What started out in 1982 as a gaming magazine soon become a video game itself. Pokémon is now a huge franchise that even has its own collecting cards. But how serious can collecting cards get, really?
According to PokéRev, it can get pretty serious. He is an avid Pokémon collector who has one video out boasting that he owns all the Pokémon cards that have ever existed. He places a value of that at $30,000, as noted by the dollar amount in parentheses at the end of the title.
That would have to be a guestimation of what it cost him to buy them because one card can go for so much more than that. When USA Today reported that Logan Paul had paid $5.275 million for a Pikachu Illustrator card, it became clear to all the scoffers they had nothing left at which to scoff.
What did PokéRev find?
Nick “PokéRev” is a Youtuber with 1.3 million subscribers with videos that have been viewed over 260 million times.
On a recent episode, he told the story of going to Costco for a shopping trip, when he caught a stack of Pokémon merchandise out of the corner of his eye by chance. It was just sitting in the middle of the floor minding its own business. Doing his due diligence, he investigated the stack and found some items he liked.
Back in his studio, he turned the microphone on and put the camera in his face for a live unboxing. He started opening up the packages like a kid at Christmas. Packaging was flying everywhere while he was talking about the hunt and pursuit of Pokémon cards. Where does he find them? What does he look for? And then, it happened.
What exactly did PokéRev have?
As he was rummaging through a particular pack of cards, he couldn’t believe his eyes. When he opened the Fusion Strike installment, they were all reverse holo. From the Magcargo, Qwilfish, Meloetta, Falinks, Snom, and on down, every single one was a manufacturer error.
Anyone who is into collecting knows that when manufacturers make errors, those items can become very valuable for the holder. A simple mistake or overlooking some small detail can become a collector’s dream. That’s what PokéRev was holding and it can be heard in his voice how excited he was. He had found a goldmine. What he spent that day at Costco is nothing compared to the value he took home.
That’s the thing about making a mistake — it just might turn out to be someone else’s fortune.