On May 5, a man in Glendale, California met another man to buy him a sealed package of two very rare items. Funko Pops for $100K Cash. This deal, the first six-figure Funko Pop sale ever recorded, is believed to be the largest in the history of the Funko Pop collection, and it may just be the beginning of even bigger deals to come.
What are Funko Pops? Well, you probably already know what they are. But for those who have been living under a rock or who haven’t walked into a store that sells comics, books, or video games, let me help. Funko Pops (often called Pops) are small vinyl figures with large heads. Most of the characters are designed to look like different characters from pop culture, such as Batman, Freddy Krueger, Darth Vader, etc. Some people love them, some people hate them, and a lot of people don’t think about them at all because my God, the world is a mess these days and I don’t really have the energy inside me anymore judging people who love silly pop culture collectibles.
Anyway, one of the rarest pops out there is a file Willy WonkaA special themed package containing two golden figures. In 2016, only 10 of these numbers were submitted, and only four these They were given to people who also had gold tickets they found inside candy bars at the San Diego Comic-Con event. (The other six sets are believed to have been given to friends or employees of Funko.) Since then, most of the sets have been locked up in private collections, so only two are known to have been made, which also include tickets.
After trying and failing to track down the other Willy Wonka Pops Golden Ticket Package It’s known to exist, Frank –Known as Grailmonster on the Internet– He decided to connect with one person he knew for sure had one. So last month Grailmonster reached out to a collector who had one of these very rare numbers for a golden ticket and asked if he was interested in selling it.
“I heard a while ago he wouldn’t sell it,” Grailmonster said. Kotaku Via email, “Our mutual friends kind of put it in my ear that he might even give it up if I offered him $100,000.”
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It took some persuasion, but in the end, the two agreed to a deal, with the collector selling his rare figures for $100,000. cash Money. However, even after the deal was agreed, Grailmonster wasn’t sure the collector would partner with such a rare number.
“I didn’t actually think he’d sell until he went through the door on the morning of the deal.”
Funko Pop fans gathered at a collectibles store in Glendale, California on May 5 to finalize the deal. Everything was recorded and then uploaded to Grailmonster’s YouTube channel. According to him and Other members of the pop collecting communityThis is the biggest and most expensive deal of its kind ever.
Grailmonster is well aware that a lot of people, and probably many of you reading this by now, will describe him as an idiot or an idiot. He explained to me that while the others were calculating all the cash in the store and preparing for the exchange, he joked that he would be a “village idiot” online afterwards. But there is also a feeling between him and many other pop collectors that the community will soon experience a Pokemon-like explosion of money and popularity.
“I’m sure of the first 100 thousand dollars Buy a Pokemon Card He looked really stupid,” Grailmonster explained. “And the first $10,000 Buying comic books, etc., it’s all relative.”
He hopes the deal will help bring in new collectors while also highlighting how “crazy” the private collector’s world has been about Funko Pops in recent years, with individuals dropping $20,000 on pops based on Only rumors and blurry pictures.
“private [Funko Pop] “Society is really like the Wild West,” Grailmonster said. “There is really no resource for secondary market sales, so everyone is dependent on each other to complete the big transactions. There is serious money flying around.”
As for what he plans to do now after spending so much money on these two rare figures, Grailmonster joked Kotaku He will “stare” at her for a long time.
Grailmonster admitted, “I just sat in the middle of my dining room table like an intruder bitch.” “I will keep it for as long as possible.”
Of course, I asked him what he would say to people who, understandably, find it too strange or even stupid to spend that much cash on plastic toys. For him, a hobby is more than just games, and while he understands that some people won’t get it, for him, it’s a natural part of collecting anything.
“No one is supposed to understand it. I really enjoy it more than any hobby I have ever had.” “I love lore about rare pieces. Pieces like Clockwork Orange, Freddy Venom, Beatles rejecting the set, etc. have great stories behind them. There are pieces so rare that there are no accounts of them and only a few photos (Pope, Woody & Buzz 2-pack, etc.)”.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t buy games, I chase stories.”
“Unapologetic communicator. Wannabe web lover. Friendly travel scholar. Problem solver. Amateur social mediaholic.”