Thanks again to Sheath for sponsoring! Go to thld.co/SHEATH_CUPODCAST0821 for 20% off your order today! ---- What do you think about this $2 million sale? Are you shocked that things have moved this quickly? Are you interested in seeing who the buyer(s) actually are? More info@www.polygon.com/22613037/super-mario-bros-sells-for-2-million-investment-rally

I can't wait until all of these shenanigans come out on a Netflix documentary.

If this isn't money laundering, I don't know what is

I officially don’t care about the most expensive game ever sold anymore

I can't help but think that eventually these companies are all going to end up in trouble for some sort of "insider trading". There is NO ONE legitimately paying these prices for these games without having some sort of invested interest in the ballooning prices they're attempting to put out there. Edit: Ok, well, Ian basically said the same thing.

Maybe I'm being cynical, but I'm really starting to lean that these *sales* are a scam within these companies for exposure.

So the Sony super Nintendo CD is now worth $42Billion.

I call BS on nostalgia too. If anything, the nostalgia would be on the pack in one with duck hunt, since that's the game most of us got.

Damn these collectionist

i love how ian looks so annoyed by stupid pats sound effects lol

Glad I have a rom which I got for free lol

Buying "shares" of a collectible, video game or otherwise, is exceptionally stupid.

It’s the 90’s Comic Book Market all over again

More money laundering.

"Who is the layman? Who is the person who believes this is actually going to hold up for any length of time?" The same people who tell me straightfaced that their copy of "Thriller" is worth $100+.

I have a theory that no one is actually making money on this stupidity. It's just all this money exchanging hands between friends.

Can't wait for the FBI to get an interest in this... ;)

Now all the numnuts are going to think their video games are worth millions.

The snes/ps1 prototype only sold for $100k or so. Yet a common nes game sells for $2m because it’s sealed?

The most common NES game in existence....

appreciate the insight, Pat. so it could be what is basically legal tax evasion or legal money laundering. capitalism is so useful....

I still think these "records" seem way too fishy to be true. But as I am not into collecting and don't care about game prices, whatever.

Weird it’s always anonymous buyers spending millions. Guess no one wants to take pride in their million dollar collection

Most collectors with common sense wouldn't touch this crap from a mile away. These are a certain small group of people either laundering or doing some shady shenanigins. I just feel bad for the naive collectors that fall for this crap and get sucked into the FOMO and blow their wad on one of these auctions thinking this is legit.

Pat explaining so well Internal Revenue Code section 1031 is exactly why I admire this podcast so much. Quality information and entertainment.

The downfall of video game value is coming

That 1031 is usually for real estate and lower liquidity assets not other forms of assets like stocks, bonds and other tangible assets like sports memorabilia and collectibles. But I could be wrong🤷‍♂️

The 1031 has to be a like kind exchange for another property. You can't use the proceeds to buy a video game.

That upper middle-class kid who did something stupid(vandalism) around Christmas 1985, and didn't receive his NES Deluxe and SMB cartridge presents. Who's parents forgot about them in the attic. Will be rich by the time his parents die of natural causes, and he clears out their attic.

13:42 Oh, Polar Seltzer water. Fine selection.

Nice Superman reference with Otisberg 😂

I am pretty sure if you do a 1031 exchange you have to re-invest the profit in the ssme type of investment. If you sold real estate it has to go back into real estate.

Finally you guys addressed the money laundering angle (which is what makes the most sense om this whole story).

I can't believe how out of hand this has gotten

Not pass the smell test.

Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel

I'm going to really hate the sympathy seeking articles that are going to come from this when the bubble bursts.

there's a Legend of Zelda Sealed on goodwill for the low low price of $60,000

Reinvesting to defer capital gains is one part of it. But they actually probably NEVER have to pay the taxes if they're loss harvesting. They can have a comic valued at the top of the market, collateralize it into a loan and then have revalued much lower to claim the loss against any capital gains. Then lather rinse repeat. It's an infinite loop and they most likely NEVER pay any taxes.

I think this and the last big auction game is all a rouse to raise prices

"[Game collecting] has been whored out". Depressing yet true.

Market manipulation at its finest... ;)

Well this is terribly depressing

I wonder how much of a pay out some of the share holders got out of this sale.

in two years a rare pair of 1997 Hanes socks will sell for $2m

Imagine how much Tim Atwood would make if he slowly starts selling to these guys.

Wife pointed out its probably a money laundering scheme.

_Youre_ _supposed_ _to_ _push_ _Webistics_

I have to question if the buyer was in on some sort of scam to promote Wata or something. This shit just keeps getting crazier.

I hope theres another game crash like in the 80's,and these people are stuck with basically nothing.look what happend with beanie babies when collectors tried to set the cost of what somethings worth.now,those things are worth cents on the dollar.i love gaming,but i refuse to pay these stupid prices.no game is worth a million,let alone 2.i think i smell bs!!!

So I'd going to be a thing between Mario and Zelda? Who can list and sell the most expensive copy of itself?

Sometimes someone with a lot of money to throw around comes along and drops massive amounts of money on things that aren’t worth said money but just because they can.

Once we find out who bought it. It will become clear what their motivations were.

They're definitely shadey investments and theyre definitely artificially pumping up prices but my problem is whats gonna happen after they leave the "phenomenon" that is retro game collecting for dead

This is NOT SUSTAINABLE! Very strange to watch unfold...

Man, if I were Pat or someone like John Hancock, id be getting all my shit graded to cash in on this craze. If some rich assholes want to drop $2 mil on a game, then I will gladly accept and laugh all the way to the bank.

there'll be a more expensive one sold within less than 3 months

Do the Mario.

getting dumb now

This is beyond a scam at this point. It so sad and frustrating for video games to be caught up in this sleazy investment world. This has nothing to do with people who enjoy collecting video games.

Hopefully this bubble collapses (as the comic book one did after the 90s) and prices go to a level that people who care can afford to collect. (Though without collapsing the industry, as not a perfect analogy. The collapse of the comic book industry was a very bad thing and did a lot of damage to everyone.)

Mario is to video games as to what Superman is to comics. Highest valued, worth ever 2 million plus. Just insane 😳

1:31

This is ridiculous! Omg!

what's next Fester's Quest for $3Million LOL, that speculators, market manipulators, scammers from WATA.

Clean money now

Absolute legend gang👊

And they say video games are worthless I’m sure shady behind the scenes garbage was going on but Damn 2 million is retirement money second note I’m sure the The Who sold this probably have multiple sealed copies to unload

This is insanity.

Is a scam. Regardless of how good the box is also how we know is not a good repo?

Def money laundering

You can't hide bitcoin transactions on its network. The whole point of bitcoin is that its transparent money all transactions are kept on a public ledger. It would be stupid. Now Monero on the other hand lol

1031 you cant do Real estate to other tangible. It normally has to be from same category. So stocks for Stocks, Real Estate to Real Estate. Doesn't mean they are not doing that with the games. But they would probably have to be selling other tangibles like comic books, art, collectibles. However I think they are doing this with video games to pump investment valuation portfolios to avoid margin calls. The Main Investor of Collectors Universe is Steve Cohen from Point72 hedge fund. Which is rumored to be massively over leveraged, and can barely meet margin calls with crypto pump and dumps and now this.

Some people have more money then brains or have money mountain and 2 millions is spending cash.

Calling bullshit on this nonsense! unless it was owned by an A list celebrity back in the '80s and has their autograph on it there is no way in hell a box copy of Super Mario Brothers is worth that much this is too damn shady

My small collection contains nothing sealed and I have very few CIB games and none are worth much. But I would also like to know who had the game graded and then sold it via auction. A sealed collector? I know this is all fishy but why not take advantage and cash in before all these people are hauled off to jail or the bubble bursts? Especially if you have extra copies or decide the money is too much to pass up. Are the collectors that put these games into the hands of the 1% part of the problem?

Only 2 million, Id price it at 3 million

CHAMPIONS CLUB

this show promos a bunch of stuff for your nuts lmao

Would you sell absolutely anything?

2nd. Lol .i fucking hate trump bro,and his policies.ive been gaming since before the atari,so I've scene this scenario play out before,but there's a big difference now because most of the people buying these expensive games, don't even play.these games aren't old enough to be worth millions.

Woo hoo I'm rich I tell ya's I have a boxed copy of Mario Bros , Mario 2 and Mario 3 🤣

Man...I really hope Nord VPN comes back as a sponsor

Thank you for the Otisburg reference...made my day.

clearly you haven't heard of Gamestop!

Why u selling me boxers

Maybe being first was the friends we made along the way.

🔥

It's a bubble. Let the millionaires throw their money around. Who cares. What difference does that make to someone looking for a $40 game on ebay? None at all. Same game. Same rules. New ceiling.

Money laundering.

All these insane sales really make me want to sell my sealed stuff

bad investment

Super Contri Bros

Ffirsg?

Scam but who going to fall for it

So now that the owner of the 9.8 Mario has come out how about you admit you were completely wrong! You talk about all the big news so quit being scared or maybe ask Brady Hill a collector who bought it

what absolute idiotic nonsense all of this. to me this is no longer part of collecting or love of gaming.

sweaty scamdemic

1:31 to skip Pat shillng underwear.

Only other investment you can more than 16x your investment in a year is cryptocurrency.