After trying to purchase a box months ago and getting sold a fake one, I’m back in the market (for a real one this time)!
Would appreciate any leads on someone who is interested in selling.
I’m also interested in 1st edition base packs so reach out if you are selling some of those.
Explain this, fake box. How was it? What were the contents like? Got pictures?
Hah yeah I have pictures and even have some video kicking around. I posted about it here if you want to get all the details: www.elitefourum.com/t/fake-1st-edition-base-set-box/12961/1
Wow, I read the whole thing. Im glad the community was able to help you in such way. Good luck finding what you’re looking for!
What are you looking to pay for a legit box? As NZG usually comes in and says in these threads… a dollar amount has a better shot at flushing items out.
Buying it to sit on it/investment type thing, or to open?
Thanks! Me too. I could have ended up holding the short end of the stick there.
I’d be looking to pay around $8k for one. The plan is to open it up and send in the holos for grading.
this time get one through someone who knows @garyis2000
Please don’t.
1 Like
I wish I was brave enough to buy something that expensive and open it
It’s a gamble. I opened three boxes with no Charizard or Blastoise. Then again, I opened one box and got three Charizards that ALL GRADED 10:)
5 Likes
SOMEONE SELL THIS MAN A BOX!!! I WANNA SEE SOME PACKS GET CRACKED
Why not? Too risky?
No, the live Pokemon they shoved into the cards are for sure dead by now.
What exactly is your motivation for buying the box?
My post is more along the line of there’s not may 1st edition boxes left, so much so that when one shows up they sell for near $10k. Please don’t just open another box lowering the number even more. If you want booster buy booster, if you want cards buy cards. With the risk comment it now sounds to me like you’re trying to profit from it. If that’s the case then defiantly don’t do it.
Before purchasing one of these booster boxes, really take the time to consider the fact that it’s a GAMBLE. You might end up loosing money and/or breaking even if you decide to break-open one of these booster boxes. However, on the flip-side of things, there’s potential for A LOT of profit - if your stars align in just the right way!
So, if you’ve thought long and hard and have the funds available, I’d say GO FOT IT!!!
The only reason you’d ever want to open a 1st Edition Base Set booster box is for the experience of opening it. It is extremely unlikely that the contents of the box will be worth more than the unopened box; basically the only scenario in which you can come out on top monetarily is if you manage to pull multiple Charizards that all end up grading 10s.
1 Like
First off, I really don’t follow PSA Grading like I used too; so please correct me if I’m wrong in anything! Plus, I’m writing this as I’m thinking, so I may actually disprove myself here! Lol Let’s run a scenario though… We’ll use Mr. Burns for this example - since he’s been so popular on E4 these past few days (Haha) - money is not an issue (I Wish)!
Mr. Burns buys a booster box for 10K on eBay. He’s apart of eBay Bucks, so he’ll receive 2% cash-back ($200.00). He opens all booster packs and received the following card-ratio: 12 Holo, 24 Rare, 108 Un-Common, 216 Common, and 72 Energy. Now, right off the bat, he’s able to sell the empty booster-box and empty booster pack wrapping. He submits all cards into PSA for Grading (@ $5.00/Card). Here’s where it gets kind of tricky because we’re not able to actually tell which cards/grades he’d get… Let’s assume he gets all MINT 9 to keep things easy…
Booster Box: $10,000.00 - $200.00 (eBay Bucks) = $9,800.00
PSA Grading: 432 Cards x $5.00 / Card = $2,160.00
Total Investment: $11,960.00 (Not Factoring in Card Supplies and Time)
Empty Booster Box: Sold for $100.00
Empty Booster Packs: Sold for $90.00 ($2.50 / Pack)
12x MINT 9 Holo Cards: Sold for $2,100.00 ($175.00 / Card)
24x MINT 9 Rare Cards: Sold for $1,080.00 ($45.00 / Card)
108x MINT 9 Un-Common Cards: $2,160.00 ($20.00 / Card)
216x MINT 9 Common Cards: $3,240.00 ($15.00 / Card)
72x MINT 9 Energy Cards: $720.00 ($10.00 / Card)
Total Sales: $9,490.00 (Not Factoring in Card Supplies, Postage Supplies, eBay/PayPal Fees, and Time)
LOL, OK… I just disproved myself… It was fun imagining though!
In my quick example, assuming you don’t pull any starter-cards (Charizard, Blastoise, or Venusaur) AND all cards grade MINT 9, you’d end up loosing BIG TIME! How good are my price estimates though - higher or lower? How likely is it that all cards would grade MINT 9? Has anyone actually tried sending in a whole booster box worth of cards? I’d be interested to know the PSA 10, 9, and 8 percentages!
I believe the most you can get from a single transaction in eBay bucks is $100. Also, PSA hasn’t had a $5 grading special in a while (though they have done $5.25-5.75). Everything else seems fine.
Thanks for laying out all the math. 
Based on what I’ve seen on Youtube of people opening boxes, I’d say your chances of grading 10s for 1st Edition Base even out of the box is pretty low… maybe 20% if that. Being that these were the first Pokemon cards ever produced, there were a variety of different issues including but not limited to centering issues, edge-wear/silvering, and manufacturing scratches on the holofoil. It’s also even more of a gamble in that since cards in a single booster box will be coming from the same print run, you will either have a box of cards that are very well manufactured, or a box of max PSA 8-9s right off the bat. Because of this, I’d say again that buying one of these boxes for a chance at profit is a terrible waste and should be avoided. Just leave these on the market for true hobbyists who will keep it sealed, or be willing to pay for the opening experience thrill for themselves.
You wouldn’t submit all commons and uncommons ideally. You would submit the best 50-100 you find. Depending on how good you are/ and how the graders you get are feeling, you can get a decent 10 %age and stay away from any 8’s and make out better.
I would love to and plan to open a box someday as well. It is tough because I think worst case you could probably stand to lose $3,000-$4,000 if you get a really good deal of $8,000 on the box. Best case assuming all three starters and a PSA 10 zard, you could stand to make $3,000-$4,000 as well. I think the odds are against that though and expected value should be somewhere around $-1500 to be safe. I would be willing to take the gamble. If one was available for $8,000 or lower I would be a buyer as well, but it would take time to get the money together.
I would NEVER buy one and not open it. I couldn’t stand knowing/not knowing if it is real or not.
the shipping on 36 packs worth of cards would be a decent chunk of change on top of the grading fee