How To Spot Fakes Guide

Hello. I notice a lot of people around here posting threads to ask if their card is fake or bot. Maybe this will help out.

Intro:
There are lots of fake pokemon cards out there. They vary in quality as well as content. I have seen everything from simple copies of real cards, to completely unique fakemon trying to be passed off as legitimate cards. So how do you know if your card is fake?

Best Ways to spot fakes:

Look at the back: Check the back first. The blue border line should be a deep, defined blue color. On many fake cards, the blue border line will be a lot lighter then it should be. Sometimes you may not even be able to tell it's a border.

The card on the left is real, and the card on the right is fake. (Picture from pokegym)

Energy icons: Do the energy icons look normal? In many fakes, the energy icon almost doesn't fit in the circle. Look carefully at the energy icons, this is one of the easiest ways to tell if it's real or not.

Should it be shiny:Many fakes are simply copies of real cards. Because of this, some fakes are not shiny. So if you have, for example, a Deoxys/Rayquaza legend card that is not shiny, it is a fake because there is no non-holo version of this card.

On the other hand, some fakes go the extra mile and add foil. If you have a common card or uncommon card with Gold writing, it is probably fake.

Texture: Most fakes are made from different, and likely cheaper material. Sometimes, you'll be able to feel a difference right away. Same goes for foil. If the card has foil on it and it feels or looks different, it may be fake.

Misprints: It would be nice to believe you have a rare misprint, but it's more likely that it is fake. Many fakes make simple spelling mistakes, sometimes even in the pokemon's name. Look out for those.

Size: If it is a different size then a normal pokemon card (with the exception of jumbo promos) it is most definately fake.

droomph posted some great examples, take a look at those.

Where do fake cards come from?
These are some places that fake cards may come from.

-flea market: Almost definitely will always be fake
-small, family run stores: As donavannj said, this may not apply to small hobby shops.
-ice cream trucks: Places that normally wouldn't sell Pokemon cards, but are, probably aren't selling legitimate ones.
-Trading: Keep an eye on cards when you are trading with people, especially the younger folk. Younger kids may not pay as much attention to detail. Fake cards can easily slip into their collection.

What do I do if I got a fake card?

If you have any fake cards, I suggest you just hang onto them. They still display artwork just like other cards, albeit with low quality. Just don't circulate them and don't use them to rip people off.

Hope this helps :) I anyone wants to post a card they suspect may be fake here, Ill be glad to tell you if it' real or not.

You may want to clarify that small, family run stores one by explaining that this does not include family run hobby shops.

And Wal-Mart being a hot spot for fakes is debatable, as I've never gotten a fake from there before. Could be more of a regional matter, though, since I'm aware that Wal-Mart stores in my part of the country don't quite sell the same stuff as they do down south. All of the re-packaged after-market cards that get sold to Wal-Mart that I've encountered turned out to be legitimate cards.

As for those other places, you certainly must be wary of those, seeing as they're hardly normal venues for selling Pokemon cards.

Stickying this in the short term.

Oh stickies =o i will clarify a few things

thank you very much ^^
Very good
regards

Thank you very much for all the advice!

I know if hold a card to a light and if you can see the back design through the front that also means they are fake.

Having a collection of both Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards dating back to base set release for both brands and buying them for well over a decade i can spot a fake a mile off this guide is great but doesn't give advice on what to do if you bought fake cards over the internet.

With Ebay one the best places to pick up a Pokemon deal the power is ever more with the buyer now and only 2 weeks ago some seller tried flogging me fakes. Just the texture enough gave them away not to mention there was no online code and the packs were resealed by hand haha

If you buy fake cards could check and triple check the listing if you bought them Ebay and if some other place like Amazon do the same read the description carefully before pointing the finger.

Once you are sure your cards are fake then raise a claim. If this happens to you on Ebay (like it did with me) most sellers will refund the money it cost and will tell you to just keep the cards. Should the seller stand his ground or refuse to budge then Ebay will have your back with recent changes to their terms and conditions they are making it ever harder for bad sellers to trade on there and it has become safer then ever but remember to read the product description first because when Ebay do look into a case it will be the first thing they do too i hope this helps you all out with the new release due out on the 6th of November good luck !

When the back border is lighter than normal as shown I'm the example, is that a definite fake, or are are some cards just made like that?

krazzikk said:

When the back border is lighter than normal as shown I'm the example, is that a definite fake, or are are some cards just made like that?

Click to expand...

It's not so much the faded color as it is the details of the swirling pattern spots on the back. Notice how detailed the one on the left is? Then look at the one on the right. See how much detail is missing in the one on the right?

Ah OK I see. I thought the differenc was just the border color. I recently bought a few X&Y starter decks which came with decks along with some booster packs, and the cards from the decks had darker borders than the booster pack cards. Because they came sealed and they were from the same box, and I bought them from a reliable place I didn't think it would be likely that they were fake.

Well, I'd say they're not fake based on comparing them to my own cards from those starter decks that I bought at Target.

Havent seen any fake cards at walmart for a looooong time. I bought a repackaged set recently and they were all real. But other then that they got the x & y promo boxes and all that good stuff.

I take back saying walmart has fake cards. Might have been a one time fluke or something.

This thread has now been deprecated in favor of the updated one found in the Getting Started Guides, and Terms here:

http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=316697