$1 Million Card Heist is Crazy

FedEx Trading Card Theft

A FedEx truck carrying more than 6,400 graded trading cards was broken into, and the cards were stolen. The shipment included Pokémon and sports cards. PSA estimated the loss at just under $1 million, though presenter Charlie (penguinz0) believes the cards may be worth more.

Investigation

At the time of the video, no arrests had been reported. Charlie said the FBI was investigating. He suggested the thieves may have had inside information or may have targeted the truck opportunistically, but emphasized that the inside-job theory was speculation. He did not accuse PSA as a company of arranging the theft.

Concerns About Compensation

Charlie questioned how PSA would compensate affected customers. He criticized the company’s use of “fair market value,” arguing that its valuations can be arbitrary or too low. Citing a previous dispute over PSA’s valuation of a damaged card, he worried that victims might receive less than their cards were worth.

He also objected to PSA charging higher grading fees for more valuable cards, saying the practice can penalize collectors and make grading expensive for people with valuable personal collections.

An Affected Collector’s Account

One affected collector reportedly said they hand-delivered 104 cards to PSA, paid more than $8,000 for grading, and had coverage of up to $156,000. Some cards appeared to exceed the stated insured value of $1,500 per card, but no surcharge had been charged.

Charlie said this raised questions about PSA’s surcharge practices and worried that the company might undervalue the stolen cards when calculating compensation.

Charlie’s Conclusion

Charlie hoped PSA would treat affected customers fairly and that investigators would find those responsible. However, based on his view of the company’s past conduct, he was pessimistic about PSA’s response.