TrayKnight Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) I see a ton of 1st edition shadowless and shadowless Charizard proxy cards offered on Ebay.....what's the quickest or easiest way to tell the difference between an authentic shadowless card and a proxy.....without having them in hand? What should I look for in a photo? Scammers have gotten a lot better since I last purchased trading cards..... Edited January 12 by TrayKnight Link to post Share on other sites
bulldog1986 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, TrayKnight said: I see a ton of 1st edition shadowless and shadowless Charizard proxy cards offered on Ebay.....what's the quickest or easiest way to tell the difference between an authentic shadowless card and a proxy.....without having them in hand? What should I look for in a photo? Scammers have gotten a lot better since I last purchased trading cards..... The first thing I would do is verify they are not a new account selling. After that I pull up the same card I'm interested in on a website like tcgplayer.com and look at some the listings there and compare them side by side. You can also send a message to the seller on ebay and request things like angled pictures, side pictures and back pictures (if not already up). Angle I'd be looking for the correct texture and design of it, from the side/top I would be looking to make sure it's not one of those lovely stickers on top of another card, and back pictures I'm looking for any discoloration TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TrayKnight Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 10 minutes ago, bulldog1986 said: The first thing I would do is verify they are not a new account selling. After that I pull up the same card I'm interested in on a website like tcgplayer.com and look at some the listings there and compare them side by side. You can also send a message to the seller on ebay and request things like angled pictures, side pictures and back pictures (if not already up). Angle I'd be looking for the correct texture and design of it, from the side/top I would be looking to make sure it's not one of those lovely stickers on top of another card, and back pictures I'm looking for any discoloration Thanks.. Wow.....Stickers. Link to post Share on other sites
bulldog1986 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 10 minutes ago, TrayKnight said: Thanks.. Wow.....Stickers. Not my cards, but this is what happened to a guy in a facebook group I'm in a couple of weeks back and he bought off tcgplayer, so they can be anywhere. Tcgplayer of course took care of him and he was laughing about it, but you just never know. TrayKnight and CHASEnBLUE 2 Link to post Share on other sites
TrayKnight Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 (edited) 28 minutes ago, bulldog1986 said: Not my cards, but this is what happened to a guy in a facebook group I'm in a couple of weeks back and he bought off tcgplayer, so they can be anywhere. Tcgplayer of course took care of him and he was laughing about it, but you just never know. That's scary.....How would I detect a card that has a sticker layered over the original.....I'm guessing the thickness and stiffness of the card would change. Are the lettering and colors on these types of stickers exactly the same as the originals.... Edited January 12 by TrayKnight Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Churches Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 If you are looking at 1st edition shadowless Charizards and think you are getting an amazing deal, it's likely fake. The tips above are very good for sniffing out fakes, generally speaking. I've never seen the sticker situation, but I also don't buy expensive cards off TCGPlayer (cards you can't typically see before you buy). If you follow good practices as a buyer (eBay has good buyer protections, always insist on PayPal and use Goods and Services as the payment option), you'll be in better shape to thwart scams. And if you find a deal that's too good to be true, it probably is. TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
bulldog1986 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 15 hours ago, TrayKnight said: That's scary.....How would I detect a card that has a sticker layered over the original.....I'm guessing the thickness and stiffness of the card would change. Are the lettering and colors on these types of stickers exactly the same as the originals.... According to the guy on facebook, he could tell before he even took it out of the top loader. The texture was all wrong, the thickness was all wrong, just everything about it screamed hilarious scam, and according to him, his seller said he never realized (yea right...). Regardless, like Ron said, most websites like tcgplayer, ebay, and others have buyer protections to help you out if you get in that kind of a situation and I would suggest reading up on those so you know when you can take chances and when you can't. TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TrayKnight Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 9 hours ago, Ron Churches said: If you are looking at 1st edition shadowless Charizards and think you are getting an amazing deal, it's likely fake. The tips above are very good for sniffing out fakes, generally speaking. I've never seen the sticker situation, but I also don't buy expensive cards off TCGPlayer (cards you can't typically see before you buy). If you follow good practices as a buyer (eBay has good buyer protections, always insist on PayPal and use Goods and Services as the payment option), you'll be in better shape to thwart scams. And if you find a deal that's too good to be true, it probably is. Thanks a lot Ron... Link to post Share on other sites
TrayKnight Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 9 hours ago, bulldog1986 said: According to the guy on facebook, he could tell before he even took it out of the top loader. The texture was all wrong, the thickness was all wrong, just everything about it screamed hilarious scam, and according to him, his seller said he never realized (yea right...). Regardless, like Ron said, most websites like tcgplayer, ebay, and others have buyer protections to help you out if you get in that kind of a situation and I would suggest reading up on those so you know when you can take chances and when you can't. Yeh, I figured the weight and perhaps the feel of the card will probably be off on something like that......criminal activity has definitely changed since the last time I was in the trading card game.....Thx Link to post Share on other sites
Angel of Death Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 On 1/12/2021 at 6:16 PM, bulldog1986 said: Not my cards, but this is what happened to a guy in a facebook group I'm in a couple of weeks back and he bought off tcgplayer, so they can be anywhere. Tcgplayer of course took care of him and he was laughing about it, but you just never know. I have never had a problem at that venue. I wonder if they discipline sellers for that kinda BS. Link to post Share on other sites
bulldog1986 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 3 hours ago, Angel of Death said: I have never had a problem at that venue. I wonder if they discipline sellers for that kinda BS. I know TCGPlayer takes their site pretty seriously against offenders, at least that's been my personal experience, which is why I don't have a problem shopping on there. When I had problems with orders, such as condition didn't match sale, they were on it fast. With something like fake cards like that, I have to imagine they brought the hammer down hard on that seller, if not outright banned him from their venue after seeing the refund through. Edited January 14 by bulldog1986 Angel of Death 1 Link to post Share on other sites
PeterPark Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Not to shameslessly plug, but my question is somewhat similar and I posted it in its own thread. I have a shadowed, not 1st edition charizard 4/102 and see huge price discrepancies on ebay...is that proxy nervousness? Graded cards seem to sell for 20x not-graded. My experience selling my magic cards was much more straight-forward so I'm a bit at a loss... TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Yeahiwasder4dat Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 5 hours ago, PeterPark said: Not to shameslessly plug, but my question is somewhat similar and I posted it in its own thread. I have a shadowed, not 1st edition charizard 4/102 and see huge price discrepancies on ebay...is that proxy nervousness? Graded cards seem to sell for 20x not-graded. My experience selling my magic cards was much more straight-forward so I'm a bit at a loss... A lot of it has to do with condition as well. Even a small .5 can be a few hundred dollar difference the closer you get to a 10. Rarity + condition creates a lot of those huge gaps. TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TrayKnight Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 On 1/20/2021 at 11:51 PM, PeterPark said: Not to shameslessly plug, but my question is somewhat similar and I posted it in its own thread. I have a shadowed, not 1st edition charizard 4/102 and see huge price discrepancies on ebay...is that proxy nervousness? Graded cards seem to sell for 20x not-graded. My experience selling my magic cards was much more straight-forward so I'm a bit at a loss... Are Magic cards harder to fake than Pokémon? Link to post Share on other sites
DB Cards Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 On 1/20/2021 at 11:51 PM, PeterPark said: Not to shameslessly plug, but my question is somewhat similar and I posted it in its own thread. I have a shadowed, not 1st edition charizard 4/102 and see huge price discrepancies on ebay...is that proxy nervousness? Graded cards seem to sell for 20x not-graded. My experience selling my magic cards was much more straight-forward so I'm a bit at a loss... Condition is huge in vintage Pokemon, so the differences in prices are due to that. If you have a holo from WOTC in good condition I almost always recommend grading it yourself. PeterPark 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Angel of Death Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/22/2021 at 11:20 PM, TrayKnight said: Are Magic cards harder to fake than Pokémon? Yes. It's impossible to fake an MtG card. WotC prints Pokemon, too, right? Their MFG process is likely the same. MtG started including silver/holo logos about a decade ago that helped identify counterfeits. TrayKnight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
