I collect boosters and I always hear about fakes but I had never come across any until I saw a listing on eBay last year for what were obvious fakes. These came in a box of about 10, completely unlike anything that Wizards puts out.
There was a bit of interest in the auction but not much, it was the last of the old Dutch Auctions and I ended up paying way more than I intended having won them all, I still have no idea how the Dutch Auctions work so I am glad they got rid of them.
The boosters all arrived in an envelope, the seller had decided to save postage (after I had already paid) and chuck the boxes out. I complained that the item was not as described so the seller had a look around and managed to find some more unopened boxes, which I bought. They came in Red box and Green box varieties so I got one of each.
There is no need to use any of the usual tests for fake cards, it is pretty obvious from the printing that these are not real, added to that the cards came from several different expansions and there were multiple copies of each card in the booster. The big giveaway is the foils, they use some holographic paper which sends the light crazy.
The boosters are sealed with horizontal heat welds and not the usual vertical ones, the boosters are usually wrinkled and badly sealed, often trapping a corner of the booster into the seal, which is pretty weak anyway. The image is grainy and often the colours don't line up.
I am a big fan of boosters so I was pretty pleased to find some in Australia, I have had no luck finding any others despite having bought quite a few items from the supposed centre of counterfeiting, asian countries.
I am interested in hearing about any other fake boosters that people come across. I should probably point out that I don't endorse counterfeiting and I collet these as part of a subset of my usual MTG booster collection, of which I have spent $$$$ and continue to spend $$$$ everytime they bring out a new set.
Interesting. I have to wonder what the point is, it seems like sticking to counterfeiting cards would be much more cost-effective and less likely to be obvious.
Have you done anything to try to get your money back?
I have had run in with fake packs before, but not of Magic product. When I was younger, there would always be this shop down by my cottage that sold fake Yugioh packs. They were blatantly fake, and I think they were like a dollar a pop so it wasn't like they were tricking anyone. The colors were very washed out on the cards, and the texture was not the same. I still have yet to see fake Magic boosters though.
as Luck said, I see fake Yu-gi-oh fake boosters, theme decks and singles at about every flea market I go to. I have never ran across fake magic cards besides someone that has taken a basic land and glued to it for test decking.
I've had fake theme decks, they were noticeably fake though and noone was trying to convince you otherwise, they were badly printed and some cards were unreadable, but it was fine when one was a kid and couldn't afford the real cards.
Ah, good times...:rolleyes:
I came across fake foil Pokemon cards in Ibiza, Spain back in 99/2000, they weren't in a booster though, just a bunch of them in an elastic band, the fronts just peeled off. I gave them to a friends daughter and told her they were all fake, neither her or her friends cared the slightest, they just liked the pretty pictures and they were all happy to trade them back and forth, I don't think they knew how to play the game.
Over in Greece you can buy decks of some sort of Generic Manga card game, I bought a couple of decks for a laugh but I still have no idea how you are supposed to play the game.
I am actually OK with having the fake boosters, they are a novelty and although I overpaid for them I can see them being slightly collectable once everyone has a full set of everything they actually want they will start looking around for the more obscure items. Plus I have enough for a full set and spares for any other fake boosters that come along if I need to swap like-for-like.
The cards in the boosters aren't even the big ticket items that you would want if you were buying singles so I have no idea why the fakers went this route rather than producing singles, I think the quality of the cards is too poor, they are actually better boosters than the cards inside but there was still a mix of cards, not just the same one 15 times so someone has gone to some effort to mix them up and pack them and seal them, just not someone with access to decent printing equipment.
interesting. personally i believe that aslong as i still get cards im fine with it. even though i want to start a wall with booster shells/wrapping i still find the cards more valuable.
interesting. personally i believe that aslong as i still get cards im fine with it. even though i want to start a wall with booster shells/wrapping i still find the cards more valuable.
Have you seen the price of empty booster packs for Legends and Antiquities? If they keep going up in price maybe we will start seeing fake empty boosters for sale, forget the cards!
There was a bit of interest in the auction but not much, it was the last of the old Dutch Auctions and I ended up paying way more than I intended having won them all, I still have no idea how the Dutch Auctions work so I am glad they got rid of them.
The boosters all arrived in an envelope, the seller had decided to save postage (after I had already paid) and chuck the boxes out. I complained that the item was not as described so the seller had a look around and managed to find some more unopened boxes, which I bought. They came in Red box and Green box varieties so I got one of each.
There is no need to use any of the usual tests for fake cards, it is pretty obvious from the printing that these are not real, added to that the cards came from several different expansions and there were multiple copies of each card in the booster. The big giveaway is the foils, they use some holographic paper which sends the light crazy.
The boosters are sealed with horizontal heat welds and not the usual vertical ones, the boosters are usually wrinkled and badly sealed, often trapping a corner of the booster into the seal, which is pretty weak anyway. The image is grainy and often the colours don't line up.
I am a big fan of boosters so I was pretty pleased to find some in Australia, I have had no luck finding any others despite having bought quite a few items from the supposed centre of counterfeiting, asian countries.
I am interested in hearing about any other fake boosters that people come across. I should probably point out that I don't endorse counterfeiting and I collet these as part of a subset of my usual MTG booster collection, of which I have spent $$$$ and continue to spend $$$$ everytime they bring out a new set.
Spoiler tags added.
Have you done anything to try to get your money back?
My Mafia Stats - My Helpdesk
G Omnath, Locus of Mana U Arcum Dagsson BUG The Mimeoplasm GW Gaddock Teeg X Karn, Silver Golem
Ah, good times...:rolleyes:
Over in Greece you can buy decks of some sort of Generic Manga card game, I bought a couple of decks for a laugh but I still have no idea how you are supposed to play the game.
I am actually OK with having the fake boosters, they are a novelty and although I overpaid for them I can see them being slightly collectable once everyone has a full set of everything they actually want they will start looking around for the more obscure items. Plus I have enough for a full set and spares for any other fake boosters that come along if I need to swap like-for-like.
The cards in the boosters aren't even the big ticket items that you would want if you were buying singles so I have no idea why the fakers went this route rather than producing singles, I think the quality of the cards is too poor, they are actually better boosters than the cards inside but there was still a mix of cards, not just the same one 15 times so someone has gone to some effort to mix them up and pack them and seal them, just not someone with access to decent printing equipment.
Have you seen the price of empty booster packs for Legends and Antiquities? If they keep going up in price maybe we will start seeing fake empty boosters for sale, forget the cards!
The Foil is lame and a dead giveaway but actually looks pretty good in real life
The back is ok but some are a bit mis cut
I cracked a couple of packs
Booster 1
Twiddle (Foil) Series 8
Triskelion x2
Nim Replica
Myr Adapter
Atog
Deconstruct
Icy Manipulator
Slith Strider
Ogre Leadfoot
Sandskin
Island
Soldier Replica x2
Nim Shrieker
Booster 2
Swamp (foil)
Galvanic Key
Icy Manipulator
Neurok Hoversail
Airbourne Aid
Dross Prowler x2
Ogre Leadfoot x4
Nim Shrieker
Titanium Golum
Slith Strider
Slagwurm Armour
Booster 3
Predator's Strike x2
Myr Adapter x2
Rain of Blades (foil) series 8
Neurok Hoversail
Inspirit
Galvanic Key
Jinxed Choker
Ogre Leadfoot x2
Atog
Flayed Nim
Airbourne Aid
Lumengrid Sentinel