Everywhere I look, my social feeds are full of: The. Same. Damn. Thing.
Kabutos.
For example:
Example Kabuto meme taking over my timelines.
Suddenly, the entire Pokémon hobby is swept up in the Kabuto hype. So much so that Near Mint 1999 1st Edition Fossil copies of Kabuto have surged from less than $1 USD in early 2025, to more than $40 USD today.
With one copy selling for more than $50,000 on eBay…
The recent $51,100 1st Edition Kabuto sale on eBay.
And it’s no accident. This is the work of the Kabuto King.
This anonymous social media account popped onto the scene in August 2025 and has triggered Kabuto mania by doing one simple thing: trying to accumulate every copy of the 1st Edition Kabuto.
Along the way, Kabuto King has proven to be more than just the king of Kabutos: they’re also the king of manipulators. They have given us a masterclass in market manipulation, and the Pokémon community is cheering them on.
Along the way, whether they know it or not, Kabuto King has proven that collectibles are priced based on Rarity, Condition, and Legacy, with an emphasis on Legacy. Here’s what I mean…
I’ve spoken in the past about how the old mantra of “Older, Rarer, Minter: Better”, while a useful framework for understanding the difficulty of acquiring a card, does not actually explain card values.
We only need to look at modern chase cards, like the Moonbreon from Evolving Skies, which carries a PSA 10 value of $3,000+ USD, despite an enormous PSA 10 population of more than 19,000, and a total PSA graded population of 27,000 copies.
This is a card that isn’t old, or rare, and has a massive Gem Mint 10 population.
PSA population for the Moonbreon, showing more than 19,000 PSA 10 copies out of 27,000 total graded examples.
Meanwhile, all kinds of vintage cards are older, rarer, and have smaller PSA 10 populations… but still have lower prices.
This simply wouldn’t be the case if older, rarer, and minter explained market values. Instead, to understand collectible values, we need to include Legacy: the historical and cultural significance of the card.
And Kabuto King proves it.
See, Kabuto King’s manipulation began with the supply-side manipulation that is typical of all buyouts: they began buying up every copy of the card they could find, eliminating the market supply (the copies that were immediately available on the market at the current price), and slowly driving prices up.
But, it’s not the supply-side manipulation alone that drove the Near Mint price to $40 USD.
It was the combination of the dwindling market supply and the growing attention from all kinds of Pokémon collectors and investors who became enamored by this, let’s face it… absurd mission.
The Kabuto King’s shameless love of Kabuto, and their determination to collect an otherwise overlooked and cheap card, captured the hearts and minds of Pokémon fans. The story was infectious, and fans helped spread the word, driving more and more attention to Kabuto King and their 1st Edition Kabuto chase card.
This is how Kabuto King leveraged supply-side manipulation into a cultural movement for the 1st Edition Kabuto card, and Kabutos in general, driving enormous amounts of attention (and dollars) at the card.
Kabuto King took an otherwise forgotten card and made it a cultural symbol that skyrocketed its popularity, while demonstrating how Rarity, Condition, and Legacy help us understand collectibles values.
Like I said: an absolute masterclass.
Typically, this kind of manipulation doesn’t earn any praise.
But it’s hard to be upset about the Kabuto King.
For starters: unlike most market manipulators, Kabuto King has never suggested they’re doing this for personal gain. They insist they’re just another collector, who happens to love Kabutos.
But it's Kabuto King's charity auction that cemented their folk hero status. They signed their first (and they claim, only) card to ever leave their collection, auctioning it on eBay with 100% of proceeds going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The result? $51,100. Logan Paul bid more than $50,000, and still lost. eBay waived all fees. The Pokémon community cheered.
What could have been dismissed as pure market manipulation became a charitable movement, driving even more cultural currency toward Kabuto King's mission and their newfound status as a community hero.
In the end, the status and influence Kabuto King has built is worth far more than the money a typical pump and dump market manipulation could have earned. All by taking advantage of Rarity, Condition, and building a cultural Legacy around an obscure, common Kabuto card.
As usual,
Thanks 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 🍻
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