Buying anything from a stranger online is already a risky decision. While most times these sales end up being relatively safe, there’s no guarantee that the person on the other end of the transaction is trustworthy, or that the item you’re purchasing is going to arrive undamaged, or at all.
Now imagine that the item you’re buying cost you $60,000, and you haven’t received it in nearly a year. That’s the situation that’s befallen one unfortunate Pokémon card collector, who’s still waiting on their expensive purchase to arrive in the mail.
A Youtuber named 'smpratte' posted a video detailing a Pokémon card sale that’s gone horribly wrong. The card in question is Trainer No. 3, which is one of the absolute rarest Pokémon cards in the world. It was only given to the player who came in third place at a 1999 Pokémon card tournament called the Super Secret Battle, and it granted them automatic entry into the following year's tournament. This is a one of a kind card, and getting it at $60,000 is kind of a steal, if it had actually arrived.
Neither the seller or the buyer are apparently at fault over the card not arriving, as smpratte says that he knows both individuals, and they worked hard to ensure the legitimacy of the sale. The card was shipped to New York via the US Postal Service, and that’s where its last known whereabouts were. No one seems to be able to track down what happened to the card after it reached American shores.
There's two main theories as to what happened to the card. First, it's possible that the package was simply mishandled, or lost by the US Postal Service. This would be a case of severe negligence on their part, and you would think that they would handle a high value item like this with more care than a postcard.
The other possibility is that someone stole the package. The card was insured for $50,000, and it’s highly likely that some low level mail worker found that out, and currently has a very rare Pokémon card in their possession. Of course if that was the case, it would be an incredibly stupid theft considering the card is the only one of its kind, and attempting to sell it would essentially be admitting to theft of a highly valuable item.
The rightful owner of the Trainer No. 3 card has opened up an investigation in hopes of finding it, and has offered a $1000 reward for anyone who’s able to provide information that would help them recover it. Hopefully they're able to track down this Pokémon card, because it would be a shame for a piece of trading card history to get lost in the mail.