Fired Wizards of The Coast Employee Selling Beckett-Graded Pink Slip
Renton, WA - Thanks to a boom in the collectable items market, a recently fired Hasbro employee is trying to get money for his Beckett-graded firing notice.
Clay Richmond, former sales manager for Wizards of the Coast, was fired for cause after being caught stealing Magic: The Gathering product, but hopes his bad circumstances could lead to a great fortune.
"This is as fresh a pink slip as you're gonna find," explained Richmond in the eBay listing for his firing notice. "It went straight from my manager's hand to a top-loader, since at Wizards we had them lying around like paper clips. To my knowledge there aren't that many pink slips circulating in the market right now, since no one is smart enough to grade and sell them like me.
"That makes this a really rare collectible, even though Wizards finished last year by laying off a good chunk of folks since they lost a bunch of money on the Fallout IP deal. All of those guys got severance packages and such, but not me. Not too many people are getting fired for trying to smuggle out of Wizards the only box of Mirrodin Pure that was ever printed. So that's why I'm starting the bid on my one-of-a-kind dismissal notice at $1000."
This is not an uncommon occurrence as former employees have sold off promotional holiday cards, and some have even gotten rid of cards depicting themselves. Local card collector Otis Drayle specializes in such cards.
"It's a niche market in an already niche market, but luckily I've cornered it," chuckled Drayle while explaining his singular collection. "If you want cards from Wizards employees who've fallen on hard times, you come to me. I've got a Splendid Genesis and a Fraternal Exaltation, the cards made to celebrate the birth of Richard Garfield's kids, which frankly I shouldn't have. I'm close to finishing my Heroes of The Realm collection thanks to downsizing. Also, if I'm lucky I'll have my most-wanted card soon. I'm planning a heist, getting a crew together to steal Post Malone's full-art Zur the Enchanter card that looks like him, but don't go tellin' nobody."
At press time, Richmond was also trying to get rid of the promo Deadbeat Attendant card every Wizards employee gets when they get fired.
