As many of you have already became aware, fake cards are being sold on Ebay is a huge problem- and currently it is difficult to judge whether or not what you are buying is legitimate or not.
Im making this thread to point out a few things you as the buyer can do to protect yourself from making the same mistakes as me and countless others.
First of all, just know that with Ebay's buyer protection policy- YOU CAN GET YOUR MONEY BACK. This will require you pay for return shipping though if the shipping was free, which can be expensive especially if the cards came from overseas.
Things to look for to avoid fake booster boxes-
You will NEVER find a BOOSTER BOX for less than $80 *online. If you even find one that low be skeptical!!!
Local shops usually carry real products and if its cheaper then good for you! You got lucky ^_^
Make sure that the BOOSTER BOX is SEALED with plastic that features WHITE STAMPED POKEBALLS on it in a diagonal pattern.
If the picture shown does not show it has the special seal on it, ask that the seller take a personal picture of the item TO MAKE SURE IT HAS THIS SEAL! If it does not- DO NOT BUY IT!
I would say be wary of this, but instead- as a general rule of thumb- DO NOT BUY CARDS FROM CHINESE SELLERS! China produces many cheap imitation products and Pokemon Cards ARE one of them!
For fake cards pay attention to these things pre-buy or bid!
Does the image of the card match the real card? Check Serebii.net and make sure the holographic features (IE Sparkle shapes and types like circles and stars) are correct and make sure that the spelling of all the wording is correct as well.
If its a non-holo, check spelling and you should probably be buying non-holos from a real online store not Ebay anyways.
For checking if your cards are fake
Check the weight of the card, most of the time fake cards are much lighter than real cards.
Fake cards are made with inferior materials, therefor the cards will bend easier and feel more flimsy.
If I failed to mention anything please do not hesitate to email me.
Im creating this thread as a thread to help people with buying cards on ebay as well as a thread to use as a fake checker... so others can help out those that feel they might not have a legitimate card.
Im making this thread to point out a few things you as the buyer can do to protect yourself from making the same mistakes as me and countless others.
First of all, just know that with Ebay's buyer protection policy- YOU CAN GET YOUR MONEY BACK. This will require you pay for return shipping though if the shipping was free, which can be expensive especially if the cards came from overseas.
Things to look for to avoid fake booster boxes-
You will NEVER find a BOOSTER BOX for less than $80 *online. If you even find one that low be skeptical!!!
Local shops usually carry real products and if its cheaper then good for you! You got lucky ^_^
Make sure that the BOOSTER BOX is SEALED with plastic that features WHITE STAMPED POKEBALLS on it in a diagonal pattern.
If the picture shown does not show it has the special seal on it, ask that the seller take a personal picture of the item TO MAKE SURE IT HAS THIS SEAL! If it does not- DO NOT BUY IT!
I would say be wary of this, but instead- as a general rule of thumb- DO NOT BUY CARDS FROM CHINESE SELLERS! China produces many cheap imitation products and Pokemon Cards ARE one of them!
For fake cards pay attention to these things pre-buy or bid!
Does the image of the card match the real card? Check Serebii.net and make sure the holographic features (IE Sparkle shapes and types like circles and stars) are correct and make sure that the spelling of all the wording is correct as well.
If its a non-holo, check spelling and you should probably be buying non-holos from a real online store not Ebay anyways.
I would like to point out that fake Level X's / EX's Don't even have the silver border let alone the Holofoil "Sparkle"
I've been seeing a lot of fake EX's / Level X's on eBay recently so just beware.
I even saw a fake Full Art Zekrom the other day that had a yellow border like a normal card.
Oh yeah, I forgot about those! Thanks Skitty
I was Tyranitar, Armaldo, Celebi, and Ho-Oh ex?
From POP series 1 & 2. Those are real ex's without the silver border.
Even tho they also made them with silver borders. (In the Promo tins.)
Actually for some reason I forgot about Celebi ex and Ho-oh ex. So then there's 6 of them. The other 2 are Kyogre ex and Groudon ex.
And I hope that first part was a typo.
For checking if your cards are fake
Check the weight of the card, most of the time fake cards are much lighter than real cards.
Fake cards are made with inferior materials, therefor the cards will bend easier and feel more flimsy.
If I failed to mention anything please do not hesitate to email me.
Im creating this thread as a thread to help people with buying cards on ebay as well as a thread to use as a fake checker... so others can help out those that feel they might not have a legitimate card.
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