My point is that all of those publications you listed did more to bring attention to Pokemon than Ken Goldin did in selling Logan Pauls card.
Clearly the dynamic of the situation is Ken needed Pokemon and Paul to pump his numbers…not the other way around.
It doesn’t take much deep analysis to see that. Even in his 30 minute defensive rant he makes it clear with multiple statements that hes never taken Pokemon seriously until recently when he realized he could make a lot more money off of it than in the past. Coincidentally hes wrapped up in this Liquid Marketplace stuff and its just ironic that we’ve got people on here insisting hes some kind of visionary bringing attention to Pokemon.
An auction house sells within the sphere they operate in. Of course a globally recognised publication is going to bring more attention to the hobby than an auction house is going to. Without the sale via Goldin, the publications would have no story to even present.
Without Goldin, there is no attention to begin with. Your point is completely disregarding that fact.
He owns an auction house, of course he wants bigger numbers? Paul would have done his due diligence and checked other avenues for selling the card. Goldin would have been the most competitive and promising in his eyes. I’ve also opted against selling on Fanatics, Heritage, etc for items because I thought I’d get more selling elsewhere.
A lot of people didn’t take Pokemon seriously until there was more money behind it. He isn’t alone in feeling that way. Ultimately, he doesn’t need to take it seriously either. His job is to market and sell the card – he did that.
He’s defensive because he’s being attacked by hordes of spiteful internet denizens. Seems somewhat warranted that someone would be defensive.
I’m not educated in the Liquid Marketplace debacle, so I won’t comment on that.
no idea about this guy but that shark tank guy is seems to be building a “fund” rather than a museum filled with overpriced cards that he is just gonna fractionalize to his “investors” (this has already been tried many times since 2021 and look where those “companies” are now )
if he were actually building a museum he would be buying other stuff than what can fit in a 5x3” psa holder
Brother you’re not gonna be able to reason with a self-proclaimed head of clown university.
The Liquid Marketplace “debacle” has nothing at all to do with Ken. Everyone with a stake was refunded/have no claim and are welcome to sue the now defunct/bankrupt platform if they think they have a case. As per the video, apparently only one person from liquid marketplace even bothered to reach out to Ken.
Anyhow, I wonder people are so invested in what he does with the card now that it’s been purchased? Whether he tries to fractionalize ownership or light it on fire, the sale was legit and nothing else really matters. No one should really feel all that invested like they have a stake in what happens with that card next. There’s already been another one sold this week - a CGC 10 at over 2 million buckaroos. Clearly the Goldin sale had an affect on the pricing of the Chinese auction and I’m sure the rest of the illustrators that have been changing hands will realize some gains as well. I wouldn’t even be surprised if one of the 9’s flowing around gets re-subbed a few times until PSA concedes another 10 for another news cycle.
We’re gonna see a lot of musical chairs with these cards exchanging hands now. It’s already begun.
You’re missing the point though and also being pretty rude/obnoxious.
Most people arent speaking of the card per-se anymore.
It’s the fact that Ken is tied to Logan who has done multiple ethically questionable if not illegal things with this card.
Ken Goldin is also missing that point.
I think very few people actually care about the Illustrator - most collectors know it’s just another hype auction that doesnt change much for people actually collecting - but people do care when Pokemon items are being used to fraud people.
Your screenshots and comments seem to put you in the crowd of “it’s making cards go up in value, so I support it”.
First of all, dumb people are everywhere, being able to spend thousands on TCG items it’s not a valid distinction that disqualifies others ideas.
I would argue that throwing millions at things you don’t understand, to buy inflated assets during a boom it’s what scores negative point in my book.
But let’s avoid that and be real, everyone is allowed to have an opinion.
If it’s truly noise and nothing of value, then simply ignore it? To me it’s pretty clear that Goldin tried to benefit from hype and social media coverage which is obviously a double edged sword.
People are tired of Logan and his shenanigans; they’re annoyed by the over exaggerated fake enthusiasm, the corporatization of the hobby, and are getting increasingly distrustful of high-end dwellers.
Ok, rudely and obnoxiously (I guess), the point you’re still trying to make is goofy. Ken owns an auction house and you don’t pick and choose who you do business with based on popularity points. That’s pretty much a TLDR of what Ken said in the video and if people actually listened instead of just calling it a “rant”, they’d have walked away digesting that much at the very least.
When Logan Paul loses a lawsuit and goes to jail for defrauding people, then people can balk about Goldin’s business dealings with a “fraudster” and potentially get somewhere.
The fact remains that the Cryptozoo Class action was dismissed by the judge presiding over the case, noting a lack of evidence directly linking him to the losses. It doesn’t matter how many youtuber videos make someone guilty in a court of public opinion. As far as I know, no other fraud claims were levied against him in civil our criminal courts.
If you think PWCC, ALT, Sothebys, or any other auction house wouldn’t have taken this Illustrator from Logan to auction on their own platforms because they somehow have a better moral compass, you’re kidding yourself. But by all means, only buy on those other auction platforms instead.
TLDR (again)… When it comes to buying high end items, there’s a lot less overlap for cancel-culture exposure than say, video game culture where some youtube or twitch streamer has found themselves temporarily in hot water over saying something dumb and a horde of people virtue signal and screech to sponsorship brands on twitter to pull their representation. The loudest people online trying to create a “boycott” are NOT Ken’s target demographic. Does that make sense? I don’t know of a non-rude way to say how absurd it is to try to boycott/cancel/apply pressure to an auction house business to pick and choose who they sell their high-ticket items for when there’s demand for the product, a dollar to be made, and no real legal exposure. Best of luck trying to “cancel” Ken for working with Logan. I’m sure Netflix will pull his show over an old settlement vs their viewership metrics.
Everyone only seems to get angry about these people when they sell cards for a large amount of money. It seems like the hate for Ken Goldin (?) and Logan (much more understandable) is mainly out of jealousy and resentment rather than a legitimate desire to help people.
To be honest I’ve only commented on this sale at all because of watching Ken be a weirdo in that 30 minute rant.
I don’t care at all about Paul and Goldin doing business together or the scammy history of the card.
I do think its a very weak 10 like most everyone else does
I just found his meltdown over being rightfully criticized like they already have been for months and really years in regards to this card to be pretty hilarious. Also very revealing. Does Ken somehow feel guilty about it all? Why even address anyone like that?
He’s apparently a big dog but can’t handle criticism and just put himself in a weird place with that video.
Then to see people defending him and fantasizing about Ken bringing attention to Pokemon of all things…like come on. 24 people watch that show of his, whatever its called Paul could have taken that card anywhere else and made a big deal out of it with a live stream and gotten his money all the same.
He has a fiduciary duty to the company Goldin and its parent company, eBay. It is not as black and white as what people are making out. If it were to surface that he said no to consigning the Illustrator due to community sentiment, and Paul goes on to sell via a different auction house, eBay would have Ken’s head.
It isn’t an L take, it’s a realistic take. If Logan were charged with something in a court, as mentioned by @chrispy, then the discussion would be different.
I agree that the card could have been consigned elsewhere and still made good money. Ken specifically is not some figurehead for the IP, nor the hobby’s success. I’m not sure if people are conflating Ken with the auction house itself, but Goldin as a business has brought attention via the sale, in conjunction with Paul, whether you like it or not. Ken just happens to be the founder and CEO of said company.
Whether it’s a strong or weak 10 is irrelevant, people need to stop bringing this up like it adds anything of value to the discussion.
Frankly, I don’t understand what makes the criticism justified. Just as many others have said, it seems vitriolic and fueled by emotion than any sound reasoning. Again, his company has brought attention to the franchise via this sale. He is the founder of said company, so by virtue he has in a sense brought attention to it. Even if another company could have done his job, it does not invalidate his job either. Another Point Guard could probably get some of the buckets Stephen Curry gets, but that doesn’t invalidate his efforts suddenly if they win the finals.
And yes, he’s sold over $2bil in collectibles so I’d say he’s a big dog in the industry, PR awareness aside. If you don’t like that… oh well?
3:30 - Ken addresses anger that he didn’t care about Pokemon until it started gaining demand and financial momentum (lol)
5:47 - Ken addresses the claims that there were only a couple of bidders and everything was orchestrated/faked
7:11 Ken addresses conspiracy of why Guinness was at the livestream
7:52 Ken addresses why some of the biggest bidders including AJ was in the room
11:00 Ken addresses the yapping that no one else would be willing to pay for the card at the price AJ paid and how it was all just a publicity stunt for views/exposure
12:30 Ken addresses the claim that PSA showed favoritism to Logan Paul and bumped the 9 to a 10 (it was re-evaluated 15 years ago by Justin Cornett)
13:40 Ken addresses claims that Goldin would reholder the card without the owners permission (lol)
17:30 Ken addresses claims that the card is embroiled in legality risk/exposure over Liquid Marketplace
I feel like some people are just arguing in bad faith and being passive aggressive at this point so I’m going to disengage so fourthstar doesn’t need to step in and lock. The same type of people who would cry if Ken DIDN’T respond to the viral social media accusations levied against the auction “for transparency” are the same people who claim he’s ranting and being a weirdo and throwing a temper tantrum for replying/addressing these claims. Similarly, the same people scoffing that his responses will only be watched by an audience of a dozen are the same people cosplaying as ignorant to how clip & drama-farming works. Sometimes I give people too much credit and try to approach people with common-sense, but I guess that’s “defending” an auction house/executive. I’m genuinely surprised no one chimed in with something like “Ken ain’t gonna sleep with you lil bro” with how goofy some people are.
It really is. People are getting butthurt over a card that…they’ll never even get? and for what? Putting elites in a pokemon thing that have actually been there all along?
It’s really just complaining to complain because at the end of the day, nothing jumped a shitton at least for now.
)
Paul could have taken that card anywhere else and made a big deal out of it with a live stream and gotten his money all the same.