Prerelease Raichu

[.Lucifer]

Well I've had this pokemon cards collection since I was little, base set, a whole lot of them, +1000 cards approx.
I decided to look up how much I could get for my old collection, and which were the rarest cards.
And believe it or not, I've got the prerelease raichu card, of which there seems to be only 20 in the world!
I'm sure it's the correct one, it matches all the pics I found on the net of this rare card, and mine obviously also has the 'prerelease' stamp.
I just found out, and I'm about to sh*t my pants to be honest.
obviously I'm going to sell it on ebay, but I'd like to know how much exactly I could get for it.
It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, just tell me how much I should sell it for.
I will wait untill I get a decent idea for a selling price, and then I'll put it on ebay (with pictures ofcourse) and post the ebay link here aswell.

Excuse my bad english, I'm dutch.

Thanks,

.L

 

[Thorns]

Actually, there appears to be only eight, according to Serebii. Could you upload a picture so we can see? :D

 

[.Lucifer]

not at the moment, but I will asap. I will even make a video when I get a camera, to prove it's the real deal.
I just found out today!
I couldn't believe my eyes, and I still can't, since it really seems to be so rare.
how much should I sell it?

 

[Thorns]

I would NOT sell it if I were you. It's considered very rare and the "holy grail" of all Pokemon cards.

 

[Death_Mande]

not at the moment, but I will asap. I will even make a video when I get a camera, to prove it's the real deal.
I just found out today!
I couldn't believe my eyes, and I still can't, since it really seems to be so rare.
how much should I sell it?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't sell it. Just my like YGO Exodia pieces, I hold close memories to them. And since it seems that your card is so rare, I'd rather wait 'til the other 7 get wiped out of the face of Earth before even trying to sell it. Anyways, you do whatever you think is right ^^

 

[.Lucifer]

Well that's just plain sick if you ask me.
To think all these years my cards were laying in a box, dusty and forgotten, I had this amazing card which is worth quit some money apparently.
Even though you recommend not to sell it, I still might.
the reason why I gathered my all my cards in the first place, was to sell them all.
That's when I looked for rare cards on the net, and started looking in my collection, and there it was.
I do have to mention the prerelease raichu isn't in mint condition ofcourse, but it's close to it.
A little wear, but that's all.
It has been in some sort of 'book', I don't know how to call it, but it's a book where I had put all my shiny cards in all those years ago.
Please do share your opinion on a selling price.

 

[Death_Mande]

Well, in that case, I suggest searching around on Ebay or going to a dealer and ask what they'd offer. And I think it's called an Album. I have one for my YGO cards, since I never seemed to like the PKMN TCG. Since when do you have that raichu?

 

[Thorns]

The problem with naming an accurate price is that you don't see this card everyday. So you might get ripped of somewhere, than what?

 

[.Lucifer]

I've got no idea when exactly I got it, I started collecting those cards back in the days when the base set came out, at the very beginning. I collected them for a few years.
Since this forum is for the pokemon gurus, I was hoping to get at least an estimate of its value. that's why I registered here just now.
I can understand why I shouldn't sell it, but imagine the whole pokemon scene dies in a few years, then the card won't be worth as much.
This new found glory comes at the right time, since I'm in need of money.

and I don't wanna get ripped ofcourse, that's why I need the gurus here to help me determine a selling price, before I actually sell it.

And I still can't believe this is happening :s

thanks,

EDIT: Ok so my current research tells me I should at least be getting 10.000$ for it.
but I would like to milk the cow as much as possible.
Could I get 15.000$? or maybe even more?

 

[Rocket_Executive]

Prerelease Raichu, of which there were allegedly only 11 created, was printed around 1999. It was an error card; when the prerelease Clefables were being printed, some Raichu's got into the mix but the mistake was caught early on and only a handful survived. These cards were distributed amongst executives of the Pokemon company, and only one has ever been officially recognized. It was purchased last year, making it the first to be owned by anyone of the public, and the only one to ever be seen by the public.
That being said, are you absolutely sure this is the same PR Raichu? There was a prerelease Raichu for the platinum arceus set, I believe, which is not the same one. You would have had to have obtained it directly from a Pokemon inc. executive, and I would imagine they were from Japan and the U.S. None were ever released in booster packs. What I'm saying is, pics or it didn't happen.

For the record, the other PR Raichu sold for $10 500. I don't think you would get that for a second one, because as more surface all of their values go down, plus the economy and all.

 

[Thorns]

The card should look like this:

 

[donavannj]

You might have a fake Prerelease Raichu... though do you have any relatives who worked for Nintendo or Wizards of the Coast at the time the card was printed that might've gifted it to you? If not, you probably don't have a true Prerelease Raichu.

 

[Daanvv]

And since you from Holland (Just like me) I don't think you got it, there goes your dream of getting 10.000 for a card :D

 

[.Lucifer]

1: I'm from Belgium
2: My card looks just like all the prerelease raichu pics I found on the net, with the correct stamp.
3: It cannot be fake, because I must have collected this card back in 1998 - 2001, that was the only time I collected pokemon cards, and I'm guessing no one at my school back then even knew a prerelease raichu would be worth that much, so no one would have bothered to fake it. So it has been in my possession for at least 9 years or longer, and inside a collectors protective album, and well taken care off.
4: When I examine the card upclose, and put it aside another prerelease card, the stamp is just the same, anyone who looks at it upclose will see it's real, I'm 100% sure since I've really studied the card by now.
5: I want to put a video, but I've only got a blurry webcam. I'm waiting till I can lend someone his high definition camera, so there will be no more doubts about it.
6: I've done some more research, and it's telling me that even though there are suppose to be 8 of these cards left in the world, there are only a few (questionable) pictures on the net, and none of the owners can actually be contacted. It seems like I'm the first who's going to prove by making videos, this card really does exist, and for this, I've decided to keep the card a little longer, and will not sell it for anything under 25.000$. and don't call it stupid, that's my choice. I'm going to play it hard to any potential buyer, cause like I said before, I'm gonna milk this cow 'till I can milk no more :)

But to be honest, you guys don't have to believe me. I don't mind, and I don't want this topic to turn in a discussion if it's real or not, and if it does, I'm closing it.
I just wanted a value estimate, that's it. I've got nothing to prove here.

 

[Daanvv]

I hope for you you got it :)

 

[.Lucifer]

Yes, but I'm pretty convinced by now. And the funny thing is, back in the days, no one wanted to have these prerelease cards because we always thought these cards were worthless and the cheaper version of a normal card :D I remember always wanting to trade my prerelease cards at school, good thing I held on to this one.
And I've been trying to get into my deep memories to find out when and from whom I got it, but I can't remember since I've got more than a thousand cards. I never bought a single card myself, I had alot of friends back then, so I obviously got it at school, by trading, or by playing rock-paper-scissors :p
And I'm sure somewhere in the world, mostlikely in china, there's a buyer who's willing to pay 25 grand for what seems to be the legend card. I won't sell it for less, even if it takes me several years to sell it.
And I will be taking the card to several cardshops here in belgium, to double check its authenticity, and to find a buyer.
But up untill now, all my friends/family who've seen it, and even compared it to a clefable prerelease card (from a friend who also saved his old cards), are convinced it's real just like me.

 

[donavannj]

I'm still skeptical because it could be a very well made fake... but put it through all the fake tests you can, just to be certain.

 

[Daanvv]

You should do that, I wish i could see it!

 

[Rocket_Executive]

Well, good luck trying to get $25 000 for it, the only one to be sold to a person of the public sold for $10 500, so I don't see why anyone would buy it for that much. Also, I know you said you weren't concerned whether anyone believes in its authenticity, but any potential buyers will expect you to be able to explain exactly how it was obtained, because they will need to be sure that it's real. If you can't explain how you got it from a Pokemon company employee, then I can't see anyone being willing to risk that much cash for it.

 

[jennrummymeister]

Is that person who bought the card by chance a 'William' from PokeGym? There was a forum discussion about him buying a Prerelease Raichu and afterward complaining that he could not get it graded by PSA since the card is not 'official'. Just curious.