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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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[1B51004]

It was graded by WATA games, which has been exposed as a scam company trying to raise the prices of retro video games, so who cares

Yeah, I saw the video too. Really goes in depth on how manipulative retro game pricing works.

Still, even if it is a scam, it hurts seeing something you bought get demolished when it was suppose to be guaranteed to be mint.

 

[Adran_Marit]

Yeah, I saw the video too. Really goes in depth on how manipulative retro game pricing works.

Still, even if it is a scam, it hurts seeing something you bought get demolished when it was suppose to be guaranteed to be mint.

As others have said, bet he's claimed insurance money on it

 

[djpannda]

could care less about a "Graded" acrylic plastic...
but as a Gamer That Almost gets two copies (1 to play and one for collecting)... This Breaks my heart....I mean you could of opened it by the actual opening flap.....

NO, the cut was purposely on the top.... this was Maliciously done

 

[1B51004]

As others have said, bet he's claimed insurance money on it

ah
should really read previous posts before posting my thoughts

 

[Foxi4]

Nintendo has never used that

I double-checked out of plain curiosity and yes, the seal on legitimate Game Boy games seems to have been shrink wrap with a H-seam, as opposed to a V-seam or a Y-seam. That’s pretty distinctive and (apparently) difficult to replicate without dedicated hardware.

 

[The Catboy]

Customs far and wide reserve the right to open any packaging in order to inspect its contents - this is done both when something suspicious is detected *and* at random. The product is not considered “destroyed” as it is fully functional. It’s the collector’s community that places undue value to cardboard, the average consumer wouldn’t give two shits about this, and neither do customs. Unless the package included specific instructions that this is a collectible and the whole point is that it’s sealed, they’re not liable, and I’d argue that even if there was such a note, they’re not obligated to care.

My point was more that it’s just shitty to destroy someone else’s property.

 

[ZeroFX]

top kek, state being state.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Dang, that's harsh! Dude should look into getting a refund, for sure. What he spent could've been his life savings!

 

[V800]

It seems many people are focusing on the fact that the grading system is a scam (which it is) and leaving aside the fact that some us border agents ravaged his property and didn't offer an explanation or an apology.

 

[HideoKojima]

Or maybe he was scammed and the scammer sent it as in the pic

 

[Jayro]

Now that you mention it, I don't think they did...

I think they just had those round stickers on top.

 

[Foxi4]

My point was more that it’s just shitty to destroy someone else’s property.

It’s definitely a bad shipping experience. All I’m saying is that from the perspective of customs this procedure doesn’t affect the product. I’ll also add that eBay shipping centers (they have their own nowadays) are *notorious* for unsealing sealed packages with zero regard for the customer buying the goods. This is a “buyers beware” note - if you’re sending something by post, especially abroad or via eBay, this is the risk you’re taking. A video to demonstrate the point, from my favourite Aussie:

 

[ZeroT21]

It’s definitely a bad shipping experience. All I’m saying is that from the perspective of customs this procedure doesn’t affect the product. I’ll also add that eBay shipping centers (they have their own nowadays) are *notorious* for unsealing sealed packages with zero regard for the customer buying the goods. This is a “buyers beware” note - if you’re sending something by post, especially abroad or via eBay, this is the risk you’re taking. A video to demonstrate the point, from my favourite Aussie:

This is the new added service to assure the recipients the product they get is already

 

[supergamer368]

"WATA? Yeah, WATA load of shit!"

In all seriousness it sucks that customs ripped something up, but I have little sympathy for those who buy graded games. Play your games people, that's what they're here for!

 

[JonJaded]

Good riddance.

 

[Lumstar]

I understand why the experience of opening a sealed game for the first time has value. These were produced in finite numbers, and once opened can never be returned to precisely their original state.

As for grading services, I feel there is a need for someone able to deter bootlegs via reliably verifying authenticity. But WHO should be the graders eludes me.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Meanwhile people with actual sense playing their rom of pokèmon yellow on an emulator:

But yeah, all this is just a scam and a money-laundering scheme for sure, and much like how some already said in this thread, bet this is also a scam to try cash in on whatever insurance or what.
It would've only been a shame if this was like the only like cartridge left of some game prototype and was now lost to time, then that would've actually been a sad story to hear.

 

[Leen]

Very nice. Wata Games is a scam which is artificially inflating the game of retro games and this person only got what he deserved.

i was going to reference that video if you hadn't

 

[Dax_Fame]

That's a shame and all but uh... Fuck wata games. Dude at customs saw wata and took vengeance upon it for screwing up the retro collecting game.

 

[raxadian]

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).

Yeah, Pokemon yellow has a battery so there is risk of the battery leaking even if a low one.

Edit:
Newer video that the one linked before: