| RECON // NEWSLETTER NO. 011 |
FRI OCT 30, 2026 |
|
Know the market. Collect with conviction.
TCG · VIDEO GAMES · ANIME
|
 | | IMAGE: FANATICS COLLECT |
A PSA 10 Tyranitar ex from POP Series 1 sold for $360,000 at Fanatics Collect, and it is the same slab that sold for $10,555 on eBay in April 2025
| SOLD | $360,000 WITH PREMIUM · FANATICS COLLECT WEEKLY · OCT 25 |
| SAME SLAB | $10,555 · EBAY · APR 2025 · CERT 109777264 |
| POP | 8 PSA 10s, PER COMICBOOK.COM |
$360,000 +3,311% VS LAST COMP
Fanatics Collect’s Weekly sold a PSA 10 2004 POP Series 1 Tyranitar ex for $360,000 with premium on Oct 25, and ComicBook.com matched its cert to a $10,555 eBay sale of the same slab in April 2025, about 34 times less. PSA counts eight 10s. The same weekend reset the PSA 10 records for the Umbreon Gold Star ($738,100 at Goldin) and the Dragon Frontiers Charizard Gold Star ($504,000 at Fanatics). A short population list priced a card nobody calls a headliner like a grail, and an 18-month-old comp turned out to be no guide at all.
|
|
|
eBay says TCGplayer passed $1 billion in gross merchandise volume over the last 12 months, Goldin posted a record quarter, and card authentication thresholds dropped in the US and UK
eBay’s third-quarter report on Oct 28 put TCGplayer above $1 billion in trailing 12-month GMV and said Goldin had record GMV for the quarter, per CollectiblesNews; eBay overall took $3.2 billion in revenue, up 14%, on $23.2 billion of GMV. TCGplayer has started onboarding UK and Canadian sellers, and eBay lowered the price at which trading cards must pass its Authenticity Guarantee. One owner now sees the raw single, the authenticated slab, the livestream break and the seven-figure lot, which puts more checked sales behind every comp.
|
|
| |
| TCG |
Goldin’s Pokémon 30th Anniversary Auction totaled over $28 million with 18 record sales, led by the $4.88 million Art Academy Mudkip and the Trophy Pikachu PSA 8 at over $3 million; the Art Academy Sableye and Gourgeist PSA 10s made $976,000 each. (ICv2, Oct 29) |
| TCG |
A PSA 10 Umbreon Gold Star made $738,100 at Goldin about an hour after another PSA 10 made $456,000 at Fanatics Collect, and a PSA 10 Dragon Frontiers Charizard Gold Star made $504,000 at Fanatics, above Heritage’s $475,000 on Sep 18 (all Oct 25, with premium). (ComicBook.com, Oct 29) |
| TCG |
PSA reopened its Value tier on Oct 29 at $39.99 a card with a 90–100 business day estimate, behind every existing order; its backlog stands at 7.2 million items against a 5 million target before Value Bulk returns, and Standard and Priority estimates drop 20 days to 70–80 and 50–60. (CollectiblesNews, Oct 28) |
| TCG |
McDonald’s Pokémon TCG Happy Meal reportedly runs in the US Nov 10 to Dec 14, with two cards per meal from a 15-card set of reprints with McDonald’s numbering, per PokéBeach (Oct 27). (CollectiblesNews, Oct 27) |
|
|
|
| UPCOMING RELEASES |
DROP DATES |
| NOV 6 |
Delta Reign (Pokémon TCG, English): its Elite Trainer Box tracked at $106 and its booster bundle at $55 on Oct 27, per Chase Society
LIVE LISTINGS ON EBAY → |
ETB $106 ON OCT 27 |
| NOV 13 |
Magic: The Gathering – Star Trek (Wizards of the Coast): Play Boosters, Collector Boosters and Beam Me Up Bundles, with seven actor-signed headliner cards at 250 copies each in Collector Boosters, per ICv2 (Oct 20)
LIVE LISTINGS ON EBAY → |
SIGNED CARDS 250 EACH |
| JUN 11, 2027 |
Dragon Ball Super Card Game: Fusion World Story Booster 03 [ST-03] (Bandai): 12-card packs in 20-pack displays, 5 Leaders, 2 Secret Rares and new alternate-art cards; no price yet, per ICv2 (Oct 27) |
NO MSRP YET |
|
|
FIELD NOTE
A short pop list can reprice a slab overnight. The card stayed the same; the room changed.
The PSA 10 Tyranitar ex that made $360,000 on Oct 25 is the same slab that sold for $10,555 in April 2025, and PSA counts eight 10s. Nothing about the card changed in 18 months; the number of buyers who wanted one of eight did. Condition rarity caps a price only until enough buyers chase the same short list, and the 30th-anniversary auctions put those buyers in one room.
|
|
|
|
Disclosure: Links marked eBay are affiliate links: Collector Recon may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Collector Recon doesn’t own the items featured and isn’t paid by auction houses or brands for coverage. Figures are from the sources named, checked the day they were reported; not investment advice. You’re receiving this because you subscribed at collectorrecon.xyz. |
|
