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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]

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.

Pokemon Yellow sold 14.64 *million* copies worldwide, there’s nothing “limited” about it. The scarcity tactic is a relatively new thing and they only really resort to it in the case of oddball stuff like Amiibo (which I can’t believe is actually still going, it’s the only active “toys to life” range I can think of, even Skylanders have died out at this point). The reason why they’re expensive is because, frankly, Nintendo fans are suckers and they ascribe some undefinable value to the products made by their favourite “magical toy company”. Case in point, pricing in the UK right now:



You can get the bare cartridge for £35… or you can get the full shabam mint for 140 shnutz.

 

[lolcatzuru]

he isn't wrong.

ok you go buy a car and then leave it in the rain for 20 years, im sure your kids will thank you when they go to resell it and then you can tell them " hey dont worry, the whole classic car grading system is a scam"

 

[Marc_LFD]

ok you go buy a car and then leave it in the rain for 20 years, im sure your kids will thank you when they go to resell it and then you can tell them " hey dont worry, the whole classic car grading system is a scam"

Did you just compare game grading to vehicle grading?



Game grading is kind of a joke, actually.

 

[depaul]

... maybe the game meant so much for him?
it's stupid how he buys a sealed Gameboy game for $4000, but sometimes we get emotional

 

[tabzer]

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

Losing money sucks and I agree with the sentiment. However, I see the reliance on US customs to not fuck up your shit as risky. It's too bad. In terms of serving the karma, there should be a better way. Justice wasn't served for supporting Wata schemes. Instead, a greater evil is supported for this one case where someone doing something people didn't like got the short end of the stick. Short-sighted.

 

[duwen]

Pokemon Yellow sold 14.64 *million* copies worldwide, there’s nothing “limited” about it. The scarcity tactic is a relatively new thing and they only really resort to it in the case of oddball stuff like Amiibo (which I can’t believe is actually still going, it’s the only active “toys to life” range I can think of, even Skylanders have died out at this point). The reason why they’re expensive is because, frankly, Nintendo fans are suckers and they ascribe some undefinable value to the products made by their favourite “magical toy company”. Case in point, pricing in the UK right now:

View attachment 349636

You can get the bare cartridge for £35… or you can get the full shabam mint for 140 shnutz.

That's insane! The last copy of Poké Yellow I picked up was about a year and a half ago in this bundle on ebay (sorry about the tiny pic, but ebay doesn't archive full listings over a certain period)...

That's a DSi and a DS (with chargers and carrycase), 2 GBA carts, 2 DS carts and 3 GB carts including Pokémon Yellow, all fully working... for £55 including postage! A year and a half ago!

 

[Yo-Kai_Watch_Deluxe]

I need to congragulate the guy who did that.

 

[duwen]

ok you go buy a car and then leave it in the rain for 20 years, im sure your kids will thank you when they go to resell it and then you can tell them " hey dont worry, the whole classic car grading system is a scam"

Your analogy is dumb.
What was being pointed out is that 'slabbing' sealed games can potentially lead to irrepairable damage to the game locked away behind acrylic and a sealed box (due to old leaking capacitors and/or batteries), and due to the Schrodingers Cat nature of the sealed/graded culture you've got no way of knowing if that's happened to your "investment".

Cars can be safely stored, remain useable, and be adequately maintained to retain/increase their value.

So, how about you go and buy a car, have it slabbed in acrylic, so it's unuseable and unmaintainable, and try to convince anyone it was a good idea?

 

[CommanderCool]

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

no. if it was a worthwhile game, then i would. but he happened to be another pokemon fan. therefore, it's funny.

 

[Guacaholey]

You could say that about any collectible.

Not really, typically there's a predictable market value for most collectibles. The problem with graded games and cards is you either get rich retards like Logan Paul paying way above market (like spending $1,000,000 on a Charizard card that had a market value of $25K), or they get listed for outlandish amounts and other people see that which inflates the prices, or they're used to launder money.

 

[Osha]

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

No, I don't think I will. They willingly participate in this scam circle, so they get what they deserve.

 

[JackTheHorse]

Dunno why you'd fork out $3,800 worth for a sealed boxed game, the whole grading system is a complete scam and people deserve to have this upon them.

Ah yes, let's all give a round of applause to customs for breaking shit because you feel like he deserved it. Meanwhile, they keep doing it. And again. And they don't give a fuck. Mostly because there are people like you saying nothing when it happens, unless it's something they find stupid, then you chip in your two cents of idiocy by victim-blaming.


PS: the forum wouldn't let me post this with the (3) links I have provided as source. You can just Google them.

 

[CommanderCool]

Ah yes, let's all give a round of applause to customs for breaking shit because you feel like he deserved it. Meanwhile, they keep doing it. And again. And they don't give a fuck. Mostly because there are people like you saying nothing when it happens, unless it's something they find stupid, then you chip in your two cents of idiocy by victim-blaming.


PS: the forum wouldn't let me post this with the (3) links I have provided as source. You can just Google them.

but is he a victim if he's a pokemon fan?

 

[lolcatzuru]

Did you just compare game grading to vehicle grading?



Game grading is kind of a joke, actually.

did you just try to say the are different?

Post automatically merged: Jan 27, 2023

Your analogy is dumb.
What was being pointed out is that 'slabbing' sealed games can potentially lead to irrepairable damage to the game locked away behind acrylic and a sealed box (due to old leaking capacitors and/or batteries), and due to the Schrodingers Cat nature of the sealed/graded culture you've got no way of knowing if that's happened to your "investment".

Cars can be safely stored, remain useable, and be adequately maintained to retain/increase their value.

So, how about you go and buy a car, have it slabbed in acrylic, so it's unuseable and unmaintainable, and try to convince anyone it was a good idea?

your analogy is dumb, im not weeb, so i have no idea what slabbing is, i assume thats an anime you are a fan of, but, MY point was, collectors want to collect and LOOK at them, not use them, so it doesnt matter what happens to the game, i get it, your entire expierience with rare games is saving up your whole life and then sweating out your own net weight in diet coke when you finally get it, only to destroy any value.
i dont have anything to follow this, how about you just go buy a car.

 

[Foxi4]

your analogy is dumb, im not weeb, so i have no idea what slabbing is, i assume thats an anime you are a fan of, but, MY point was, collectors want to collect and LOOK at them, not use them, so it doesnt matter what happens to the game, i get it, your entire expierience with rare games is saving up your whole life and then sweating out your own net weight in diet coke when you finally get it, only to destroy any value.
i dont have anything to follow this, how about you just go buy a car.

I don’t know a single car collector who would willingly encase their prized automobile in a plexiglass case and refuse to open it until the lead acid battery inside leaks and functionally destroys it, which is what *will* happen with many gaming collectibles over time. The opposite is true - car collectors pamper their cars and regularly refurbish them to keep them in peak condition, even if they don’t intend to ever drive them. Case in point, Pokemon Yellow that committed seppuku:



Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s very sad that customs “don’t get” the point of keeping a game in mint condition. That’s sad, and the guy lost money on this. That being said, this approach towards collecting *should* be pointed out as silly.

 

[lolcatzuru]

I don’t know a single car collector who would willingly encase their prized automobile in a plexiglass case and refuse to open it until the lead acid battery inside leaks and functionally destroys it, which is what *will* happen with many gaming collectibles over time. The opposite is true - car collectors pamper their cars and regularly refurbish them to keep them in peak condition, even if they don’t intend to ever drive them. Case in point, Pokemon Yellow that committed seppuku:

View attachment 349677

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s very sad that customs “don’t get” the point of keeping a game in mint condition. That’s sad, and the guy lost money on this. That being said, this approach towards collecting *should* be pointed out as silly.

how many car collectors would you say you know?

 

[Foxi4]

how many car collectors would you say you know?

Define “collector”. @Sicklyboy is under his roaring thunder more often than he’s behind the wheel, based on his socials. Not sure if that’s collecting, but it’s certainly an automotive hobby. Other than that, a lot of locals in my area dabble in it, actually. It’s not uncommon to see vintage cars with antique plates on, and by vintage cars I don’t mean jalopies, I mean actual collectible cars with government-recognised antique status (in the UK you get special plates, and if your vehicle is older than 1982, it’s exempt from tax). This is in part because my county runs an annual classic car show, so yes, it’s a fairly popular hobby. Every August there’s *hundreds* of them on the streets.

EDIT: I don’t think it’s any secret that I live in Wales, so I may as well provide a link. I get to enjoy this every year:

https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Newsroom/PressReleases/2022/May/ClassicCarShow2022.aspx

 

[CommanderCool]

i took a dump one time and it looked better than pokemon yellow.

 

[DuoForce]

Prepare for trouble...

Make it DOUBLE (The person who bought this is reconsidering all of their life choices)

 

[LainaGabranth]

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

no, he spent money on a predatory system that is sabotaging my hobby. I think it's funny.