A card that is plastic-coated or obviously waterproof is not a real Pokémon card.Įxamining the back of a card is a good way to spot a fake Pokémon card. Genuine Pokémon Cards are not waterproof. It is often not possible to do this with fake cards as they may stick to each other. It is possible to take a bundle of cards and shuffle and deal them out.

Pokémon cards are made out of card stock and feel like regular playing cards. If you are able to handle cards prior to purchase this offers a good chance to see if they feel like real cards. Indeed, many serious high-value collectors hire Pokémon advisors to check cards for them. While some fake Pokémon cards are immediately obvious, other forgers produce copies that need very close observation to determine whether they are genuine or fake. With such a high level of interest in the Pokémon TCG it is no surprise that forgers want a slice of the pie. Being aware of what to look for is very useful when considering a purchase. This article has been produced to offer some guidance in weeding out fake Pokémon cards. Auction sites such as Ebay are flooded with cards and buyers looking for a good deal, but distinguishing between genuine and fake Pokémon cards can be challenging.

Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products are popular with players and collectors alike. Historically interesting, sure, but not worth $3.5 million.Pokémon products are popular throughout the World. On opening one of the boxes, they found no Base Set packs, but a whole load of packs for 1991 GI Joe trading cards. All in all, nothing added up about this case, and the expertise of Baseball Card Exchange was brought into question.įinally bowing to demands to do the unthinkable and open the case to verify the contents, Paul and his partners were stunned to see booster boxes that were poorly printed and misshapen – obvious fakes. Paying $2.7 million for the box, they sold it to Paul for $3.5 million.Įven the box itself had warning signs, such as the code on the label not matching up with other known booster box cases or its own barcode, and it being faded in a way that's inconsistent with labels from the time. From there it passed between a few people, before it was allegedly verified by trading card authentication company called Baseball Card Exchange and ended up with the person who sold it to Logan Paul, Shyne150. Despite that, it did sell for a fraction of the value of a single booster box: $72,500 by an Ebay user known as PSAPikachu.

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