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Podcast Episode

Market Manipulation and Shill Bidding in Pokémon Cards & the Balance Between Investment and Passion

JELI CARDS PODCAST··13 September 2026·1h

About this episode

In this episode, John and I discuss the PSA 10 Gold Star Torchic that is currently on auction for over $1.6M! Is this the ultimate example of shill bidding in the hobby? That card has a PSA 10 pop count of 19, so is it truly worth close to $2,000,000? Plus, we discuss how hobbyists are getting "distracted" by the dollar signs. We can't forget why this is called a hobby! The hobby is built on building collections and buying the cards you love.