I wouldn’t put fake $100 bills in my wallet just like I wouldn’t put fake cards in my binder.
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Scammers are everywhere, sure, but there’s no need to aid and abet them, hence my suggestions vs strengthening the market for fakes as close to the original as possible.
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I only use paper printed proxies to test out decks in real life.
If I need to temporarily fill in spaces in a binder I use a holo card with the printing removed with some acetone to keep things looking clean. (sorry for destroying cards)
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Whatever happened to saving up and buying the card to finish the collection? Also, what is the rush? Yes, there are cards that are out of reach in mint/gem mint condition, but you can get most cards in decent enough condition for your binder at a decent enough price, especially if you save. Don’t get caught in FOMO and get the card you actually want.
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I will never understand buying fake cards. There is a difference in comparing art prints; you are buying a print of the art. Where fake cards are about replicating the product, not just the art.
There are so many ways to simply appreciate pokemon art without buying a fake: You can print whatever art you enjoy for personal use. Purchase books like the silver bible that have scans of cards. View countless images online for free. Or be more content. Its ok to not own something. Even the wealthiest person in the world can’t buy everything.
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Meh, this is just a fundamental disagreement that I don’t think we will see eye to eye on. I do not support fakes of anything in any hobby. Replicas are rampant in my other main hobby, building/modifying cars, and I do not support them there either. You want an extremely rare set of wheels made in Japan back in 1985? Damn, good luck! Don’t get rotas. You want this steering wheel but don’t want to spend $500? Don’t settle for the $80 ebay version. You want these fully custom sized and finished 21" wheels but can’t spend $12K? Me either, don’t settle for the knockoffs. You want a $1200 seat? Save up, don’t cheap out.
This is all coming from someone who does not have and has never had excessive money. I completely understand how it feels to never be able to obtain what you want, especially when it comes to your hobby because it’s what you love and what your passion is in, but to me having nothing but desire is better than having a fake 10 times out of 10
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I would rather see a blank spot in my binder than to ever pay money for something that isn’t real.
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I will never understand people who collect fakes.
At current prices, I will likely never buy an Illustrator. But if I were to buy a fake one, it would not give me any joy. It would fill me with sadness to pretend I own a card I want. I find more contentment in knowing that there are some cards I can’t have and appreciating what I do have.
I honestly think owning a fake card would actually make you feel more likely to feel sadness for not owning the real thing compared to just acceptance of what you have.
Obviously people are different and I can’t account for the full range of human experience. But to me owning a fake is anathema to the very idea of being a collector.
And everything I said to this point doesn’t even take into account that fakes are awful for the hobby and will ultimately be used to deceive and scam people who don’t know better. Making the fakes is an illegal practice and supporting them is immoral.
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yeah i wouldn’t purchase fakes myself 
i’d rather wait until i can get the legitimate card, rather than substituting a fake card in its place in the mean time. c:
@hyruleguardian Well said, and I agree… It’s an attempt to fill a gap not just in your collection, but in your psyche as a collector.
I have a big shoebox of counterfeit cards that were printed around the time Pokemon was at its height, most of which were pulled from periodic collection purchases over the years… some of which were “traded” for at events. The general feeling I get from them is a sad emptiness, such as the feeling that something you love has been defaced. 
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Part of the beauty of Pokémon card collecting seems to me to be the open and quite happily low ‘cost’ of entry, meaning that fakes are almost completely redundant.
If I don’t have the means (and I don’t) to pick up PSA 10 copies of the most expensive cards, I can still own legitimate and similar cards myself, and share in the appreciation.
For example; can’t afford a 1st edition base set Charizard, but a played unlimited Charizard should be affordable to all. Can’t afford a UniKarp, get the Web version instead. Sometimes Japanese can be cheaper than English, etc. etc.
The fact that there are also cards that have unique artwork and are largely unobtainable, such as the Trophy 'khan/Illustrator just serves to add depth to the hobby, and creates the ‘grails’ that should be out of reach of most. If you could pick up all the cards at will, it wouldn’t be half as fun to collect.
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I love the input and think this thread has done a great job discussing the topic.
Much love from Z
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I’m not sure anyone who buys these is “pretending to own a card.” I think the point is that the replica cards look like the real cards (which look nice obviously).
Many people hang copies of beautiful paintings (which also look nice obviously) given that they’re unable or unwilling to pay for the originals. Seems to be the same principle
I’m personally against replicas/fakes of real cards. I think there are people who only want to own the card because they can never afford the real one and I understand that desire. That’s not me but I get the desire to do so. Obviously you can own damaged copies of the real thing but for a lot of people the goal is to get a copy in decent shape and so the replica/fakes are appealing in that sense. I understand the desire but I think the downsides of the practice are signifiant because there are also people who take advantage of fakes/replicas. It’s one thing if you buy a fake knowing you get a fake, it’s another thing when fakes are sold to people who are looking for the real thing (hence why companies like PSA have a role in the industry).
Custom cards and arts however are different and I think they have a place. For example, your favourite Pokemon Mega Charizard X never got a full art. You can find custom arts and cards of that Pokemon by an artist. I think that’s pretty cool and I don’t think it harms anyone. People can’t (or shouldn’t) be duped by that as you can do your research and see that it’s a custom card not a real one. That’s my view.
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I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but personally I don’t want to spend money on a card that I don’t believe to have any inherent value. Why buy a “replica” that is worth nothing when you could buy an actual card that is real?
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As a few have mentioned before, I can understand the desire or temptation to purchase a replica.
Consider this:
You spend years collecting, sometimes even saving for some particular cards that are high on your wants list. You planned to obtain the cards from the very get-go, just needed a bit more time, a bit more money, but like all things, it becomes a gamble. Graded copies start appearing before becoming the norm. Now it’s even more expensive. But you still decide to save, hoping that a raw version or maybe a light played version will pop up or a low-grade will sell for cheap. Graded suddenly becomes the norm and now it’s hard to find copies raw. All of a sudden, a year or two later, and the card prices skyrocket, and becomes forever out of reach and you know that you can no longer obtain it.
And it sucks.
It sucks not being able to finalize a collection because of a few cards suddenly skyrocketing in price. It sucks feeling like the choices you made to finalize your collection were once tangible and then the reality of everything settling in. It sucks being bought out of your highest wants.
Maybe it’s been a few months, a few years. You see someone selling high-quality replicas. You see YOUR card, the one that stalled you from finishing your collection. It wouldn’t be the same as the real thing, of course, but it would make it LOOK complete, maybe even feel a little complete. Something along the lines of “Good enough.”
There are members here who don’t seem to bat an eye when paying hundreds or even thousands to purchase Pokemon cards. For many others, however, spending 50 bucks on a card can seem like a high reach. I still flinch if I’m spending more than $100 on a single purchase. So spending $20 bucks on a replica of one of your greatest wants seems REALLY appealing in that moment.
And yet. At the same time, there’s so much damage that can be done by purchasing fakes. It endangers the real version, the more popular replicas become, the more common of a practice it becomes, and the harder it is to discern what is real and what isn’t. Replicas already have become more popular just in the last two years. Every time I’m on ebay, I always spot at least one or two now. A few years ago, you didn’t see that. It also discredits the artists who put their time into the creation of those cards by effectively stealing it.
It’s okay to be frustrated by not being able to accomplish certain goals.
It’s not okay to endanger everyone else from accomplishing theirs for some mild “good enough” satisfaction.
Redefine “good enough” for your collection.
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I have never seen a convincing pokemon fake card and think it’s even funny to run across really terrible fake vintage cards from time to time. With that said it’s an interesting idea if good fakes could be made that at least represent the front well. I’m sure if the chinese put enough effort into it they could make it happen pretty well like some of the better magic fakes.
I don’t think I would ever put much effort into trying to find one in the future or have any interest in obtaining them but it’s an interesting proposition if you wanted to make some wall art or other damaging fabrication without destroying real cards. It could also be a good alternative for some people if they just wanted to display something without spending a significant amount of money.
PS: Before anyone gets upset with that statement, keep in mind I do agree it could be incredibly damaging to the hobby in terms of buying raw cards for collections if very high quality fakes were ever created and sold at high levels like some reserve list magic cards that I’ve seen people I know buy at full price not realizing they were fake. It’s not something anyone on here can control if it happens or not so it’ll just be interesting to see what happens in the future. If anything the current market and popularity of pokemon is showing there would likely be market for something like that though maybe not in the way magic does when people are just searching for playable copies that will convince someone through a sleeve.
If people really just want to “appreciate the art” then blow up an image and hang it on the wall.
Getting a replica card is about more than just appreciating great art, it’s about trying to fill a desire for something real with something that is fake.
Again, the very idea depresses me.
But yes, of course, this is my perspective.
The only objective thing is that supporting people who make money from the illegal practice of making fake cards is absolutely terrible for the hobby we all love.
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Making custom card for yourself or a friend while respecting copywrite laws is one thing. Beyond that…
—If it’s ok to make custom cards (using copy-write protected material) and sell even a few per week… when does it become not ok? When you start selling $500 in cards per week, or only once you open a brick and mortar store to sell your unlicensed goods?
There are plenty of the “metal” cards sold these days, using original artwork and ideas, but on metallic stock (one person selling thousands) Make no mistake that what those people are doing is illegal, and just because they haven’t been given a C&D doesn’t mean that they’re in the clear. I’ve seen the hammer drop inside other collectibles arenas… Just throwing that out there…
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Don’t know if it’s been said but in the words of the great Smpratte, fake cards are for fake collectors
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