Well, I’ve been missing too much of this Trophy action.
I wanted the ZenMarket illustrator, but got cold feet about the platform.
I am offering $280,000USD for a Pikachu Illustrator PSA 9 - Can fly out anywhere in North America for the transaction. This would, I think?, be a public record. Yes, I have contacted the owner of the one on IG. A quick $30,000 profit is pretty enticing i’d say.
I am also interested in the Fat Pikachu trophies from 1998-99. Not sure of pricing on these. But I’d bet 70+ish on.
And lastly, Super Secret Battles in PSA 10. I’ve been fixated on this set for the last month. The Mewtwo component gets me hard.
I didn’t get an indication of 1st place, is better than 2nd place, but i’ll offer the following
$100,000USD for No.1 PSA 10
$80,000USD for No. 2 PSA 10
$70,000USD for No. 3 PSA 10
I will also offer KingPokemon Gary, $200,000 on his BGS 10 Charizard.
PS. If by any chance, more than 1 of these become available, I may need to choose one over the other, depending on which does.
For what it’s worth, sometimes a personal touch and history with the hobby can be valued more than a slightly higher price. I don’t think the winner of the Illustrator deposited 250k into Zen Market with no guarantee of getting the card in time and wasting thousands in fees, then going through the verification process to buy in time, so that he could obtain his holy grail card, in order to flip it for a 12% profit in the Western market.
Regardless of if it’s $30k, $10k or $100k, nobody is going flip a holy grail item right after acquiring it. It’s not about the money, it’s about acquiring the item.
i would no way in hell sell my copy of illustrator or charizard - if i had them - for only 200k-250k. i think scott leaked his valuation on a illustrator is 500k in his last video?
Best of luck Auston! At this point any viable offer you make will be record setting. More difficult is finding the opportunity, which has value in itself! Just keep that in mind if you find an opportunity
Out of curiosity, is there a reason I have been seeing more interest in the 1998-1999 fat pikachu trophies compared to their 1997 counterpart, or is it simply because most of the supply from 1997 is gone?
1997 pikas are on another level. In short the supply alone is drastically less. And of course they are the first trophies ever released. Basically illustrator tier.
Basically 1998 are still “accessible” in that they occasionally appear for sale in auction.
hahaha, i didn’t even realize the sexual innuendo. Makes the post even better.
I’ve been given some great advice and direction towards some cool ones already! Thanks guys.
Also, i’m into the 1997 pikas too.
My want list in order of desirability is this:
Pika Illustrator - When I say, I was emailing ZenMarket to buy that card, i’m not kidding. It was all set up and ready to go. I will kick my self forever.
SSB NO.1 PSA 10 - The HA auction made me privy to this one. I just love the look of the card, and the story - gold is gold.
If I’m not mistaken, hasn’t Pkonno sold 2 PSA 9 Illustrators so far? I feel like him and the other sellers selling extras are bound to have more copies, maybe even 10 worthy ones. Whether they’ll ever list another one is anyone’s guess. But if you want one at a “fair” price you’ll have to put your faith in them, otherwise you gotta pay the next jaw dropping price.
I’ll keep it real with you - most people are not going to give you the best tips. Trying to get the best possible deals on Japanese cards is a competitive endeavor. But here’s a guide of the most important sites to help you get started: www.elitefourum.com/t/japanese-marketplace-list/21709/1
I will say that with the specific cards you’re looking for are incredibly rare. Let me give you some numbers:
Gold Trophy Pikachu No. 1 - 32 awarded (PSA pop 11)
Silver Trophy Pikachu No. 2 - 32 awarded (PSA pop 8)
Bronze Trophy Pikachu No. 3 - 32 awarded (PSA pop 10)
Super Secret Battle No. 1 - 9 awarded (PSA pop 7)
Super Secret Battle No. 2 - 9 awarded (PSA pop 4)
Super Secret Battle No. 3 - 9 awarded (PSA pop 7)
Illustrator - 39 awarded (PSA pop 19)
(This doesn’t include the extremely small handful of “file copies” that have emerged, but also keep in mind in mind that many of the awarded copies have never hit the market and never will.)
For the Pikachus, those numbers include all 3 tournaments in which they were awarded (the first 3 official tournaments ever).
In terms of recent sales - I am sure you already know about the SSB No. 1 that sold for $90k on Heritage Auctions and the Illustrator that sold on ZenMarket for about $250k. In addition to that, two 1998 Gold Trophy Pikachus recently sold for $88k and $85k on a little-known Japanese website called Mandarake.
You are seeking out the absolute holy grails of the hobby with these cards and if you want to pay what seems like a “fair” price for them right now you should be prepared for things to get very competitive. The only way to actually pry these cards out of the hands of an owner is to make a significantly bigger offer than whatever the last one sold for, and even then at any given time you’re not likely to get any bites.
I know all about how hard this is. I’ve waited the last couple of years to buy a Gold Trophy Pikachu only to lose out on it in the Mandarake auctions.
This card sat for weeks without being purchased yes I know it’s not an optimized site but the value was “market price.” Most buyers for this card are offering $200k - $250k. $280k offer is the highest I’ve seen but no as of now I have not heard of someone offering 500k. Maybe “half a shmilll” is Scott’s sell price lol
“ZenMarket Plus” literally didn’t exist as a place to buy Pokémon cards until a couple of weeks ago. Not only that, but working with them is such a pain that the buyer was *trying* to buy it for almost 2 weeks before he was actually able to buy it. Under no circumstances was this sale reflective of what you would get if the card was just on eBay or something.
