You didnt say 5k had to be spent on pokemon cards for option 1. 5k invested in the right stock in 1996 would yield you far more than 1.5 mil. Looks like 5k worth of amazon stock in 1996 would be worth about 8 mil today. Option 1 is a no brainer
5k in that mid range years still gives access to trophies to buy at cheaper prices and other cards that’s Will eventually rise if you want to hold and flip those.
Would love to go back and buy Pichu 2009 design contest cards, wonder platinum, illustrator, khangaskhan, charizard psa 10, tropical wind, diamond and pearl cards.
I feel like around 2010 or 2011 is when I would go back to.
Question 1) In the second scenario if I went back to 1996 would I have to source the cards via 1996 standards? eg scrolling through the phone book, driving to physical stores etc
Question 2) In the third scenario do I get to pick the grade?
If the answer to question #1 is YES and the answer to question #2 is NO then taking the 1.5 mil is a no brainer for me.
I would be plenty happy with the $1.5 million. That would go a long, long way. And I’m not sure I’m interested in anything that’s crazy hard to get or crazy hard to pry out of other people’s collections.
If it’s money related I guess the option 3, as I’m assuming a BGS Black Label Illustrator would fetch well over $1.5m.
If money isn’t the motivator, I’d go option two, teleport to wherever the most Rocket Silver Decks were sent in Japan and buy $5k worth. I’m not sure what the msrp was but hopefully I’d be able to pull enough Dark Dragonites to cover a wall. I’d charge admittance to view said wall, which would surely garner enough art lovers to eclipse the monetary value of option 3 anyway.
Option 2 initially sounded better to me in theory however, there’s a caveat I overlooked. Yes, cards were much cheaper than today so you’d imagine the earlier the date would be, the more ideal the situation. However, in this scenario you have 1 day to spend it all. If you’re looking for Japanese old back trophies/prize cards in particular good luck finding a card or another within the same 24 hour period.
It’s a catch 22, the further back you go the cheaper the cards but also availability dwindles significantly too. By the time the cards are appearing more frequently the cards prices are increasing.
For option 3 that just doesn’t make the cut personally. I think this is an ideal option for those with a specific request such as a PSA 10 Illustrator and a raw Pre-release Raichu by todays ‘standards’. Those cards just don’t do it for me though.
So for that reason I’ll take option 1. I can easily spend 1.5m today on a plethora of cards as they are much more available now as well as not having to be time restricted. Also there is significantly more cards that have come out of the woodwork that weren’t known publicly before so you have more choice too.
Go back to a morning in early 1999 with prior knowledge of the best place to find 1st ed Base singles, quickly snap up some holos and as many packs as you can without raising eyebrows, then spend the entire day enjoying the experience of being back in a better time in history.
If I’m not coming back to 2024 wearing baggy jeans, a curtain fringe & twitching from an E-number fueled sugar rush, then life isn’t worth it.
I’m not sure what would be more efficient, drive around the North-West like a maniac in January 99 and vacuum all the 1st ed base boxes/packs/cases the stores will allow, or spread the money on mules to cover a bigger area?
Going back to 2003/2004 to buy LC, Red Logo Fossil, 4th print, Green Wing or Skyridge cases at firesale prices from distributors with dead inventory also feels like a good option.
Option 2 has so much appeal. It would be a blast!. The time frame of 24 hours makes it a bit more difficult. Accessing things took a lot more time, you might be able to get a bit in the in 1999 “new” Ebay , still a tough task.
Option 3 is also good a gift of your dream cards. Hardest part is unless your @jaxlax21 deciding what card you wants!
