Collectibles markets are driven by hype.
And if you’re not careful, the hype will destroy you.
Right now, at the start of the 2026, hype in the Pokémon market is very high. The market has been booming for more than a year and vintage cards are now hitting all-time high prices at auction.
And, into that hype, we have one of the largest Pokémon card auctions of all time: Goldin’s 2026 Pokémon & TCG Auction Featuring Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator.
With just under a month left in the auction, Logan’s Illustrator Pikachu has already reached a new world record price. The current winning bid totals more than $6.3 million with the buyers premium.
A sale at $6.3 million would make this the 6th most expensive trading card purchase of all time.
A screenshot from Goldin’s auction of Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Illustrator Pikachu, showing the top bid, including Buyer’s Premium, of $6,324,000 as of Jan 20, 2026.
The hype is real. Record high prices have gravity. They pull in attention and help it snowball into hype.
On the plus side: the hype brings many new collectors into the hobby. I'm sure much of the Pokémon collecting community entered the market during a hype phase - I sure did, having started collecting again in 2020 after Logan Paul's first box break made me excited about Pokémon again.
Back then, I rediscovered my favorite childhood hobby, but came back with adult money. I was swept up in the hype and made a lot of purchases as an inexperienced collector.
1 year later, I’d lost a lot of money.
This is the double-edged sword of hype in collectibles markets: hype pulls new collectors into the market, but it also dupes them into poorly understood and risky purchases that set them up for failure when the hype inevitably fades.
More than anything, I believe we all win when we grow the market responsibly. That's why I try to educate collectors on how to navigate these markets: I hope that by helping collectors avoid the worst outcomes of hype, they will be more likely to stick around for the long-term and build this hobby with us.
Logan, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to share my concern for the long-term of the hobby…
Instead, he has been aggressively marketing the sale of his Illustrator by leaning into, and growing the hype in the market. Roc Sandy covers his antics well over on YouTube.
But, he's not alone. Goldin, who is auctioning off the card, are in the business of hype. Their show, The King of Collectibles, is a practically a hype factory: it pitches the glamour and excitement of collectibles that leans enormously into price and flex culture.
They hype markets so they can sell more to them.
And, as I've said: collectibles markets are driven by hype. I'm not surprised leading collectibles businesses need to use it.
But, as collectors, we need to resist the hype, build for the long-term, and help others do the same.
Let's be better than Logan 🤝
As usual,
Thank you so much for reading the TCG Buyers Club newsletter. My name's Grey, I buy cardboard, and I'm on a mission to make collecting and investing in Pokémon simple.
Cheers 🍻
P.S. I'm very aware of the dark history of Logan Paul and this Illustrator Pikachu, but it's a rabbit hole I didn't want to focus on with this newsletter. Logan is an abuser of hype, and I wanted to focus on the positive and negative of hype on collectibles markets. If you want to learn more about the scummy way Logan has handled this card, Rattle Pokemon covers everything you need to know.