, five Charizard cards and one Blastoise card from the store's display cabinet — all of which are individually worth thousands of dollars. The shop has closed in the wake of the theft as Andre and the store's two other co-owners figure out how to move forward. This is the first time they've experienced something like this, and because the store can only be accessed from inside a multi-unit building with its own security measures, they never expected it, the 32-year-old said. 'We just kinda lulled ourselves into a false sense of security that way,' Andre said. 'We have no choice at this point but to kinda take it on the chin and tighten up our security in-store and go from there.' New Bedford police are investigating the theft, but no arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon, the police department said in an email. The thief broke in through the building's courtyard instead of the front door, indicating familiarity with its layout, as well as the store's entrances, Andre said. Furthermore, the fact that the thief stole classic, popular Pokemon cards indicates that he's knowledgeable about this type of collectible, the store owner said. Because of this, Andre strongly suspects the thief is someone who has visited the shop many times, though neither he nor its other co-owners recognized the man caught on the store's security cameras. 'It was very targeted. They were in and out within 20 seconds,' he said. ' ... They were very selective about what they took, and they knew exactly where everything was.' Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. Nearly $115,000 worth of collectible Pokemon cards were stolen from 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford on July 8. But even if the thief is a Pokemon card collector, Andre thinks the thief stole the cards intending to sell them — not keep them for himself, he said. Charizard cards are typically the most popular and valuable, and most of the stolen items are expensive because they're vintage and first edition, not to mention well-known. As such, Andre believes the thief took 'what he knew he could sell.' Trying to sell the cards would be a risky move for the thief and could help police identify him, Andre said. The items have a trackable serial number and would be flagged as stolen if he tries to sell them through most venues. But even if the thief somehow manages to get around this, the stolen items are so rare that any listing or attempted sale would be worth investigating, Andre said. As such, 1st Edition Collectibles' large, devoted community of supporters is monitoring card markets in the hopes of catching the thief as he tries to sell them. 'A lot of people are keeping their eyes open for similar items being sold. [The stolen cards] are not stuff you run into every day,' he said. ' ... We have a lot of eyes out there, and that's our main hope in getting things back or at least trying to catch him at this point.' The theft hasn't left 1st Edition Collectibles or its owners struggling to make ends meet, but it was still a nasty shock, Andre said. 'We're not gonna have any problems feeding our families. But whenever you get that big of a theft of $115,000 worth of inventory, it's never fun,' he said. 'Working years and years to build that up — to have it all taken away in 20 seconds is not a great feeling." Andre and the other co-owners hope to reopen the shop on July 15, but it will depend on how quickly they can have their door replaced. In the meantime, they are beefing up the store's security measures. 'At the end of the day, we're blessed to have friends and family that support us and rally behind us, and just a huge, great community of fellow hobbyists that are out there looking for this guy and have our backs,' he said. 'So we're gonna rally, okay. We're gonna be back better than ever.' Former Mass. firefighter gets prison sentence for stealing dead 13-year-old's identity Holyoke drug trafficker gets 6 years for having gun while on release from feds Mass. woman charged in connection with attacking 4 people she didn't know Roslindale man sentenced to prison for killing man while racing on I-93 Ex-Boston cop accused of beating intoxicated man on St. Patrick's Day weekend released Read the original article on MassLive.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Pokémon thief catches them all as he swipes $100K worth of rare cards from Massachusetts shop during break-in
More than $100,000 worth of rare Pokémon trading cards were swiped by a seemingly savvy collector from a small shop in Massachusetts, according to reports. The brazen bandit used a hammer to smash open the door of 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Mass., around 2:30 a.m. last Tuesday, according to the New York Times. The masked burglar made a beeline for a display case that held high-end collectibles and tossed them in a bag before running away, according to William Gilmour, one of the store's owners. 3 Surveillance image of a masked figure stealing rare trading cards. 1st Edition Collectibles 'They were in and out of our store within 30 seconds,' Gilmour told the Times. 'They went straight to these high-value items.' The thief made off with five rare Pokémon trading cards and some vintage box sets – which combined are worth an estimated $100,000 to $113,000, Gilmour said. The stolen Pokémon cards, which have boomed in popularity with kids, included a BGS 8.5 First Edition Shadowless Charizard – a small, yellow dragon-like creature that shoots flames. Also snatched was a BGS 7.5 First Edition Shadowless Blastoise, a chunky Pokémon that looks like a turtle and has the power of 'rain dance.' 3 1st Edition Collectibles shared an image of the stolen items online. 1st Edition Collectibles BGS stands for Beckett Grading Services, which rates sports and trading cards. The stolen sealed boxes included a Pokémon base set Unlimited Green Wing Booster Box, which contains 36 packs of original cards. 'They are really rare because how many sealed boxes are still there from 1999 to 2000?' Gilmour told the Times. The shop in downtown New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston, sells Pokémon collectibles, sports cards and vintage video games 'We're literally just three guys. This is our passion. This is what we have loved since we were children,' Felipe Andre, another store owner, told NBC Boston. 3 A First Edition Shadowless Charizard was stolen from the shop. 1st Edition Collectibles The owners said they planned to reopen on Tuesday. As of Monday, law enforcement officials said the robbery remained under investigation and that no arrests had been made. The New Bedford Police Department did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. Pokémon – short for pocket monsters – skyrocketed in popularity in the 1990s, after its launch as a Japanese video game. The tiny monsters later became available as trading cards, and have since appeared in animated series and movies, as well as figurines – especially its most famous character, Pikachu, the yellow mouse-like figure with red cheeks that can shoot lightning when angry.
New York Times
3 days ago
- New York Times
Rare Pokémon Cards Worth More Than $100,000 Stolen From Shop
More than $100,000 worth of rare, high-end Pokémon cards and box sets were stolen from a Massachusetts shop that specializes in trading cards and collectibles, an owner of the store said. A burglar used a hammer to smash open the door of the shop, 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Mass., around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Once inside, the thief dashed to a display case and stashed the Pokémon collectibles in a bag before taking off, according to William Gilmour, one of the store's three owners. He said that the stolen items, which included five rare cards and some vintage box sets, were valued at $100,000 to $113,000. 'They were in and out of our store within 30 seconds,' Mr. Gilmour said on Sunday about the burglar. 'They went straight to these high-value items.' The stolen cards included a BGS 8.5 First Edition Shadowless Charizard and a BGS 7.5 First Edition Shadowless Blastoise. (BGS stands for Beckett Grading Services, a company that grades collectibles and trading cards.) The sealed boxes included a Pokémon base set Unlimited Green Wing Booster Box. Mr. Gilmour said that a booster box contains 36 packs of original cards. 'They are really rare because how many sealed boxes are still there from 1999 to 2000?' Mr. Gilmour said. The shop, which sells Pokémon items, sports trading cards and vintage video games, is in downtown New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston. 'We are small but mighty,' Mr. Gilmour said of the store, adding that he opened the shop with his childhood buddies 'for the love of the city and the love of the hobby.' Holly Huntoon, a spokeswoman for the New Bedford Police Department, said that the break-in remained under investigation and that no arrests had been made. On Facebook, the store's owners posted a surveillance video image of the burglary and a list highlighting the stolen items to raise public awareness. Pokémon, short for pocket monsters, first became popular in the 1990s, when they were rolled out in Japan as a video game and then as trading cards that introduced a collection of creatures who live in a fantasy world alongside humans. The monsters, who are more cute than scary — think of the yellow, mouse-like Pikachu, which has a lightning-bolt shaped tail and can discharge electricity from its red cheeks when angered — have cultivated a fierce following among fans and collectors. Pokémon have appeared over the years in many commercial forms, including as figurines and in animated series, films, and video and smartphone games. Followers enjoy collecting the characters through various games. 'They hit the marketing nail on the head with the 'gotta catch em all' catch line,' Mr. Gilmour said, explaining Pokemon's enduring popularity.
