A Pokémon-shaped Flamin’ Hot Cheeto sold for a staggering five figures to an undisclosed buyer on Sunday.
The 3-inch long spicy snack, uniquely shaped like the beloved Japenese anime character, Charizard, sold for a whopping $72,000 plus a buyer’s premium, according to the Goldin auction house.
With the added buyer’s premium, the dragon-shaped snack – dubbed Cheetozard – was bought for a jaw-dropping $87,840.
The Cheetozard was discovered and preserved by a sports memorabilia company sometime between 2018 and 2022, according to the New Jersey-based auction house.
However, the New York Times reported that the Cheetozard’s origin was even sooner.
Paul Bartlett, 37, told the publication he was ‘heavily invested in Pokémon’ when, in 2019, he came across a listing for the Cheetozard on eBay.
The asking price was $500. Mr. Bartlett’s offer of $350 was accepted, the Times reported.
Bartlett said he then put the rare plastic-encased item inside a safe and ‘forgot all about it.’
The 3-inch long spicy snack, uniquely shaped like the beloved Japenese anime character, Charizard, sold for a whopping $72,000 plus a buyer’s premium, according to the Goldin auction house
The Cheetozard was discovered and preserved by a sports memorabilia company sometime between 2018 and 2022, according to the New Jersey-based auction house. Pictured: A four-piece case designed to protect the prized Cheeto
Last year, Bartlett posted the one-of-a-kind cheesy chip to Instagram where it soared in popularity.
Soon, he would get it professionally encapsulatated with the help of a computer-savvy friend, Jordan Tkacsik, 40.
After Tkacsik assembled a four-piece case designed to protect the prized Cheeto, Bartlett said he met with a representative from Arena Club – an online marketplace for trading cards – who ultimately paid him $10,000 for the collectible.
Cheetozard was later sold as a mystery prize in an Arena Club Slab Pack for $250.
The Arena Club later assisted that buyer in delivering Cheetozard to Goldin, which included the cheese puff in an auction that began on February 10.
Bidding on the precious Cheeto started at just $250, however, the Charizard lookalike quickly climbed into the upper five figures, causing Bartlett to rethink his previous sale.
‘I was like, “Man, this is going to sell for close to $100,000, and I’m going to be sick,” he recalled.
Goldin Auctions declined to disclose both the buyer and seller’s identities, citing client confidentitality.
The auction house, owned by Ken Goldin, 59, prides itself on its collection of ‘rare’ items.
Flamin’ Hot Cheeto sold for a staggering five figures to an undisclosed buyer on Sunday
Pokémon’s infamous Charizard character is a large, orange dragon with turquoise wings and a flame at the tip of its tail
‘Goldin specializes in rare and one-of-a-kind collectibles, and the Cheetozard is exactly this,’ Dave Amerman, the head of consignment at Goldin, told the New York Times.
‘Part of what makes this item so fun and unique is that it bridges two fandoms — Pokémon and Cheetos,’ Amerman added.
Pokémon’s infamous Charizard character is a large, orange dragon with turquoise wings and a flame at the tip of its tail.
Known as Lizardon in Japan, the dragon is one of the franchise’s original creatures – and one of the most popular. In 2020, Charizard was voted one of the top 10 most popular Pokémon, according to the franchise.
Social media users have since flooded the comment section of Goldin’s posts about the sale. Many questioned why someone would spend so much money on a Cheeto, while others wondered how the snack came to be so ‘dragon-esque.’
‘This is kinda stupid, but it’s 2025, people doing wild things,’ one user said.
Bidding on the precious Cheeto s tarted at just $250, however, the Charizard lookalike quickly climbed into the upper five figures
Social media users have since flooded the comment section of Goldin’s posts about the sale
Another joked that Cheetozard would be their death row meal.
‘If I was on death row. I’d want this to be my final meal,’ wrote another.
However, this is not the first time a curiously shaped Cheeto has sold for buckets of cash. In 2017, a Cheeto resembling Harambe – the widely-popular gorilla who was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a boy fell into his enclosure – fetched nearly $100,000 on auction site eBay.
