Genius or Mistake? 9-Year-Old’s Pokémon Card Security Hack Backfires

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Back in the days when the Pokémon card craze took off, people were willing to pay vast sums for a single card, leaving one pondering if your younger self had invested in one of those instead of, say, Bitcoin. Recently, an individual discovered a rare Pokémon card, only to be struck with disbelief upon learning what their past self had done to it. This tragic mistake transformed a valuable collector’s item into a mere memory. Here’s the full story on this unfortunate turn of events.

The Heartbreaking Card Mistake

As the market for Pokémon cards experienced a significant surge, collectors discovered that rare cards were dramatically increasing in worth. Some even sold for thousands of dollars, leading many to dig through old collections, seeking long-lost valuable items. One individual believed they’d struck it rich, but soon learned that their past efforts to preserve the cards had actually decreased their potential value instead.

A Pokémon enthusiast’s trusted companion recently posted a tale on Reddit about discovering a Charizard card that could fetch over $10,000, all these years later. When he was just 9 years old, he came up with a shrewd plan to safeguard his precious cards from being swiped: he trimmed the corners. His rationale was straightforward: if the cards were ever nabbed, the missing edges would make them easily identifiable. Even so, he still ensconced the cards in protective casings, hoping to preserve their pristine condition. Unbeknownst to him, this action would prove costly in the long run.

Small cut, big loss

You might not consider it expensive, given that only a small portion of the card is missing. However, Pokémon traders evaluate cards differently. They use a grading system to assess the quality of a card, taking into account factors like fingerprints, scratches, and other imperfections. If you were to trim the corners, it could significantly reduce the PSA score, which ranges from 1 (poor) to 10 (mint). It’s similar to transforming Shrek into a human – a perfect 10 would become a 2.

The post received approximately 10,000 ‘upvotes’ and garnered a great deal of empathy from other users who shared similar experiences. They confirmed that the strategy was effective as no one stole the card. The card’s owner learned from his past mistake and did not repeat it, as his older self had not taken shortcuts to amass wealth. In preparation for my Pulitzer Prize acceptance speech, I would like to take a moment to gather my thoughts.

Do you own an Illustrator Pikachu? And can I live on your super yacht? Let me know in the comments!

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2025-02-21 16:39