Alpha, Beta, Delta, Schmelta, Yabba, Dabba, Doo…
I don’t trust authenticity. Feels incredibly easy to duplicate. Too many types and styles. And, has taken a bit focus away from vintage collecting Carddass, Bandai, Topps, Meiji, Japanese TCG, Club etc.
Just don’t trust it, don’t love it, and having a hard time understanding the proliferation of these cards - when they didn’t exist in the Pokémon zeitgeist a year-ish ago.
Thoughts?
Jeremy
I once said the prototypes were dumb. Afterwards, all my lights flickered and a missingno popped up on my screen. I couldnt sleep for days and I feared I was being stalked. Anyways, I own several now. I think they are the coolest things ever and deserve all the love and none of the hate at all. Nope, none of it.
I like prototypes in theory, as they’re a neat part of tcg history. From a historical standpoint, I love doing research on the early beginnings of the tcg, as well as all of the factory test prints and why and how they came to be.
In practice though, I don’t really trust authenticity, and I don’t understand how they command such prices when said authenticity is under such scrutiny.
All that being said, the only reason I’d ever went to own any is if they’re exactly part of my species collection. As of right now, I’m aware of one Piplup and one Prinplup test print that exist, but I’m not willing to pay exorbitant prices for them whatsoever. They’re cool, yeah, but not hundreds-thousands of dollars cool imo.
I am ambivalent toward the whole thing. I appreciate the historical significance, but I hate how everything was handled and how little is collectively known.
I like the concept of them, but I think they’ve been introduced into absolutely the worst possible market. They make for great history but they’re also just fuel to the fire of the current craze. There’s also an element of annoyance for condition and veracity. “Trust…because”. It’s fine, it’s just not worth the attention being spent
It’s not hard to understand the proliferation and continued strong sales prices for these cards. Even in spite of the murkiness behind their creation and recent reveal to the pokemon tcg collecting industry. They are cool, unique, and ‘weren’t supposed to be released’. They are actually incredibly accessible for mid-range collectors who don’t mind having an unpopular species in CGC 9 or 9.5 as well.
The people involved with getting these cards out into the public aren’t really upfront with how this all went down, and the provenance of how these cards were deemed authentic by CGC, as far as I know, isn’t well documented or public. But the people involved with it are incentivized to legitimize them in the eyes of the public and will continue to push the idea that these cards are legit, and fight against anyone daring to question their authenticity and virtue.
The longer these cards exist in peoples collections whilst the information is questionable, the harder it will ever be to get the truth out into the public. (Assuming there is more truth to be told), and frankly the ship has sailed. Too many people have spent thousands on these cards for it to really matter anymore.
To the extent that I care, I dislike everything about them.
Yes, I too can print out paper, slap it on cardstock and send it to cgc with 0 scrutiny.
The whole disco holos were neat…when they were an uncut sheet. They were well documented, and obviously from WOTC print factory. Everything past that is skullduggery.
Like others, I am a fan of the idea. Its not like they were physically handdrawn or put into production followed by being pulled and replaced with a different version. I can see if they were those things them commanding a high price. Since they arent, Id be happy to own some but they might as well be an unofficial tcg set.
For me they are equivalent to an artist doing a limited release artprint, they exist and are copies of one another and maybe they have a little remarque on them but overall there isnt anything unique about them beyond the rarity and art itself. Whether or not these are official, the story is interesting and the art is nostalgic. Id happily pay a minor amount of money for some, but it would take great consideration to offer a moderate sum, which is why I dont have one yet.
Initial response at this moment:
I can’t KNOW what I have. But further, they are prototypes, no one would say these are produced cards for any legitimate distribution, So as a collector of cards I’m not particularly interested in collecting one. Owning one as part of the history of the hobby is a different story, but owning and collecting in this case have significantly different meanings for me.
As an arita collector for example, that one birthday card that he specially illustrated - it was a “pokemon card” - is not an officially released card for any sort of public consumption, like the “pop divo cards” I’ll call them. BUT again, it’s interesting, just not what I collect.
I’ll echo what a few of us have said. Historical significance is the most important element to me, it’s very cool to look at what evolved over time to become a real trading card. This is the only value I see in them.
I’m not an investor, nor do I have patience or capital to start, so maybe that’s why it’s just not clicking with my tiny monkey brain how these easy to fake prototypes are being taken so seriously. Yes, limited product and low population. Yes, history. But thousands of dollars for something that can be faked with pinpoint accuracy? I’m unsure on that one.
All that said, my monkey brain also says “is that a Haunter?” and goes into overdrive knowing I’ll never own one, so maybe we’re all fools in our own way.
Not a fan of them either, I think mainly because I just don’t fully understand them and have too many unanswered and unanswerable questions. Not worth the hype IMO.
Are they understand-able tho? I mean, to understand something means to know what it is to a large degree, and to a large degree, we don’t…
Right?
If I had billionaire income I would buy them, but not worth the risk as a joe
Correct, that is part of the problem for me. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of putting my money into things I don’t understand. It would be one thing if these were $10 items, but for thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars I have to bow out.
I feel strong hesitation towards them, and I think most of that stems from their release.
If they had been revealed in any way that was informative, or prestigious, or confidence-inspiring, I probably would have been all about them. To me, they were released flippantly, without even the provenance of selling from the source, but to be re-sold from a party who seemingly purchased them for automatic resale. Perhaps the source had limitations that prevented him from selling the cards himself, but from a prestige or confidence standpoint, it’s a weaker reveal to have them come from some purchaser. There’s no cool factor, or warm feeling, or excitement here.
From an authenticity standpoint, they aren’t as simple as printer paper glued to bridge cards you can buy on amazon. But they aren’t more complicated than printer paper and glue on a smaller card, which doesn’t stand on its own as well as a typical trading card does.
The images of similar cards have existed in publications for decades, which helps contextualize them as “real” items.
I don’t personally like the naming scheme. Seems like it was come up with on the fly to tie into omega mystery boxes or something.
The average buyer must have a lot more confidence or enthusiasm than I do, because the prices seem high at all levels to me.
My feelings can be summed up as apathy. I’d love to know more about them and their source and grow an appreciation for them, but until then, my love and attention and money will go to non-prototype trading cards.
Prototypes have been circulating in the public eye for several years, with multiple iterations and variations emerging as a natural part of the franchise’s development process. However, the naming convention for these prototypes was poorly conceived and created in haste, likely for marketing purposes. The rush to bring these cards to market led to a competitive frenzy, driven by the desire to be the first to release them. As a result, the prototypes sold over the past year reflect a market dominated by immediate financial incentives.
The pristine condition of so many of these prototypes is truly surprising. Based on my own experience, as well as that of my peers, it’s uncommon for prototypes to be kept in perfect condition, regardless of the industry. Any new company aiming for success is unlikely to prioritize maintaining multiple flawless copies of their prototype creations.
That being said, I sincerely hope all of these are genuine, as their historical significance cannot be overstated—provided their origin stories can be authenticated.
Happy New Year!
cpbog1
For me, spending money on a collectible is purely about owning it, without any consideration for its resale value.
Here’s how I see it:
If the prototypes are genuine, they represent a significant part of early TCG history and are worth collecting. Depending on the price, I might be willing to spend a substantial amount of money on them.
If the prototypes are fake, they still represent a piece of recent TCG history and, for that reason, are also worth collecting. However, I wouldn’t be willing to pay as much for them.
Conclusion:
For me, it doesn’t matter whether the prototypes are genuine or fake. What matters is whether the price aligns with my willingness to collect them for what they represent—a piece of TCG history, albeit one where the specific era (early or recent) is uncertain.
It’s similar to collecting bootlegs that might have the potential to be genuine. The key is to ensure you’re at peace with the amount you’re spending, without factoring in any thoughts of reselling the prototypes.
For now, I won’t be buying any—the price seems unreasonably high for potential bootlegs. However, I would still love to own them someday.
Best regards,
orannge
Have you heard of base, jungle and fossil??