Where fakes cluster
Nobody fakes a common base card. The targets are the cards where a fake pays: star rookies, low-numbered parallels, autographs and patches, and — increasingly — graded slabs with a real-looking label. If a card is on that list and the price is well under the last sale, slow down.
Five checks, one minute
- Print pattern under a loupe. Genuine cards show a regular dot (rosette) pattern in photos and text; fakes printed from scans show blur, banding or a different dot structure.
- Gloss, stock and weight. Compare with any common card from the same set: same thickness, same gloss, same snap. A card that feels thin, floppy or too shiny is wrong.
- Serial stamp and fonts. Numbering is foil-stamped, crisp, and slightly into the surface; printed numbers, wrong fonts or a stamp that sits flat are tells.
- Edges and cut. Factory edges are clean and square; fakes are often fuzzy, or suspiciously perfect on an old card.
- Refractor and holo pattern. Genuine reflective stock shows a continuous pattern that moves with the light; laminates show a static sheen or a pattern that stops at the edge.
Autographs, patches, slabs
- Autographs are certified by the publisher — on-card or sticker — and the back says so. A signature with no certification is an unverified autograph, not a certified one.
- Patches with three or four colours on a common card are a classic swap. Compare with the publisher’s photo or a known copy.
- Graded slabs — look the cert number up on the grader’s site and compare the label, the card and the grade. A listing here prints the certificate number in full for exactly that reason. A real cert number on a reassembled slab is the newer trick; check that the slab is sealed and the label is not tilted.
Before you pay here
Read the photographs before the price, and treat a listing that shows one face of a card on the target list as a listing that has not shown you the card. Compare the serial stamp with the photo, and the certificate number with the grader’s own lookup. Then remember where the money is: it is held until you have the card and confirm it, so if it fails these checks in your hands, raise it on the order page before confirming.
Questions collectors ask
Are reprints always fake?
No. A reprint marked as a reprint is a legitimate product. It is a fake when it is sold as the original.
Can a graded slab be fake?
Yes — fake slabs and resealed slabs exist. The cert lookup and a close look at the seal catch most of them.
What if I am still not sure?
Do not buy. No price is low enough for a card you cannot trust — and a bid at the price you would pay for a card you can trust costs nothing.