Alt's five seven-figure Pokémon sales all read paid, while 34 six-figure Fanatics Collect lots sit unpaid and 59 results have been deleted since Oct 8
The five Pokémon cards that cleared $1 million at Alt this month all showed paid as of October 21, per Chase Society's Pick of the Week (October 21). That closes the question our last two issues left open: the Tamamushi Magikarp at $1,056,000, the Gold Star Mudkip at $1,046,250 and the Daisuki Club Umbreon at $1,005,000, all from the October 15 sale, read payment pending when Chase Society read Alt's feed on October 19. They have now joined the October 8 results, the Neo Genesis 1st Edition Typhlosion with the red-dot error at $1,549,690 and the Base Set 1st Edition Charizard at $1,385,274, as paid. All five are PSA 10s and all prices include the buyer's premium.
The same report counts the other side of the ledger. At Fanatics Collect, 34 lots of $100,000 or more from the October 4 and October 11 sales were still unpaid at 1:41 PM ET on October 21, past the five-day payment window in Fanatics' own FAQ. Since October 8, Chase Society counts 59 results of $40,000 or more deleted from the house's record, among them the $960,000 Great Encounters Cresselia from October 4, removed October 20. The $8.4 million Art Academy Pikachu, the sale that led our No. 006, has been flagged paid since October 15 while its lot page still reads cancelled; a $780,000 Legendary Collection Pikachu counted September 28 sat unpaid for 17 days before a bulk paid flag on October 15. Chase Society states what the feeds show and does not say why; neither do we.
The ladder under the Charizard
Chase Society's grade ladder for the Base Set 1st Edition Charizard, all paid, shows what one grade step is worth at the top of the market: PSA 10 $1,385,274 (Alt, October 8), CGC 10 $193,502 (Alt, October 8), BGS 9.5 $156,000 (Alt, October 15), PSA 9 $108,000 (Alt, October 8), PSA 8 $41,700 (Alt, October 15), PSA 7 $28,060 (Goldin, October 18, 63 bids) and PSA 6 $20,900 (eBay, week of October 12). The PSA 10 made 33 times the PSA 8 and nearly 13 times the PSA 9; the CGC 10, a 10 from another grader, made one seventh of the PSA 10. Chase Society also notes Gold Star Mudkip PSA 8s at about $27,000 to $32,000 on eBay in the ten days before the PSA 10 made $1,046,250.
What a comp is
A result becomes a comp when it is paid. The October 15 night was the first test of Alt's record at this price, and it passed: 85 PSA 10 copies of the Mudkip and Umbreon now carry a seven-figure comp that cleared. The Umbreon's $1,005,000 is 6.9 times its May 17 sale and 5.5 times Alt's own tracked value of $183,714, per Chase Society, which is the kind of gap that only a paid flag can settle.
The Fanatics figures show the other case. A deleted result leaves a price guide that may have counted it on the night; an unpaid result past the window is a bid that has not become a sale. Chase Society raises one more point and we pass it on as theirs: Fanatics' Marketplace Advance can front a consignor up to 50% of a card's value based partly on sale history, so recorded results carry weight before they are paid. That is a structural observation about an incentive, not a claim about any lot.
What it means for the market
- The five paid Alt results fix October's seven-figure tier for vintage Pokémon: two 1st Edition Base and Neo cards from October 8, three promo and Gold Star cards from October 15, all PSA 10, all cleared.
- Payment status is now part of the price. Our Big Sales rows carry the venue and date; from this issue on, a sale we know to be unpaid or deleted is labeled, and a sale whose status we cannot see is marked as reported.
- A grade ladder with a 33-fold gap between PSA 8 and PSA 10 means the pop count at 10 is the whole story for these cards, and the 123 copies of the Charizard at 10 are the ceiling on how many seven-figure comps that card can hold.
What to watch next
- Fanatics Collect's October 18 weekly sales reach the end of the five-day window about October 23; Chase Society reads the feeds weekly, and the next report should show whether the 34 unpaid lots clear or are removed.
- Goldin's Pokémon 30th Anniversary auction closes October 25 (Auction Watch); its lead lot, the PSA 8 Gold Trophy Pikachu, will be the next seven-figure result to carry a payment flag.
Figures are as reported by the sources below on the dates shown. This is market data and commentary, not investment advice.
Sources
- Chase Society, Our Pick This Week Is Patience (Pick of the Week), Oct 21, 2026
- Collector Recon, Newsletter No. 006 (Oct 19) and No. 007 (Oct 21), for the earlier status of the same sales: https://collectorrecon.xyz/issues/2026-10-19/ and https://collectorrecon.xyz/issues/2026-10-21/