The owners of a trading card game shop at Springwood that lost more than $50,000 in two break-ins say an outpouring of community support has helped them come back bigger and better as expansion plans continue.
Cousins Sarrin Stewart and Shontel Bussa own Dorky Desires on Dennis Rd and had begun expansion plans, including adding extra playing space and hiring new staff, when the thefts occurred in August.
They estimate losses of $50,000-$60,000, including a sealed case of Pokémon Japanese 151 that was worth $8000 at the time.
What was particularly heartbreaking was the theft of personal memorabilia.
“We had a One Piece Nami trading card that was gifted to us during our second anniversary, and that got stolen from the office,” Ms Stewart said.
“That was heartbreaking because that wasn’t even stuff for the store to sell. That was our personal memorabilia of milestones. That really hurt,” Ms Stewart said.
She said the exponential increase in the value of collectible cards, combined with the ease of reselling and the difficulty of tracking down cards made trading card shops a target for thieves and had contributed to a rise in thefts.
“It’s definitely put a bit of a target on [trading card shops], in a way, knowing the value of things that are so easily pocketable and easy to move,” Ms Stewart said.
“We heard that there were 12-13 stores in two weeks that have gotten broken into in the same industry as us.”
“So I think it’s definitely more common than we’d like to think at the moment. It’s definitely an epidemic.”
Ms Stewart said the community rallied behind them and helped them rebuild the shop to pre-theft business levels, which they said only recovered two weeks ago.
“We had the joke of ‘oh, that was a $50,000 advertisement fee’,” Ms Bussa said.
“A lot of people didn’t know we even existed from the tragedy, and we saw a lot of new faces [afterwards], that was nice.”
“Even just buying a drink or a snack, it helped us really build back up and get to where we were.”
Despite the theft slowing their plans, they’re keen to expand further, with plans for a second store in the works, more conventions and more collaborations, including an upcoming shield-making workshop for sick kids in hospitals.
Originally an Anime and Dungeons and Dragons shop, it has evolved into a trading card game store, expanded its catalogue to include trading cards, and added titles such as Riftbound, One Piece, Magic: The Gathering and, most recently, Pokémon.
However, at their core, the owners say they pride themselves on being a casual, uplifting shop with a great community, and want to hang out and have fun together.
“This is our third space too,” Ms Bussa said.
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