WotC may have sent the Pinkertons to a magic leakers home. Update: WotC confirms it and has a response.

[Ondath]

I mean, not to day it isn't a bad look, but the Pinkertond absolutely operate legally, and I'm sure they were meticulous to not break any laws here.

True. Then again, it's a terrible PR move for a company whose customer base clearly cares about optics. It's like partnering with Standard Oil in an oil cleanup disaster. Sure, Standard Oil's successors also dabble in clean energy and work legally these days, but there's literally more than a century's worth of bad press associated with their name.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

That's exactly why people have hired the Pinkertons historically.

Honestly this was the first time I'd heard of the Pinkertons, how do they get away with this kind of criminal behavior?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Yes and no

why?

Engaging private investigators to retrieve stolen or missing trading cards is not a particularly new or novel strategy for game publishers. Just last week, Polygon reported on another similar incident dating back to 2021 involving products from The Pokémon Trading Card Game, which were also retrieved with the help of a private investigator.

WotC reached out and said hey here's some actual product that you're allowed to have.

The cards weren't stolen.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

@Henadic Theologian @Alzrius


WotC has a leak, they want to plug it, so please tell me which company you think they should have gone with.

Don't know, don't care, I just know that you don't use thugs to do so, period, its unacceptable in a civilized society amd criminal behavior.

 

[Branduil]

There is really no way to justify hiring the PINKERTONS to harass someone who got some of your product early. Obviously people will still try, but come on.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

The violent reputation of the Pinkertons apparently goes way back to the 19th century, in which the US government's lawmakers had to pass a law into effect (limiting the government's hiring of PIs and mercenaries) in response to how bad things got when government officials hired the Pinkertons.

The law is literally "the Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893".

 

[Parmandur]

Honestly this was the first time I'd heard of the Pinkertons, how do they get away with this kind of criminal behavior?

Because it's not criminal, it's just extremely gross.

 

[Parmandur]

True. Then again, it's a terrible PR move for a company whose customer base clearly cares about optics. It's like partnering with Standard Oil in an oil cleanup disaster. Sure, Standard Oil's successors also dabble in clean energy and work legally these days, but there's literally more than a century's worth of bad press associated with their name.

Sure.

 

[mcmillan]

Saw some people claiming there were earlier now deleted videos where the leaker was bragging about how he developed contacts to get access to the cards. If that's what wotc/hasbro saw I'm not surprised if they came at him more aggressive than would have been expected from his current story of buying them off somebody that didn't know the significance.

 

[BrokenTwin]

Saw some people claiming there were earlier now deleted videos where the leaker was bragging about how he developed contacts to get access to the cards. If that's what wotc/hasbro saw I'm not surprised if they came at him more aggressive than would have been expected from his current story of buying them off somebody that didn't know the significance.

I mean, I could easily believe either version of how he got the cards, but can also believe that him talking up "how he has these awesome connections" was made up for online cred because it sounds a lot better than "the guy who sold them to me didn't know they weren't supposed to be released yet", something that happens all the time in retail.

And even if he did use super connected connections to get his hands on a pack of cards early... that's still not necessarily illegal or worthy of sending the bloody Pinkertons after a guy.