Pokémon Yellow Special Edition

[Alphin21 | 3]

Came across this gem cleaning out my parents garage. My Mom or Grandma must’ve bought one for me to keep and didn’t open it.

It seems to be in pretty good shape, but I don’t know what I’m looking for when it comes to the grading aspect.

 

My question is it worth sending into grading and if so, what do you guys think it would grade as?

 

Thanks for any feedback.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,017]

Let's see what @AdamWhas to say. He's the resident GB Pokemon expert

[AdamW | 713]

We actually talked about it on @Maertens29's discord, we think the box looks in pretty nice shape, the seal isn't the typical h-seam but Greg says he's seen this type on Pokemon boxes before so it's likely legit. Probably a good grading candidate.

[Tanooki | 4,949]

Adam would know best, been making for months now all sorts of an index on pokemon boxes/carts/complete/sealed stuff.

I do know I remember seeing that seal as well.

I don't grade, I couldn't say what you would get with any good idea within a half point or so.  I will say this, no one should get a 10 there's always something.  Now, what would detract from it you can see yourself to a degree largely, and far better than your small images.
- Whiting on corners
- Any damage to every corner as it should be sharp and tight
- Dents along the hard edges anywhere
- Compression of the cardboard enough to billows out, if not worse, gets creases
- Various dents anyway or compression
- Snags, rips, tears, defects to the shrink wrap the factory wouldn't have done

Beyond that, anything common sense, sun or moisture issues causing oddities to the cardboard or color shift/degradation

Depending which, each thing will drop it a .1 or even a .5 or more in value cumulatively among each issue found.

[Alphin21 | 3]

Thanks for the replies guys. I literally have no clue what I’m looking at when it comes to these things. I came across it in my parents garage and just am trying to do some research.

[DefaultGen | 5,426]

It's definitely worth grading. Many buyers in the sealed market are new right now and don't know what they're looking for to authenticate or judge an ungraded game (and in general people don't want condition surprises in a game they paid $1000s for). You will hugely increase your market by grading it, particularly with Wata. It will also take a long ass time.

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Regardless of the reason you want to have it graded, I say it is worth submitting for grading purposes.

However... If you plan to keep it, as its origins are tied to either your mother or grandmother, I have to recommend that you give CAS a chance. All you have to do is register an account, go to the below link (which as an 85+ on display), and choose your options. In the end it will cost less to have them grade it, even with the upgrades.

LINK: https://collectorarchive.com/vid152

As for recommendations if you do use them... Pay for the acrylic upgrade. It is just another $12.50, atop of the $49.99 cost to have it be both graded and encased. Plus I also recommend taking their advice by insuring it for the price you think it is worth once it is graded. I overlooked this with my first two, but not my current one.

Now onto grading.

Comparing it to the CAS 85+ (88.9), I would say at worst it could be an 80+. But that is because I am not able to see it in person. However, I feel that if they gave it a light cleaning it should grade at least an 85. Maybe an 85+ since their example looks to be in similar condition when compared to yours. But again, I need to see it in person.

I hope this helps, and please note that your choice of grading company is up to you. In the end I recommended them because they offer a AFA/VGA style look at prices (and turnaround times) that rival both. 

[a3quit4s | 4,124]

6 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

It's definitely worth grading. Many buyers in the sealed market are new right now and don't know what they're looking for to authenticate or judge an ungraded game (and in general people don't want condition surprises in a game they paid $1000s for). You will hugely increase your market by grading it, particularly with Wata. It will also take a long ass time.

Wasn’t there some speculation that if you went to HA with something ungraded that you wanted to sell and they thought it would grade highly, they would bump you up the WATA line to get it in their next auction?

[AnimalHouse | 117]

On 8/11/2021 at 1:31 AM, Alphin21 said:

Came across this gem cleaning out my parents garage. My Mom or Grandma must’ve bought one for me to keep and didn’t open it.

It seems to be in pretty good shape, but I don’t know what I’m looking for when it comes to the grading aspect.

 

My question is it worth sending into grading and if so, what do you guys think it would grade as?

 

Thanks for any feedback.

 

There are 2 types of seams I have seen on the 'no rating' ESRB:

1. First-party H-Seam

2. First-party V-Overlap Seam (the one you have)

As you can see, both have been graded by Wata. You can use there grading scale. Click through the different # and compare pictures. Once you have a 'general idea' what your game can grade for. Compare auction sites: Ebay, Certifiedlink, ComicConnect and Heritage Auctions.

Weigh the Pros vs Cons. Some pple prefer selling there games raw ungraded. Lesser payout vs graded. Going the graded route requires additional capital and LOTS of patience. All depends on the seller, that means you. 

Good luck!