U.S. Customs has ruined a valuable sealed copy of Pokémon Yellow.
As reported by GamesRadar, Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios, explained one of his friends' disastrous experiences with U.S. Customs. "Friend of mine received this sealed and graded original copy of Pokémon Yellow...US customs: Broke the acrylic case, ripped and discarded the seal, SLICED the front of the box off," Kick wrote. While the typical copy of Pokémon Yellow, including the box and manuals, sells for a few hundred dollars on eBay, Wata Games rated this version a 9.2, meaning it was worth around $10,500. One comment suggested customs had issues with the battery inside the cartridge or believed the container held restricted items.
Released in 1998, Pokémon Yellow served as a slightly updated version of 1996's Red and Blue, the video game series' first installments. In 2016, the Game Boy title received a Nintendo 3DS port for its Virtual Console to commemorate the Pokémon franchise's 20th anniversary. In 2018, Yellow received a spiritual remake with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! on the Nintendo Switch in celebration of the game's 20th anniversary.
Apart from the Pokémon video games, rare trading cards have exceeded in value since they first hit the shelves. In January 2021, Heritage Auctions hosted a bidding war for a Charizard #4 first edition base set rare hologram card, which reached over $100,000. Previously, Heritage Auctions sold a Secret Super Battle No. 1 Trainer hologram promo Trainer trading card for $90,000. Graded at Gem Mint 10, only seven copies of the card exist worldwide.
The Increased Thievery of Pokémon Cards
With the increased value of Pokémon trading cards, many owners fear being robbed of their extensive collections. In July 2022, one thief stole an estimated $500,000 worth of uncommon Pokémon cards from a 62-year-old collector named Christopher Polydorou from his South Carolina home. Polydorou purchased the uninsured collection for $431,000 in 2014, which contained 24 unopened booster packs and a rare Japanese card.
In August 2022, Kyriacos Christou, a warehouse employee for the tabletop store Magic Madhouse, Ltd, was found guilty of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon cards and reselling them on eBay. At the time, Magic Madhouse did not have CCTV to document Christou's theft. After cataloging certain cards, Magic Madhouse realized what went missing and discovered Christou's criminal activity. Luckily, the thief could not get his hands on the ultra-rare Illustrator Holographic Pikachu card, which sold for an astronomical $900,000 in February 2022. A previous copy of the same card sold for $375,000 at auction. YouTuber Logan Paul even wore his Illustrator Pikachu card around his neck during a WWE showing in April 2022.
Source: GamesRadar