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Stephen Kick, who runs under the username of @pripyatbeast, posted on Twitter an image of a received package after being handled by customs. The package was supposed to be an encased sealed copy of Pokemon Yellow, graded A+ with a score of 9.2 by Wata Games with an alleged worth of around $3'800 dollars, but instead, the owner got a broken acrylic case, with a mangled seal and sliced box of Pokemon Yellow.

The highest rated Pokemon Yellow game is also an A+, but with a score of 9.4, which is currently going up for around $10'500 dollars in price.
While the morality and legality of sealed copies of widely available games as Pokemon Yellow is highly questionable and up for debate, and regardless of its alleged worth, it's always heartbreaking to see something you ordering getting destroyed in shipping or customs.

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[Foxi4]

You could say that about any collectible. In the end, things are worth whatever people are willing to pay for them, and it happens that sealed copies are rare and therefore collectors prefer them over a loose copy. It's useful to have a grading system so you know what the condition of something is without seeing it in person, as long as the people doing the grading are honest. You certainly can't trust online sellers, so a grading system is the best way to know.
Of course, Wata Games is not exactly a shining example of honesty, but that's besides the point.

Personally, I don't find any additional value in a sealed copy, but I'm not a collector. I understand why collectors might, especially if it happens to be a game or a console they have good memories with. Probably wouldn't be worth much if it was shovelware garbage, so being sealed or rare certainly doesn't automatically mean that it's valuable. Only if it's desirable to begin with, being a sealed copy can multiply how desirable it is to a certain audience.
Complete in box I get, there is a lot of nostalgia to having those old booklets and adverts that we all used to read when we couldn't or weren't allowed to play the new game we just got, and I have good memories from that.

We’ve explored that earlier. I completely understand that a complete, in-box copy in good condition is generally more desirable than one in poor condition, and that drives the asking price up. What I object to is blatant market manipulation, which grading houses are guilty of. It is indeed worthwhile to know for certain that something is in good condition before you buy, but we’ve also established that Wata is incompetent and incapable of establishing authenticity of the products they grade, so that goes out the window as well. Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them, yes, but that assessment can only be fair when they aren’t tricked into thinking they’re buying more than they’re actually getting.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

We’ve explored that earlier. I completely understand that a complete, in-box copy in good condition is generally more desirable than one in poor condition, and that drives the asking price up. What I object to is blatant market manipulation, which grading houses are guilty of. It is indeed worthwhile to know for certain that something is in good condition before you buy, but we’ve also established that Wata is incompetent and incapable of establishing authenticity of the products they grade, so that goes out the window as well. Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them, yes, but that assessment can only be fair when they aren’t tricked into thinking they’re buying more than they’re actually getting.

I agree with all of that. Are there any other grading houses of note? You only hear about Wata Games, but for all the wrong reasons. I'm sure there are others that are actually worth people's trust, though.

 

[Foxi4]

I agree with all of that. Are there any other grading houses of note? You only hear about Wata Games, but for all the wrong reasons. I'm sure there are others that are actually worth people's trust, though.

The two big ones are WATA and VGA, but honestly, I disagree with the way both of them operate.

 

[codezer0]

Wouldn't surprise me if the person sharing the story did this and is trying to spin it to collect, somehow.

Also really sick of these collectors overvaluing something to the point of making it unattainable to those who would appreciate it. The same crap has been going on for PC parts for ages, even before Bitcoin was even a twinkle in anyone's eyes.

 

[DS1]

Exactly, they didn’t lose any money. Shame about the box though, I have a whole bin full of crushed boxes in storage somewhere lol.

 

[Foxi4]

Exactly, they didn’t lose any money.

This is actually a very relevant point. The only money lost here is the money the person spent on getting the item graded. The concept of value is very nebulous. I can say that a pebble is a precious stone worth a million dollars, but that doesn’t make it so until someone offers me a million dollars for it. If that pebble is lost, I haven’t lost a million dollars, I lost a pebble. The “scam” of grading houses is the creation of an environment where pebbles are sold for millions.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Exactly, they didn’t lose any money. Shame about the box though, I have a whole bin full of crushed boxes in storage somewhere lol.

I remember owning Pokemon Blue during my pre-teen years, but the box? No idea where it went. If it were in plastic cases like Sega's games it'd have lasted years unlike Nintendo's cardboard boxes.

 

[DS1]

This is actually a very relevant point. The only money lost here is the money the person spent on getting the item graded. The concept of value is very nebulous. I can say that a pebble is a precious stone worth a million dollars, but that doesn’t make it so until someone offers me a million dollars for it. If that pebble is lost, I haven’t lost a million dollars, I lost a pebble. The “scam” of grading houses is the creation of an environment where pebbles are sold for millions.

I was referring to another post, but the quote didn’t come through apparently.

But yeah, it was basically “they would have gotten it insured for that value” and then collected when customs damaged it. So to your point, they probably made money if they got it insured for enough!

 

[LainaGabranth]

Good. That's not only hilarious, it's also funny. I'm sick of this collector bullshit making my hobby of "actually playing video games" more expensive.

 

[Foxi4]

I was referring to another post, but the quote didn’t come through apparently.

But yeah, it was basically “they would have gotten it insured for that value” and then collected when customs damaged it. So to your point, they probably made money if they got it insured for enough!

If the package was heavily insured and the company pays out, that’s great - I hate insurance companies and anything that hits their pockets is a small victory.

 

[DoctorBagPhD]

Good.

 

[CommanderCool]

the actual value of a pokemon game is worth less than the shits i take. buyer lost nothing.

 

[lolcatzuru]

In all fairness, the entire grading system is a scam. There is no additional value in having a sealed copy of anything. In fact, in the case of many products it is *detrimental* from a preservationist standpoint (built-in batteries, capacitor plague-era products, suicide PCB’s and so on).

...wut.

 

[CommanderCool]

...wut.

he isn't wrong.

 

[Marc_LFD]

the actual value of a pokemon game is worth less than the shits i take. buyer lost nothing.

If Pokemon games were published on PlayStation or Xbox it's very likely their value would be radically different. Nintendo games hold their prices because of Nintendo's stubbornness to make limited prints and its loyal fanbase see it as an investment.

Hell no I ain't paying $250 for Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN), I'll pirate it.

 

[CommanderCool]

If Pokemon games were published on PlayStation or Xbox it's very likely their value would be radically different. Nintendo games hold their prices because of Nintendo's stubbornness to make limited prints and its loyal fanbase see it as an investment.

Hell no I ain't paying $250 for Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN), I'll pirate it.

game's fucking golden too. i own a copy because i bought it back in 2005. don't know why it isn't ever being reprinted on newer hardware.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Good. That's not only hilarious, it's also funny. I'm sick of this collector bullshit making my hobby of "actually playing video games" more expensive.

Is it tho, when downloading games is as easy as taking a piss?

Lol, mean, if you wanna get a physical copy, then sure, but if you just wanna play the game, welp, emulators exists, lol.
All this grading and selling games at absurd prices is all a scam and money laundering schemes for sure.

 

[LainaGabranth]

Is it tho, when downloading games is as easy as taking a piss?

Lol, mean, if you wanna get a physical copy, then sure, but if you just wanna play the game, welp, emulators exists, lol.
All this grading and selling games at absurd prices is all a scam and money laundering schemes for sure.

Why do people even make vapid replies like this? Like motherfucker if I wanted to emulate the game I would have just done so. I like owning games physically.

 

[BlazeMasterBM]

get shat on game collectors

 

[Darth Meteos]

damn, these comments are awful
i get that you don't like the wata system
but this dude just spent his money and got his shit ruined
have some empathy