YouTuber Logan Paul bought a box of Pokémon cards for $3.5 million. In doing so, he made the serious mistake of not seeking the advice of wise Pokémon experts. This is now becoming his downfall. Because he fell for a scam. The box didn’t even contain Pokémon cards, but “G.I. Joe” booster packs.
What on earth did the man buy? YouTuber Logan Paul bought a box in December 2021, which he believed to be the “only sealed box full of first edition Pokémon cards.”
On December 20, he tweeted that this box was “authenticated,” meaning guaranteed real.
However, he did not unpack this box, as that would lower its value. He thought the box was sealed in 1998 and certified as “authentic.” From Logan Paul’s perspective, there was no reason to doubt that.
To Logan Paul, the $3.5 million was just a small step; he had already bought a box for $2 million in February 2021.
This is how the public reacted: There was a lot of attention for this purchase. His tweet alone received over 54,000 “likes” and 1,700 retweets.
Logan Paul’s purchase was evidence that “old Pokémon cards” can function as an investment, similar to buying an expensive piece of art.
Even here in Germany, there was a hype around “Pokémon cards, driven by Twitch streamer Trymacs.
Pokémon experts immediately doubt the authenticity of the box
How did the experts react? Wise Pokémon experts quickly pointed out that this box could be a scam. The site “Pokebeach,” which specializes in such matters, stated as early as 31.12.2021: Something is fishy here (via pokebeach).
Here’s what the experts said:
- Eight months earlier, a YouTuber had gathered evidence that cast doubt on the authenticity of the box.
- Strange things had already happened during a previous sales process: usernames were changed, the box was advertised in dubious ways and sold incorrectly. Such a valuable collectible should actually be auctioned through a reputable auction house, not sold online in any way.
- Further irregularities were also noted during deeper research.
- At the end of the first auction, the highest bid was a comparatively ridiculous $72,500 – clearly showing that “serious collectors” were not interested in the box that Logan Paul later purchased.
- The box was also authenticated by a company that knows too little about Pokémon cards, as they specialize in baseball cards.
- Pokébeach stated: Trustworthy experts should be allowed to inspect the box to dispel any doubts about its authenticity.
In any case, the provenance of the box was dubious: Allegedly, someone bought a house in Canada and found the box somewhere in a cupboard. This is considered in the Pokémon community as a “running gag” for a dubious origin story, similar to “fell off the truck.”
Overall, the Pokémon experts seemed somewhat sniffy that such “non-serious” collectors like Logan Paul were doing such things now.
Logan Paul drew the short straw
Here’s what has come to light: After doubts about the box multiplied, Logan Paul has now really unboxed the expensive package. And indeed: Instead of first edition Pokémon cards, there were “G.I: Joe booster” packs in the expensive packages.
He should have listened to the experts.
Paul comforts himself with the fact that his video about the bad purchase is now at least ranked number 1 on YouTube trends.
These Pokémon cards have caused trouble before:
Opening extremely rare Pokémon cards for $375,000 ends in total disaster
