California police have confirmed the theft of an estimated $1million in trading cards from a FedEx truck parked at one of the industry’s leading authenticators.
The robbery occurred October 13 at the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) offices in Santa Ana, where police say two pallets were stolen out of a FedEx truck while a third pallet was ‘disrupted.’
The specific trading cards lost have not been revealed publicly, but are believed to include sports trading cards and the increasingly popular Pokémon cards.
‘The estimated value at the time was $963,000; however, the exact value of what was stolen could not be determined until the remaining boxes were scanned,’ the Santa Ana PD statement said.
No arrests have been made and the stolen merchandise has not been recovered. The total number of cards has yet to be revealed.
Santa Ana Police say a FedEx driver left the vehicle parked at PSA’s shipping and receiving address. The locked truck was parked at that location for between 60 and 90 minutes. At some point, the lock on the truck was broken and the packages were stolen as the driver was away from the vehicle.
The robbery occurred October 13 at the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) offices in Santa Ana (pictured) while a FedEx driver was away from their locked truck for over an hour
The exact stolen items have not been identified, but are said to include Pokémon cards
PSA is using its own technology to track down the missing cards: ‘We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners’
The Daily Mail has sought further information from Santa Ana police.
PSA has released a statement promising complete cooperation with the ongoing police investigation. The company is also using its own technology to track down the missing cards: ‘We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items.’
Crucially, PSA indicated customers would be compensated for their losses: ‘Our customer service team has contacted affected customers directly and is arranging compensation based on fair market value.’
But at least some collectors are worried that ‘fair’ value won’t match what they could have received at auction or a private sale.
‘Allegedly, there are people that have already gotten their offers from PSA in this situation, and they are insultingly low,’ Skyler, a YouTuber known as SKY-B Cards, told CBS LA.
‘I was probably gonna sell maybe half of these cards. The other ones were just gonna be in my collection forever; they’re irreplaceable cards.
Skyler, a YouTuber known as SKY-B Cards, said he lost more than $100,000 worth of cards
‘There were cards in that order that you can’t replace,’ Skyler continued. ‘It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced, honestly… A hundred and four cards which were either case hits, which are ultra rare, or they’re 1-of-1s, meaning they’re the only one in the world.’
Later, on YouTube, Skyler said he is ‘hoping for the best outcome and that PSA takes care of everyone affected by this.’
One of the world’s largest shipping companies, FedEx has also pledged its complete cooperation with police, while stressing that ‘the security of our customers’ shipments is a top priority.’
PSA is a leading third-party authenticator and generally considered to be the industry standard for evaluating the collectibles.
