The chad thing to do would be to win the auction, crack the card, and then resub it without the Tord Reklev designation.
23 Likes
I’d actually prefer to not have the winner’s name on the label. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Same with autographs. Don’t like those either. Like Scott said earlier, I just want the card.
1 Like
Tord is by far the most decorated Pokémon player ever. As Pokémon continues to grow I could see this being an important designation.
In other collectibles you see premiums attached to trophies won by big names
Would a PGA Masters jacket won by Tiger Woods be worth the same as one won by a lesser known golfer?
The market now likely won’t care but in the future it may differ.
1 Like
The difference is Pokemon collectors generally don’t care much about the player side at all. The trophy card is desirable simply due to it being limited and belonging to the “trophy” class of cards which makes it desirable by default.
I bet a significant number of people who buy these from the winners don’t care enough to even watch the matches (or if they do, it’s only to find out who they have to approach to buy their stuff) let alone even know how to play the game or what the rules are.
Sports is entirely different because it’s rooted in spectating. You can’t really be into sports card and memorabilia collecting without knowing the players and teams. The players are literally on the cards! It would be more comparable if Ash was a literal real person and you could buy his Pokemon League trophy or something.
8 Likes
That is an interesting take. However I just don’t think there is much of a crossover. For example, Jason Klaczynski is one of the most decorated players, but I don’t think any buyer is really paying a premium for his card. In fact most people reading this post probably don’t even know who he is now. Some of the winners I bought cards from were big names in their day, but now no one knows them outside of maybe me and 10 other boomer collectors.
10 Likes
Most potential buyers don’t care about the winners of these cards now, but maybe someday some of them will. The high placing worlds players this year probably signed more things than any worlds winners prior. I think someday this will just be one more aspect of the hobby for collectors to explore.
History and provenance matter, but aesthetics and a feeling of ownership do too. Having a person’s name on a label (or not) will undoubtedly be a deal breaker for some - I wish the cards could somehow stay tied to their winners without the name being on the label. But overall I see this as a cool thing for PSA to offer.
Or maybe, someday, somehow, we’ll see an extra copy of a modern numbered trainer. Suddenly this will become much more important.
1 Like
My understanding is Tord was approched by the auction and guaranteed 100k as a minimum to let them handle the grading/sale.
So im sure Tord is getting paid well regardless and this is nice exposure for the auction house
1 Like
I’ve always wondered if certain years’/players’ trophies would carry a premium. For example, would someone prefer Wolfe Glick’s 2016 Number 1 over 2015? For a lot of people, 2016 is a very important Pokemon year (and Wolfe is easily the most recognisable VGC player). Or would 2014 be more popular because it’s the first year they did full arts?
Though I think certain years would be preferred, I think realistically they will never sell frequently enough to establish a pattern, and if there’s enough of a difference to have a significant difference in price. I’d love to meet that person who will pass on 2018 because one day they want to own 2021 
Even if somehow two years were auctioned in the same block, there are multiple other factors that would also affect the price.
1 Like
i just have a hard time believing that the same people who would be buying these care enough about who’s card it was originally other than knowing some back story. and then at that point, i imagine it would be more desirable to own something more prestigious over something more popular.
like would you rather have wolfe (popular youtuber)'s trophy card or ray rizzo’s 3rd worlds trophy (most worlds titles in vgc)?
I wonder if PSA would abbreviate long names like they do with sets in their labels, haha. Lucky for him, Tord Reklev is a pretty short name. 
Greetz,
Quuador
3 Likes
I think it’s only a good thing for future preservation to have the name on the card. That way no matter how many times they change hands, it’s easy to keep track of which winner from which division (and which game) won that card.
Personally it would add value if I were to purchase one of these cards as a TCG Player and someone interested in the history of the game, but I recognize it’s probably just about the card for most.
1 Like
Page: The Strand
About 85k USD. Around the price people were offering at worlds, maybe on the lower side. 85k, is the kind of money can make a significant impact on someone’s life so congrats to Tord!
11 Likes
Is that pre-BP? If so whack on an additional 24% for BP + VAT
Yes pre BP
2 Likes
I think that was the bid amount when posted weeks ago. Completely forgot about this auction. I wonder how this would have done on a more well known platform.
8 Likes
I will say that being on the ground and seeing the level of competition and from the type of people with deep pockets that would probably consider it a failure if they left empty-handed…
This auction feels more realistic than what was happening at worlds especially since all that emotion is cut out of the equation.
2 Likes
So roughly 105k?
1 Like
Yes. FWIW I’m not completely sure how their payout structure works, but if I understand this correctly they take 20% of the hammer price in addition to the BP? I have to imagine there was a different arrangement for this particular card.
Congratulations to Tord! In many parts of the world, that is a large downpayment on a home. 
1 Like