Sure, I agree they did a lot more - but they were also able to compare to Magic cards which already existed before Pokemon TCG.
These prototype/playtest have no comparable. No one but Akabane and the other co-creators were there in 1995/6 when these were made and would know what was used to make them.
CGC has always done some level of āAuthenticationā based on provenance from reliable sources alone. WOTC Square cuts, Neo Playtests, etc. With that in mind, I imagine the same thought process applied with Akabane. They felt they didnāt need to do the same level of inspection as they did for the blastoise because of the source of the cards.
If Bill Gates came forward and started selling parts from the very first windows computer for whatever reason, you wouldnāt expect to later find out they were fake parts.
Should the volume CGC was given have raised some alarms, probably. If a Lopunny lover was able to do this, should they have also, yeah. But they handled them how I assume theyāve handled the authentication of other cards with provenance. This was just the worst case for them to learn you canāt trust everyone lesson.
Not defending them, but I understand how we ended up here, and I think more blame should be directed at the source rather than the slab.
Yes, several months after the fact 
I mean, impartiality should be implied for authenticators; you would think that provenance coming from direct sources would be ideal but, contextuallyā¦if those sources stand to gain ANYTHING from any situation in which they are being relied on as a source to sell something then authenticators should actually be over-scrutinizing legitimacy, instead of the oppositeā¦
more blame should be directed at the source rather than the slab.
Thing is, bad actors/scammers/fraudsters are in the hobby and every authenticator deals with fakes on a daily basis. They exist to counter those to protect their business because that is their business. This is no different other than the gravity of the cost and the potential history of these cards, so they probably should have gone above and beyond due to that if anything.
I no pokemon donāt want to touch this with a ten foot poll but sure they could solve all of this in one tweet or post stating these are what the og beta looked like we did or didnāt do these versions (foxtrot unicorn Charlie kilo) but we did do (alpha lima bravo) 
They probably donāt know.
If auction houses arenāt going to receive much criticism, at the very least Z&G should be carried around on a palanquin at card shows.
Heritage had a record breaking $1.8B worth of sales last year. Even if they only collected 10% boomers premium, thatās $180M. How much did Z&G sell last year, $10M, $15M? Z&G also has less margin on each sale. Z&G is forking more money up front with less money to work with.
Auction houses have some degree of responsibility, they marketed the hell out of these things.
If they rememberā¦ a lot of Employeeās do not remember a lot of these details. The best hope is if it was written down or better yet if the emails between them survived. It would explain so much. But I do not think they have any interest in this.
But this is why I feel the statement of how many prototype sets needs a ā*ā. Not for the purpose of what has transpired of recent. But does he really remember? How many people were involved in making the sets? What is someone else made some during that time without others knowing? Happens often but as you guys knowā¦ sets that were used, sets that were back ups, sheets uncut. This is a add hoc operation that is going as it goes. I wouldnāt doubt more stuff is chilling in a drawer forgotten at someoneās house.
How can the creator of something not no there own heritage ?
On average, HA takes 20% BP + they take a piece on the seller fee, typically 15% unless you have something big or rare.
As for ZandG, he said in a video they sold about 60k cards last year. I hope they net at least $10 per card on average but unclear since the margins are tight
You seem very passionate about this topic in particular. Do you own any prototypes ?
This is just the only topic thatās super interesting. Iām sick with the flu and figured Iād hop on the E4 forums. But to answer your question, I can go ahead and be on the record for not owning one and having never owned one. I did bid on some on various auctions but never won. Hope that clears everything up for you Pokesun 
It does. I just find it funny.
Iād probably feel more uncomfortable expressing my opinions on these auction houses and CGC if I owned one . Fortunately I can comment without any bias
@jcincy101 you making $10 a card you sly dog you?
Heās never told me his rate but Iāve got a pretty good guess at what his rate is given he pays out 93% above $1k sale prices. I guess actually with his recent videos/IG posts on what his recent boom average sales prices areā¦ he might be making more. I started typing this up thinking it was silly he was making that much and was going to say as much. But yeah Id guess he didnt used to but maybe is scaling through that now 
Oh I was definitely just having some fun speculation but I was hopeful for him! But Iām going to let this get back to the more important topics at hand haha
Did anyone translate this tiktok?
If not I can give it a proper go in the morning. Not a native speaker but lived in China a bit/majored in Chinese.
Tldr it sounds like this guy doesnāt care. Heās claiming they are real but also saying he doesnāt care if they are ānewā or not.
The MORE interesting thing he says is that the Pokemon company will give an official statement saying theyāre authentic.
Sounds like bs to me? but idk. Itās all a bit nonsensical/contradictory
Have you not ever forgotten anything?
https://i.imgur.com/Wz7BAff.jpg
Hi attached is the link to higher resolution Beta presentation Zard.
