It’s not like I had a copy of English Aero Fighters 3 to compare to, and from a business standpoint, it’s best for a dealer to keep his source confidential, especially from the threat of competition, at least until you’ve secured all of the stock that you want from said source. If given the opportunity, I would not have opted for one cart at a time purchases, rather, I would have presented a serious offer to buy everything neo related that this seller had to offer in one single transaction, as this is how virtually all of the purchases I’ve made for neo collections to date have transpired.
I can’t help but ponder why this former SNK employee sought out TonK and TonK alone. Perhaps it’s because of his sexy/burly/gangster avatar. Maybe there’s some particular neo related Google search that brings up TonK in the top results. Or, this fellow is a regular viewer of our forums and was drawn to TonK’s enthusiasm for the neo. I’m not a shrink, but the phycology behind this logic does leave me somewhat befuddled yet curious.
I only recently listed a handful of Magic the Gathering items on the NeoStore, yet those items are all topping the search engine results. As a result, former early WotC (Wizards of the Coat) employees have since contacted me offering their collections for sale, one of which contained rare employee only treasures such as Splendid Genesis and Fraternal Exaltation. But I would find it odd/awkward/unorthodox for a former insider possessing a very large collection/inventory to single out one enthusiastic community member, and no one else, for moving one game (or was it two?) at a time. This would be different if the community member and this former employee had a long standing friendship, distant family relation, or some other prior connection whatsoever.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that TonK and Geddon are both convinced that these test release carts are legit. I’m not suspecting that they are in cahoots on some elaborate ploy, but for many others to be believers/buyers as well would obviously require extensive proof. Only a handful of TonK’s circle of trust VIPs have any clue as to the legitimacy of this find, and the rest of us are left to speculate or to rely on blind faith alone. Over the years in dealing with rare neo items I’ve learned that blind faith alone is not enough and gut feelings/instincts should not be ignored.
In the event that this find is proven to be the real deal, then absolutely, this would be a major grail piece that will command record prices. I wish I could give my congratulations to TonK and those involved prematurely, but given that virtually nothing other than pics have been disclosed to us, most of us will have to wait for Geddon’s report to shed more light on this enigma before jumping to conclusions.