How Did Somebody Break In To Ace Grading?

As the value of cards has increased in recent years (recent dips notwithstanding), there has also been an increasingly significant rash of crimes and break-ins in the hobby.

Thieves of various sorts and many scammers have targeted sports cards and Pokemon. Until now, they have primarily targeted individuals and vendors. But now, there has been a robbery involving a grading company for the first time. Let’s get to it in our coverage of the Ace Grading break-in.

Ace Grading is not well known in the United States. However, it is making quite a name for itself overseas. There has never been a break-in to a grading company before. At least not that has been made public.

Therefore, it raises all sorts of questions regarding what happens now. Usually, when merchandise is stolen from an establishment, it belongs to the owners of that business. However, in the case of grading companies, it isn’t quite that simple.

The cards are owned by those who submitted them. Therefore, the logistics and specifics of how the submitting individuals will be compensated are unclear. We will unpack that below.

The break in at Ace Grading

According to the Thames Valley Police investigators, the stock taken was worth around £250,000, or $314,000. It appears that the attack was very targeted and well-planned.

The company’s owner, Andrew John Shane, better known to the public as YouTube content creator Randolph Pokémon, said that the break-in did not target the grading company’s expensive equipment on site. Instead, it went right for the cards.

After the break-in, Randolph told the BBC, “Having some respect for these cards is important; their value is underestimated. To those they’re important to, they are so important.”

He hinted that the blow to his business could be existential. “The impact is massive.” Randolph said that the company was his “whole life right now. We’re a very specialist company, and my current main goal is to keep the lights on.”

On a more optimistic note, he added that the company had received “loads of support from the community.”

Who is Ace Grading?

If you are American, you may not have heard of Ace Grading. But they have made a name for themselves in the United Kingdom. There is a market there, particularly for Pokémon and soccer cards (yes, I know that call it football over there).

And it can be expensive and cumbersome to grade cards across the Atlantic in the United States. Therefore, a trustworthy British company can capture a nice slice of the market over there.

The company was founded on April 29, 2021. The feature they are most proud of in their slabs is the security label, which they claim is “the most secure label in the world.” Unfortunately, that security did not translate to the facility that they run.

They have grown over the years and now have a staff of 24 members.

One of the reasons this company has succeeded when others have failed is the fame of its magnetic owner, Randolph. His channel, Randolph Pokémon, has 581,000 subscribers; on it, the man uploads daily entertaining content about Pokémon.

Randolph is also a reasonably well-known rapper in the United Kingdom, with 150,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. I listened to his stuff. It’s not bad!

The statement from Ace Grading Company

The Ace Grading company released the following dramatic statement:

“On the evening of Friday, December 13, 2024, our offices were the target of a professional theft. During this incident, certain cards belonging to some of our submitters were taken. This was not a random or opportunistic crime but a calculated and targeted attack.

To those affected, you will receive an email detailing which items were taken and instructions on claiming compensation. We have already determined appropriate compensation amounts, which will be issued immediately.

For submitters who were not affected, you will also receive an email confirming that your submissions remain safely within our grading process.

In light of this event, we have implemented additional, robust security measures to protect your property further and maintain our facility’s integrity. We take these matters seriously and remain committed to your trust in us.

With your continued support, Ace Grading will remain a cornerstone of the card-collecting community. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this situation and ensure it does not happen again.

Please get in touch with us urgently if you know of any information that might help the police investigation that is actively being carried out. This statement will continue to be updated as the situation develops.”

The video statement regarding the break-in

Randolph also released a YouTube video after the breakin. He seems very depressed, understandably so. Indeed, as the video progresses, he breaks down in tears.

He says he “does not know how we move forward from here or even if we can.” He adds, “As of right now, it looks bleak. I can’t lie to you. But our goal is not to give up and not quit.”

Something stands out when reviewing the social media reaction to this break-in. While the comment sections of companies and content creators are usually filled with hatred, Randolph and his company have gotten much support. He is very well-liked in the British Pokemon community.

The Ace Grading terms

We always submit our cards for grading, hoping (and assuming) that we will receive them back in good condition and promptly. To the credit of the grading companies, that is usually what happens.

But there are sometimes situations where that does not occur. We have all heard the horror stories. Cards get lost at the facility, damaged, or lost in transit. We assume it won’t happen to us, but now and then, it does.

A new concern probably hadn’t occurred to most of us: the theft of cards from the grading facility itself. What happens then? The statement from Ace Grading is not very specific about the next steps intended to compensate collectors.

I looked at their website to see what kind of coverage they provide to users in this case and in other instances in which cards are lost or damaged.

Ace Grading offers insurance coverage up to the value declared upon submissions. The terms of service note that “we shall not be liable for any losses for cards that have a value above that declared or above that covered by the insurance cover levels chosen and in place. You are responsible for ensuring adequate cover beyond our basic cover.”

If that language seems vague to you, there is a reason for that. It is intended to give some leeway to the insurance company to figure out how to compensate the individuals involved.

We hope that Ace Grading will compensate those involved fairly. For PR purposes, they will most likely want to do so. This break-in made a splash in the media, especially in the United Kingdom.

Therefore, the company stated, “We have already determined appropriate compensation amounts, and this will be issued without delay.”

Are Ace Grading compensating collectors sufficiently?

Many people have complained on social media about whether they are being compensated sufficiently. People seem to like the company overall, but those Ace Grading has reached out to to rectify the situation are unhappy with the compensation offered.

Much of that is because the compensation offered is based on raw card value. But what else can they do, primarily if the cards have not been graded yet?

The compensation policy on their website is described as a “Fair Market Value” policy. According to the website, “Ace will determine the current Fair Market Value of a collectible based on reliable current market information from public auction houses and marketplaces, if applicable. If this information can not be found reliably, we will ask for purchase receipts.”

Service levels determine the payouts. These are the maximum pay-outs per individual trading card:

• Basic – £500 ($628)
• Standard – £1000 ($1,256)
• Premier – £2000 ($2,513)
• Ultra – £5000 ($6,283)

Will Ace Grading survive this?

However, there is reason for concern. The company’s owner, Randolph, seems to hint that the company is in trouble. If the insurance company does not cover the full extent of the losses, Ace Grading may struggle to make up the rest and make the collectors whole again.

It is unclear how healthy insurance companies know the card market. The answer is likely not very well. If that is the case, the insurance will likely go with the lowest price they can find for the card.

It will likely not consider the grade the card may have gotten and will undoubtedly ignore the likely appreciation of the value over time. Therefore, compensated customers will likely receive a raw deal on the cards.

Randolph is selling his cards and slabs to raise funds to save the company.

But Randoph seems very invested in ensuring this never happens again. Despite saying that the company was at risk, in the video, he encouraged customers to keep sending their cards in and said, ” This will not happen again. Ever.”

But he added honestly, “I understand if you don’t want to submit your cards anymore. I understand if you have lost all trust. Because it is our responsibility to protect your cards, and I have let you down.”

Was the Ace Grading break-in an inside Job?

There have been rumors, so far unconfirmed, that the break-in at Ace Grading was assisted by someone employed by the company with more than a passing familiarity with the company’s inner workings. The video and statement hint that whoever robbed them managed to evade all of the security measures that Ace Grading had. They appear to have gone straight to the most valuable inventory.

Therefore, NEO Cards & Comics host Rob DeMay believes this is an inside job. The relevant video can be seen here. He estimated that Randolph wasn’t behind it because of the video.

I tend to agree. But with 24 employees, you never know. We have also seen cases where former employees have been involved in stealing from a business.

However, some on social media have pointed out that the company showed much of its layout on YouTube. That means an alert robber could have potentially scouted the area by observing videos.

The rising incidence of robberies

Then, there are the countless scams that have plagued the hobby over the last few years. There is no need to recount them all since the list is seemingly endless. But there is no shortage of unscrupulous actors in the hobby. Many of them are breakers.

Common scams include card repacks, trimming, forging, pack searching, and many other charming practices.

However, it is interesting to note how an increasing number of these actions occur in real life rather than online. In the United States, we have experienced a rash of break-ins to sports card stores. We first reported on that phenomenon in mid-2023 when we noted a rash of incidents in Florida.

They started with unimpressive smash-and-grab affairs and became increasingly more sophisticated. However, there have been other incidents that did not involve stores. For example, a big heist occurred at the Dallas Card Show in Allen, Texas. The Legacy Cardz stall was hit, and cards valued at no less than $2 million were taken.

A worldwide roblem

But the Ace Grading break-in shows this is not just an American matter. This break-in occurred in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, there has been a rash of criminal activity involving Pokémon cards in Japan.

In 2022, Japanese police noted a significant uptick in break-ins to stores selling expensive cards. There was also a case of an individual buying 1,000 cards through credit card fraud and selling them for a healthy profit.

The most exciting case occurred in 2021 when a Mission Impossible-style heist saw a thief use a rope to climb a six-story building and abscond with cards worth about $9,000.

Recently, it has been reported that Japanese criminal syndicates use Pokémon cards to launder money. Yes, you read that right. Since the cards are small and easily transportable while holding tremendous value, they have become instrumental without attracting attention to jewelry.

Final Word On The Ace Grading Break-In

The hobby has become such a big business that we sometimes forget that human beings are involved.

Randolph puts a human face on everything he does, and it is difficult not to feel pain. I genuinely hope that Ace Grading pulls through and everyone there gets to keep their jobs.

The robbery at Ace Grading raises doubts regarding the security of our cards in grading companies. These facilities hold millions of dollars worth of cards, which are difficult to trace and easy to sell. No security system is impenetrable, and there are genuine reasons for concern.