So Tom Brady's new trading card venture got off to a rough start. The seven-time Super Bowl champion's CardVault store in New York City's SoHo neighborhood was hit by a clever theft on October 20, barely 12 days after its grand opening. Someone walked out with nearly $10,000 worth of collectible baseball and Pokémon cards, and here's the thing—it wasn't exactly a smash-and-grab.

How the Theft Went Down

According to the New York Police Department, which released details in a November 12 statement, the robbery happened around 11:40 a.m. at the Lafayette Street location. The suspect tried to buy merchandise with a credit card, but when the transaction got declined, things got interesting. Instead of leaving empty-handed, the person "began to enter manual prompts into the contact payment terminal without the employee's knowledge to bypass the transaction being declined," police said.

Essentially, the thief hacked the point-of-sale system right there at the counter, manipulating it to make the $9,710 purchase appear legitimate. The employee had no idea what was happening. Police didn't specify which particular cards were stolen, but at that price point, we're talking about some serious collectibles.

The Search Continues

After pulling off the fraudulent transaction, the suspect headed south on Lafayette Street. Surveillance footage obtained by the New York Post showed someone wearing a Yankees cap inside the store. Police describe the suspect as a male with medium complexion, last seen wearing a black baseball cap, black hooded sweatshirt, black shorts, white socks, white sneakers, and carrying a multicolored bag with what appeared to be a cartoon image on it.

Nobody was hurt during the incident, thankfully. The NYPD's Financial Crimes Task Force is now investigating the crime as grand larceny.

The theft clearly struck a nerve with customers. "No kidding. That's not nice. That happens with the city," shopper Samantha Castaneda told the Post as she left the store with her grandson. "That's terrible. The people feel like the card has value. It's not just the money. People really love it, that's why they buy it. I hope they find the guy."

Brady's Collectibles Empire

Brady acquired 50% of CardVault back in February, jumping into the booming trading card market. The company positions itself as a destination for "buying, selling, trading, and grading sports cards and collectibles." CardVault now operates nine stores across the country, with locations in cities including Boston, Massachusetts and Dallas, Texas.

The timing of the New York robbery is particularly unfortunate given Brady's active promotion of the brand. While in Minneapolis to call the NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears on November 16, Brady made a post-game appearance at CardVault's grand opening at the Mall of America, showing his commitment to building the business beyond just writing checks.

The collectibles market has exploded in recent years, with rare cards fetching astronomical prices. That makes stores like CardVault attractive targets, apparently—even when they've got Tom Brady's name attached.