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Folks will shell out a lot for some genuine first-gen Pokemon cards, but $375,000 would be historical. That's what one charitable investor was about to pay for a box of cards before he realized, just in the nick of time, that they were all fakes. Here's how it went down.
As reported by The Guardian, the cards were originally acquired by Jake "JBTheCryptoKing" Greenbaum, a "blockchain entrepreneur" and Youtuber Logan Paul's "personal Pokemon consultant," who bought them from an unidentified seller. Chris Camillo, investor and host of the YouTube channel "Dumb Money," had arranged with Greenbaum to buy the set for almost 400,000 real-life dollars, sell them at an investor party next year, and then donate the proceeds to a charity. The initial deal with Greenbaum would be livestreamed, including the agreed-upon inspection beforehand.
When Camillo breaks the plastic wrap and opens the box, all seems right as rain at first. But his team quickly notices discrepancies like differently-colored packs and packs that were clearly not first-gen. "The color's different on that one and that one," someone in the room can be heard saying. "This is not a first-edition pack. This is an unlimited pack," someone else says. "That's a major f***ing issue." Watch it all play out.
$375k FAKE #Pokemon box...That’s why you buy PSA/BGS graded!Are you kidding me!?!? pic.twitter.com/Ltx3OH2PxxOctober 27, 2020
If you want to see what happens after the big moment above, you can watch the full livestream yourself from a different filming perspective. It's a lesson that could've cost someone almost 400 grand if that person hadn't been so scrupulous. And it's a lesson for all of us to always, always independently verify big purchases from third-party sellers.
Our Pokemon Battle Academy review proves you don't need to spend 400 grand to have fun with Pokemon cards. Also check out our round-up of the best card games for adults.
