He was permanently banned last night once everything was confirmed.
What Haze said is an unfortunate reality to an extent. In other hobbies there are scammers, but they are much less in number. Since Pokemon is a younger more undefined hobby, there is more room for people to quickly make money and grow their collection. However, that same factor of a more open hobby for collectors is what invites scammers. This, coupled with the hobby being filled with younger kids and young adults, lends to a lot of what we are seeing.
Most sport hobbies are older adults and the minority are younger adults. Pokemon is the opposite, with its core being young adults and the minority being older. This is why sport cards are much more regulated in price compared to pokemon. The market in sports is dictated by grown men, which has its pro’s and con’s in itself. The point is that most kids or young adults do not have the experience to understand the possible ramifications of scamming and/or their unethical behavior.
For example, the conversation about weighing packs highlights this point well. The fact that it is even being debated is a problem in itself. I know there are plenty of people who weigh packs and sell them and see no problem with it. The majority of people I know are in the age range of 16-22. This does not mean someone older cannot or does not do this; the reality is that the younger crowd sees no problem in what they are doing, or doesn’t understand the reality of their decisions. The entire idea of going to a store with a scale and weighing packs is not only unethical but downright pathetic. The point of buying a pack is to be surprised.
Pokemon is a great hobby, but since it is a young and “up and coming” hobby, and is also perceived by most as a “kids” hobby, it has a lot of room for lowlifes to fly under the radar. Some are as obvious as DarkPersin, while others think they are less obvious by cutting cards from sheets, spam advertising, weighing packs, fake stamps, chance listings (with no actual chance), fake listings, and the good old “never played” with whitening and creases condition.
Ultimately, the community as a whole is wonderful. The people who are scamming are kept at a safe distance in major communities. It requires a lot of patience to deal with them at times, but when they come into forums like this, or the gym, they are extinguished and the focus returns to what it should be, actually collecting and valuing the hobby.
That is awesome! 9’s are hard to come by for that card, it speaks volumes that you have not 1, but 3 of those! Plus the PSA 8, and the ungraded copy.
