I recently purchased a first edition, Rocket set Magneton Holo from eBay. The pictures showed the card to be in good condition, the price was the market average and the seller messaged me to confirm postage.
The card arrived today and at first glance seemed legit. No discolouration on the back, thin black line along the edge of the card, the correct dimensions etc. However there appeared to be a slight offset with the yellow border and the base of the card - a very thin white line. I’ve tried to show it in the picture below but it isn’t easy to see.
After a careful prod the border bubbles and peeled away. More peeling and I can see a foil over white card (below).
Most fakes I have seen are pretty obvious but this is new to me. I’m fairly sure I know the answer, but can the experts on here please confirm if this is a fake before I go back to the seller?
Nothing seemed suspicious - only the issue with the border is causing me to second guess the card… the foil has the holo pattern on the underside down to the base border which I would expect in a real card (using holobleed as my justification). Perhaps this reflects a manufacturing issue? If it was a fake, I would expect plain foil on the underside…
I don’t think I have enough experience with situations like this but personally I have an expedition reverse holo feraligatr that had the same clean peeling with the holo layer on the peelable side.
When I was a kid I had peeled off most of it because my friends said it was a fake sticker. I later used a glue stick to glue it back lol.
Now that I have more experience and still own the card I can say the card is 100% real.
Your text looks clear and the font matches. There are subtle consistencies in the coloration (there is a slightly darker diagonal portion passing down diagonally to the right through the “resistance” area, also beneath the word “on” in the top right of the card) between yours and mine. There is nothing unusual or irregular on the face of the card that I’m seeing that would make me think it wasn’t real.
I have heard before of people being able to lift and peel the face of their cards off, both from children and adults, but I am shocked it would be so easy. Usually it’s pretty tough to get it started and the separation is not very clean.
I think this is real, just very strange.
Edit: Nothing like taking a closer look at your own cards and realizing they’re off center. Time to fixate on it forever.
Thanks both - It’s certainly something I haven’t come across before. If it was a newer card I might put it down to manufacturing error, but I’m surprised at seeing this in a WOTC era card.
I’ve re-sleeved the card for now. The bottom corner that peeled has stuck back down similar to the condition it was received in… if real, hopefully salvageable for grading (whenever that may be!!)…
I may also add that while the seller only has 23 reviews, they are all positive and include a few holo sales which look real from the pictures… I’d welcome thoughts from others if you’ve come across this before!
This is definitely true, but is this a defect you’re used to seeing? WotC has tons of consistency and quality problems but I have never had one in this sort of state.
Hello all, thank you so much for your thoughts on this! I guess I’ll consign this card to my binder collection and look for another in the near future.
I think it’s real tho. When I was a kid I once opened a neo rev pack and pull a blissey.
Same problem → could pull the front just like yours.
Same for a neo disc pack and pull a foretress.
