Real vs Fake and How to Tell

Prepare for trouble... and make it DOUBLE!

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Prepare for trouble... and make it DOUBLE! 〰️〰️〰️

There are some counterfeit cards in your neighbourhood, Collectors, and here’s how you can spot the difference. See below the comparison between real and fake booster packs:

PACKAGING

Above are 2 packs from the Sword and Shield: Battle Styles release, featuring Tyranitar and Empoleon as the pack art (respectively).

1.      Colour

The colours of these packs are subtle but clearly different with the Fake (on the right) having the brighter colours and shinier finish to it. When you look further at the pack art, you see that the Fake is not in focus and is missing the finer details that the Real shows clearly.

2.      Size

The Fake has been produced in a way that makes the main imagine, of Tyranitar but more so on Empoleon, look larger. By doing this the art is now not centered correctly on the packs and hides other details that the Real has highlighted in the back and foregrounds.

3.      Pack Seal

Looking towards the seals at the top and bottom of the packs, it is clear that there is substantial differences in these. Size, texture and design all play part in these seals and is highlighted on the Empoleon booster pack comparison, where you can see the Real pack has a large pressed seal that feels bumpy. While the fake is much smaller, feels scratchy to touch and has glue residue noticeable at the seams. Not all booster packs have perfect seals, due to minor flaws and issues that have occurred over the packing process, however the Fake will feel brittle, which is damage caused by heat treatment when sealing the packs.

4.      Air

Something else you will notice when yo udo pick up a Fake pack is that they feel physically different and are filled with excess air to make them look fuller. This is quiet noticeable when you apply a little nit of pressure by gently squeezing the sides of the pack together.

 CARDS

5.      TCG Online Redemption Code
A TCG Online redemption code is found in all packs - if there isn’t one, unfortunately you’ve got a fake!

6.      Number of Cards
There are only 9 cards in a fake pack. The front of the pack clearly states “10 Additional Game Cards” but if you quickly count for yourself, there is only 9 in a fake pack.

7.      Energy Cards
One of the Fake packs had 0 Energy cards in it while the other had 3. Real packs will contain either 0 or 1 Energy card in them depending on the set that you are opening. *Only certain sets, such as limited edition (like the 25th Anniversary Sets) won’t have an energy card – all other sets that aren’t limited edition should include at least 1 energy card.

8.      Size
The fake card, on the right, is smaller that the Real card both in height and width.

9.      Colour
The fake card will usually have a brighter and/or lighter appearance to it - the latter likely due to a waterproofing agent that has been applied to the card. Flipping the cards over, you can notice this is evident in the lighter colours on the fake card.

10.   Texture/Feel
The Fake will feel too smooth, with no texture at all on the surface - again, this is due to a waterproofing agent that has been applied to the card. The corners will also feel frail and can show signs of damage.

11.   Image Alignment
Looking at the image on both cards, you will notice that the fake card is slight off-centre, likely due to the enlargement of the image on to the smaller dimensions of the cards.

 Fake Cards: Continued

This is certainly trouble! Below are BOTH Fake cards from the same Booster Pack.

•   The fake card on the left appears to be holographic (Holo), while the one on the right doesn’t appear to have any Holo features that would usually be present on a card like this.

•   The Holo card feels like is has a dust film coating to it, which is odd as the Non-Holo has that waterproofing feel to it.

•   Both of the images aren’t aligned, due to the image enlargement that takes place when cards are forged. And can you tell that one of the pokéballs on the back is larger than the other?!

•   Flipping over the cards you can see that the colours on the back of the right card (Holo card) are distorted and it has a dusty film feel to it.

We hope this few quick tips help spotting real cards from fakes if you’re looking on purchasing, or have purchased, fake cards!

If you have any further questions for us, on this topic or any of our other topics, then please get in contact with us at info@gamecollectors.com.au, we will be happy to help you out.

 Happy collecting!