Organized Retail Theft And The Pokemon Card Price Spike

Organized retail theft is one of the most direct illegal ways criminals impact the pokemon card price. Coordinated flash-mob style robberies target big-box retailers, stealing thousands of dollars worth of sealed Pokemon TCG products in seconds. Because these stolen goods cost the thieves nothing, they are quickly flipped to fence operators who advertise on underground forums. This illegal supply chain artificially restricts legitimate retail availability, which in turn drives up the pokemon card price for honest consumers who are forced to buy from the secondary market at highly inflated rates due to this retail exploit.