Sealed Collectors - Help needed!

General
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Hello all!

I have the possibility to purchase a number of WOTC sealed items locally to me. The problem is I am not so experienced with sealed product, and I have a few questions if anyone could help me please.

  • Do the seals on the base set boxes look ok? Any chance they are a reseal? I don’t suspect they are but just wanted to check. I also know the Box weights which are 807g and 803g.
  • The 2 player starter set theme decks, are these UK print, 1999-2000? Would they contain 1999-2000 base cards? The sealed case also has the same year and says it is manufactured in the UK.
  • The brush fire/blackout/overgrowth/zap theme decks and sealed preconstructed starter deck case - Any chance these could be shadowless?

Please see link to pictures below, sorry there are quite a few so thought it is better/easier to view in one album:

www.flickr.com/photos/143163772@N04/albums/72157719726311564/with/51401058109/

All the best

Fire :grin:

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I would feel comfortable buying the Base boxes. They match the ones I have from what I can see. Nice thick seals on the sides with a thinner one on the back and the recognizable wavy seal pattern. The creasing and denting to the box underneath the wrap seems consistent with the pressure creases common from stacking. Remember, these things weigh nearly two pounds. The logos can have a little variance from box to box but they seem to match in both size and production flaws with all the others I’ve come across. When you look in person take note of the hard to see wear. Is it consistent with the wear or lack of wear underneath the seal? An example: A scratch on the box but the seal on top is untouched. Big red flag.

I’ll leave the decks for someone with more experience as those aren’t my wheelhouse.

Go for a small discount because of the creasing and denting. Good luck.

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The 2 player starter kit and display are indeed the UK variant and should have 1999-2000 copyright cards (I say should because I havent actually watched an opening of a 2 player starter UK deck to verify, but the standard base decks follow that pattern), this is seen by their International copyright symbol instead of the standard North america copyright symbol.

The loose theme decks are essentially guaranteed unlimited. They have no damage counters shown which is indicitive of later printings but they do not have 1999-2000 copyright cards. Pretty much the later portion of the unlimited print run.

The other deck displays have no identifiable tells to tell if they could be shadowless until you open the display. They are not guaranteed shadowless since theyd have a gold strip in that situation. They also have the standard North American copyright symbol so they are not 1999-2000 copyright decks. I’d assume since they seem to be with other later print items that they would not be shadowless but normal unlimited decks.

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@zap2, @lyleberr,

Thank you for your advice! I managed to grab a 1999-2000 starter deck and a few other bits from the local auction but nothing went below market value really. Got a couple of magazines that look pretty epic though!