YouTube’s most prolific Pokémon collector may have been scammed out of 3.5 million dollars! Logan Paul, known for his fast-paced vlogs and his various boxing fights, has recently found himself in a card fiasco. You may be asking, what type of fiasco? Well, Fake cards to be exact! Who would have guessed that Logan Paul has yet again managed to find himself at the center of controversy? This time, the vlogger managed to get the card collecting community enraged. The story behind how Logan Paul might have gotten scammed is full of twists and turns, so strap in, as this is one hell of a story!

Logan Paul announces $3,500,000 purchase:

Logan Paul’s card collecting catastrophe began back on December 20, 2021, where Paul took to Twitter to announce he had spent $3,500,00 dollars on a “sealed & authenticated box of 1st Edition Pokémon cards”. Many in the trading card community reacted in awe over Logan Paul’s outrageously expensive purchase. “Hey bro you’re crazy,” A fellow Pokémon YouTuber named Randolph said in a reaction.

In case you don’t already know, vintage Pokémon products are far from cheap. In fact, a single Pokémon card called the “Shadowless Holographic Charizard” can set you back over $220,000. In a matter of fact, the multi-platinum selling rapper Logic did just that back in October of 2020. For some, these cards are a serious investment.

Red Flags Spotted by Card Collecting Community:

Following Logan Paul’s announcement, many people in the card collecting community began speculating on the legitimacy of Paul’s purchase. The YouTuber named Rattle was the first to speak up on the matter, followed by Members of the Pokémon card trading forums known as PokéBeach. On the PokéBeach forum, evidence was compiled pointing to the illegitimacy of Paul’s purchase. First, the forums touched on the weird purchase history, secondly, it touched on the inconsistencies with the product’s box, and then thirdly, they discussed the authentication company’s credentials. Here are all the highlights for those categories.

Purchase History:

  •  As shared by PokéBeach forum members, the purchase history associated with the product was inconsistent. The product first appeared on eBay back last March under a shroud of mystery.
  • The product’s eBay seller named “number1pokemonmaster” had relatively no feedback on the marketplace,  and the products listings featured grammatical errors.
  • Additionally, the eBay seller seemingly took steps to obscure their history by changing their username.
  • The story behind the product was also inconsistent, as “the seller told three different origin stories”. One featuring the product being acquired at a estate sale, one being a birthday gift, and the third being found in an attic following a house purchase.

Inconsistencies with the Box:

  •  Forum members also shared concerns over the product’s label, as the original cards should have been printed with thermal printing which fades over time. Paul’s product does not seem to be even remotely faded.
  • The product code, located above the barcode, also does not seem consistent with previous legitimate products. As it has an extra 2 characters attached to the end of it.
  • When scanning the barcodes of prior legitimate products, they were able to be translated into an alphanumeric code that matches the aforementioned product code. Paul’s product does not do this.
  • The taping applied to Paul’s product is also inconsistent with known legitimate products as well.

Authentification Company:

  • Another concern for the forum members was with the company that authenticated Paul’s product.
  • The company Baseball Card Exchange is not as well established in the Pokémon trading card community as other card authentication companies. This raises questions about their authority in the space.
  • According to one member from the PokéBeach forums, the owner of the company admitted in an email back in June of 2020 that he didn’t know much about Pokémon.

Logan Paul speaks on the matter:

On January 4, 2022, following weeks of criticism by the Pokémon trading card community, Paul took to Twitter to share that he is aware of the situation and that he has a meeting scheduled with the authentication company.

Updates:

As of now, there are no new updates on this situation. In the meantime, click here to read a different situation that happened this week where Logan Paul claims Floyd Mayweather also scammed him. 

References:

You can find a link to the aforementioned PokéBeach post by clicking here.