Thousands of pounds of Pokémon Trading Cards have been stolen from Ace Grading, a Banbury-based Card Grading company run by TCG YouTuber Randolph.
As reported by the BBC, the break in took place on Friday 13th December in what Randolph and his company has called a “targeted attack”. Thames Valley Police believes that an estimated GBP £250,000 worth of cards have been stolen from the company’s headquarters.
In a video posted to his Pokémon-focused YouTube Channel, Randolph — real name Andrew Shane — has outlined the situation, explaining that it seems like a “professional break in” and that no other items have been stolen or tampered with.
“This is obviously the worst thing that can possibly happen for the community” Randolph continues, admitting that the team “doesn’t know” if it will be able to move forward from the attack.
In a separate statement, Ace Trading has advised that customers who have been affected have been contacted by email or phone and informed of what cards have been taken and on how to claim compensation. Those whose cards haven’t been stolen will also be contacted to confirm that the cards are safe.
The police investigation is still ongoing, so Randolph can’t share much more, but he has advised that the company has increased security measures since the theft.
Customers who use grading companies send their cards to the graders in order to get a rating on them. Cards such as Pokémon, Panini, Magic the Gathering and more are evaluated and given a “grade” which is seen as a way of appraising and preserving a card’s condition, as well as potentially increasing its value.
Oftentimes, the value of these cards can be in the hundreds, if not thousands. And, in recent years, we’ve seen card collecting — particularly Pokémon cards — explode in popularity.
We’ll update you when we hear more about the situation.
Thousands of pounds of Pokémon Trading Cards have been stolen from Ace Grading, a Banbury-based Card Grading company run by TCG YouTuber Randolph.
As reported by the BBC, the break in took place on Friday 13th December in what Randolph and his company has called a "targeted attack". Thames Valley Police believes that an estimated GBP £250,000 worth of cards have been stolen from the company's headquarters.
In a video posted to his Pokémon-focused YouTube Channel, Randolph — real name Andrew Shane — has outlined the situation, explaining that it seems like a "professional break in" and that no other items have been stolen or tampered with.
"This is obviously the worst thing that can possibly happen for the community" Randolph continues, admitting that the team "doesn't know" if it will be able to move forward from the attack.
In a separate statement, Ace Trading has advised that customers who have been affected have been contacted by email or phone and informed of what cards have been taken and on how to claim compensation. Those whose cards haven't been stolen will also be contacted to confirm that the cards are safe.
The police investigation is still ongoing, so Randolph can't share much more, but he has advised that the company has increased security measures since the theft.
Customers who use grading companies send their cards to the graders in order to get a rating on them. Cards such as Pokémon, Panini, Magic the Gathering and more are evaluated and given a "grade" which is seen as a way of appraising and preserving a card's condition, as well as potentially increasing its value.
Oftentimes, the value of these cards can be in the hundreds, if not thousands. And, in recent years, we've seen card collecting — particularly Pokémon cards — explode in popularity.
We'll update you when we hear more about the situation.
