A Massachusetts woman held a yard sale last month. Included in the items sold were three factory-sealed Pokémon Team Rocket booster boxes belonging to her father. Unbeknownst to her, the Pokémon boxes were worth a lot of money. TCGPlayer currently lists similar factory-sealed Pokémon Team Rocket booster boxes for around $14,000 a box.
According to the woman, she sold them for $10 a box.
The woman went to Facebook a couple of days ago to ask the buyers to return them.
From Facebook:
This whole story sounds absurd
Why did she sell the Pokémon boxes if they belonged to her father? Why would her father have these valuable boxes unsecured and stored somewhere his daughter had access to?
I’m fairly new to collecting Pokemon cards. Normally from what I’ve seen, people who have valuable products such as these Team Rocket booster boxes, keep them locked in a safe. Not only to protect them from thriving relatives who love to hold yard sales but also from fire.
What about the ethics of the buyers?
I don’t think the buyers have any legal obligation to return the cards to the woman. I do question their ethics. It was obvious the woman didn’t know what the cards were worth. You could argue they should have known the cards did not belong to her. In my opinion, you should not buy something if you suspect the item does not belong to the seller. Legally speaking, I don’t think the buyers broke any law. There’s no law against being an opportunistic dirtbag or taking advantage of a seller’s ignorance.
I think there are some valuable lessons to be learned here. Don’t sell things that don’t belong to you and I need to start going to yard sales.
