Maybe I should've have brought up this topic of discussion in a separate topic. *shrugs* At the time, it seemed closely related enough that I didn't think it was worth having two separate topics related to SMS Sonic (the mods are welcome to split them if desired), and I don't think the buyer had even popped in at that point (too lazy to check). The seller had, but as long as he gets his money, then he shouldn't give a flying flip even if people think SMS Sonic is a grapefruit.

I don't think this topic of discussion should be disparaging to anybody, though. No matter what SMS Sonic is classified as, it doesn't change the fact that the copies with UPC stickers are very rare, and if people think that variant should be worth a ton of money, then that's what it'll be worth. The market dictates. I definitely think this topic is more worthwhile than how it started, with it basically being "Hey, this dude spent a lot of money on SMS Sonic" and all of the replies being "That's cool" and "That's crazy". If anything, those latter replies are a lot more disparaging to the buyer and other collectors with this version of Sonic than the suggestions that SMS Sonic may not deserve to be acknowledged as a full-fledged US release.

I'm personally just looking at it through the perspective of what the established information is on this and similar titles and what resources like the rarity guide says and if those things need to be reexamined.