No industry has seen a spike in ROI the way the collectibles industry has over the past several years. According to CardLadder, over $945 million was spent on trading cards alone this past September. With auction season in full swing, a billion-dollar month by the end of the year is completely within grasp.
Contributing to these mammoth-like numbers are massive spikes in cards’ values that would make anybody do a spit-take.
One of the more recent examples of this is the 2008 Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Great Encounters Holo Cresselia #2.
This appeared on Fanatics Collect in September, and on the 20th, it sold for $6,000. Quite the return for the PSA 10 card in Gem Mint condition. However, just 14 days later, on October 4, the same card, in the exact same condition, saw a 15,900% increase in value in another sale.
It sold for a whopping $960,000, leading an X user to exclaim, “What is going on??”
$6k in September. $960k in October.
What is going on?? https://t.co/NfgZu6uEVX pic.twitter.com/Gvf5SQFful— Max Long 🚀 (@MaxLonged) October 5, 2026
The card is also relatively common, with a reported population of 45. So, the supposed rarity that could contribute to this card’s value is simply not present despite its pristine condition.
What Could Have Caused This Increase In Value?
This value spike could be attributed to the $6,000 sale simply going under the radar, with no one noticing a card of such value on sale. On the flip side, some collectibles enthusiasts on X have more ‘nefarious’ reasons for the spike.
One X user said, “None of it is real. It’s inflated prices using multiple fake accounts in order to push the price up in the hopes idiots think it’s real & then bid on other ones at an over-inflated price so they can make money.”
Another simply said, “Something feels off for sure.”
While the ‘Diamond and Pearl’ set is quite valuable, it does not carry enough weight on its own to drive a near 16,000% spike in less than half a month.
There have been more reasonable increases in value for Pokémon cards over the past few months.
The 2001 Pokémon Southern Islands Promo Holo Mew #1 PSA 10 GEM MINT, for example, sold for $85,000 in July. Fast-forward to October 4, and it recorded an $840,000 sale.
$85k in July. $840k in October.
Who needs crypto when Pokémon is doing 10x returns? pic.twitter.com/DEWs1a71ix— Max Long 🚀 (@MaxLonged) October 5, 2026
Another 2001 Southern Islands card, the Togepi, was sold for $9,300 in June 2025. On October 4, it went for $168,000.
Move over 10x returns. Togepi nearly did 20x.
$9,300 in June 2025. $168,000 yesterday. https://t.co/o1CFyEOgsq pic.twitter.com/QQZzYsw732— Max Long 🚀 (@MaxLonged) October 6, 2026
While this is an incredible display of value growth, it certainly makes more sense than the aforementioned Cresselia.
If the sale is finalized, this would be an incredible moment of price discovery for the Great Encounter Holo Cresselia, as no sale had ever surpassed $10,000, let alone come within a hair of $1 million.
