There is some crazy textured custom cards out there. I’ve also seen pokemon pocket cards sold as sets I want to get 
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I’m at a weird middle ground where I’ve never bought a proxy card before and never will, but I’ve also made proxies of cards I know I’ll never own (ex. Scramble Eevee, Playtest Eevee) as well as custom cards featuring my original art which I keep in a binder.
I think that proxies and customs can be a lot of fun to make or collect as someone who’s into art/crafts. But the moment they’re bought/sold, you run into the problem of potentially profiting from someone else’s art. Whether this is official TCG art, stolen fan art, AI art, etc., I think this is where proxies can get unethical and my opinion on them starts to shift.
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Like Milhouse said proxy cards for play should def be encouraged, especially if you are testing and haven’t bought stuff yet.
There are definitely ways to make awesome customs as well, such as this Lt Surge altered to an illustrator
As long as you aren’t being deceptive about anything for for it. I have spent tens of thousands on some cards and that is not easy or even possible for many and I get why a placeholder might give someone some joy
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In my point of view, is only ethical if it’s for personal use and not for reselling and scam other people.
Everyone builds their own collections with the items they like and I don’t see problem of someone having the proxy of a very expensive card (unless they’re using those copies for selling them as legit cards) …
In my case, generally I just accept that I will never own them … such as cases of Dark Magician Girl (2024-KR001; 24OT-JASG1 and 24OT-AESG1) which I haven’t considered in my Dark Magician Girl collection goals.
The only case I’ve considered buying a proxy of a card is in case of Secret Rare Dark Magician Girl (G3-11) which I’ve found a proxy, but not priority for me to buy it rn.
In other cases such as Unikarp, there might be reprints available. In case of Unikarp, it had a reprint in Pokémon Web which is way cheaper than the Unnumbered Promo. I’ll consider it for the future …
This is just my case for example … everyone has their own goals …
Totally agree … In that case, I consider that people should use original back parts in order to distinguish them more easily. As I said before, if its for personal use, I don’t see problems in having proxy cards.
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I really hope they make official pocket cards some day but until then I will definitely be keeping an eye out for some good quality proxies hehe. That new houndoom is incredible looking.
I also really love having cards like the base set Dragonair, Growlithe/Arcanine, and Ponyta with holos on them! I have the regular cards, but sometimes a little sparkle just makes them better 
although there are a lot of really bad quality ones around haha. (I’ve also found some sleeves with the cracked ice holo on them that are fun)
All of my proxies/fakes either get tossed if I’m not keeping them or added to my collaged walls/shelves, so no fear of them being released into the wild! I try to be a very ethical fake collector 
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I can never find a proxy real enough, mostly for holos. So it always just feels like an insult when I see a proxy of something I don’t have honestly if I’m making a placeholder in a binder I’m taping a colored printer paper scan of it to the spot that way it looks real while reminding me it’s not
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So the real reason I posted this question is because I will be setting up a new display case I got donated to by an ophthalmologist buddy of mine. My mission is to present some cards in a museum fashion. I want to post a quick description of the cards histories and stuff like that. All my cards are authentic but some I obviously can’t afford such as the illustrator and higher end trophy cards. I’ve found some replicas of these higher value cards that I will be purchasing for this. I will be posting pics in my collection thread and my IG. Hopefully this doesn’t cause a huge commotion after all it’s not for any deceptive or scamming purposes.
For example this illustrator card I found online which is incredibly high quality. The good thing is you can obviously tell it’s only a replica:
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At the very least I would crack it out of the fraudulent slab…
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What’s fraudulent about a card in MY display case? With a cert number that is on every card I’ll be slabbing and a QR code on the back that says this card is a replica; when scanned…???
It’s very clearly designed to look like a PSA slab. Don’t be dense
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Yeah I made it to match my other graded cards. Did you not read anything? Wouldn’t you say you’re being rather dense right now?
No I don’t think so. I think it’s one thing to create a copy of a card for yourself to enjoy, but to create a fake slab that emulates one of the major authenticion methods of the hobby is an entirely different matter, and kind of draws a question about why you would want to display it like that to begin with
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That’s a replication but obviously a fake so I think it’s chill, I see them all the time and that is definitely lower quality fake slab then a lot of proxie slabs I see I don’t think it’s tricking many people
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First of all it’s not a frosted case, which I can also get. Second there’s no PSA logo on it and third I’m saying flat out that it’s a REPLICA.
You’re making it seem like I’m trying to sell it to someone. I just finished explaining how it’s for my personal collection. They’re readily available all over the place if you want the link just say that.
I think you are confusing my disapproval with misunderstanding.
I disapprove you saying I’m trying to be fraudulent, where I think most of the misunderstanding is happening here buddy
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Using the red PSA label layout is your own decision, and I can think that’s a line too far. Not only does an inexperienced person need to get past the fake card, but now they have to get past a fake authentication and grade.
It’s what the threads about and it’s a great indication of how I should think of you =)
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I mean idk who’s falling for that no offense but it is a terrible proxy case, I don’t think anyone is falling for it, if it was a case that looked exactly like a PSA case it’d be a different story
You’re trippin and it’s ok. Must be past your bedtime. I’m not going to change the color of a border just to please people like you and I made it red because it’s obviously not for any fraudulent purposes. It’s merely an attempt to match my authentic PSA graded cards, that are in my house, in my display case, for me…
With a barcode, and a serial, and a grade lol
Very curious what others think of that