Virginia police officer accused of shoplifting Magic trading cards from Target — while on duty and in uniform

“I am disheartened that a police officer has betrayed the public trust with these intentional acts of criminal misconduct,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told WJLA-TV. “It is unacceptable, and I will not tolerate it.”

Trading card game (TCG) cards have become a hot commodity in recent years, with prices on premium packs soaring as collectors and scalpers rush to stores to buy out their supply. In fact, cards from games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Disney Lorcana are now increasingly seen by some buyers as an investment.

It goes without saying that shoplifting TCG cards is a bad idea, but if you’re thinking about getting into buying cards as an investment, you should know about the potential risks involved first.

Trading card collectibility has evolved in recent years

Conventional wisdom might suggest the most valuable sports cards are rookie cards, with some selling for millions of dollars.

That’s less true these days, with a wide range of high-value cards catching the attention of collectors. But many valuable sports cards still derive their value from an emotional connection to what the player did before or after the card was printed.

Trading card games have seen a comparable shift in how value is assessed over time. These card games obviously have a gaming component to them; if you open a pack and don’t find any valuable cards inside, you can still play the game with those cards. A card’s secondary market value is often tied to the power and playability of the card in the game.

A Magic: The Gathering card like the Black Lotus, which was only ever printed in the game’s very earliest sets between August and December 1993, goes for anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to $3 million for a copy in perfect condition.

But when Magic first started, players already understood which cards were the most powerful simply by playing them. A June 1994 issue of Scrye Magazine that listed prices for early TCG cards valued the Black Lotus at $25. This was back when nearly every Magic card could be had for at most a couple dollars each. With some exceptions, the cards that were the most expensive then are still the most expensive now.

But these days, like with sports cards, many TCG cards become valuable because they have sentimental value. Pokémon, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2026, has become hugely popular as a nostalgic property for those who grew up with the franchise. Some fans buy the cards in part because they’re a window into treasured memories from the past.

Disney Lorcana, which launched in 2023, was an instant hit with a similar value proposition; millions of people have grown up with Disney movies, and the game has immediate resonance for fans of the company’s work.

And while Magic: The Gathering started as a wholly original game, since 2020, it’s had a number of releases based on properties like Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings and Final Fantasy. These releases have demolished sales records.

Publishers trying to stop scalpers from controlling the market

Third-party sellers have responded to the surge in TCG card popularity by listing unopened boxes of cards at an enormous markup.

For example, Collector Boosters for Magic’s Final Fantasy set have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $37.99, but a box with 12 of the boosters inside can be found online for nearly $2000. When Pokémon’s 30th anniversary cards were released, fans resorted to camping outside of stores overnight to get their hands on the cards.