This has to be a fake 1st Edition Charizard, right?

[acebren]

@pokemondanni

Got it! Just seems like a good copy then compared to op’s.

not trying to be a dick, but its really a terrible fake, make sure to keep doing research and familiarise yourself with what a real card looks like before making a purchase

[smpratte]

This is an extremely common fake. The fastest way to tell the difference is the holo. The one you linked has a holo that will never appear on a real 1st Ed base copy.

Fake: ebay.us/o02VOI

Real: ebay.us/aPr5PR

Real holo has more depth. Fake holos are very flat, and look more like an evolutions charizard pattern.

[celebi]

@acebren

@pokemondanni

Got it! Just seems like a good copy then compared to op’s.

not trying to be a dick, but its really a terrible fake, make sure to keep doing research and familiarise yourself with what a real card looks like before making a purchase

Im curious, with expensive cards like these, do you only purchase them if they are graded? I believe that PSA has the ability to recognize fakes (not perfectly but good enough).

[brendantheclayboy]

@celebi

@acebren

not trying to be a dick, but its really a terrible fake, make sure to keep doing research and familiarise yourself with what a real card looks like before making a purchase

Im curious, with expensive cards like these, do you only purchase them if they are graded? I believe that PSA has the ability to recognize fakes (not perfectly but good enough).

PSA in general is not as qualified to handle Pokemon card authentication as much as the many experts on this forum. You couldn’t pass a single fake by just about the majority of people here. It is not a concern, buying cards raw. acebren is one of the many here who doesn’t worry about that.

[pikachutcg]

@celebi

@acebren

not trying to be a dick, but its really a terrible fake, make sure to keep doing research and familiarise yourself with what a real card looks like before making a purchase

Im curious, with expensive cards like these, do you only purchase them if they are graded? I believe that PSA has the ability to recognize fakes (not perfectly but good enough).

I think if you were not confident enough to spot one of these cards as a fake then you shouldnt be relying on a grading company but instead get more familiar with the real cards so you can spot fakes like these.

Relying purely on the fact a card is graded would not work as there are plenty of fake PSA & Other slabs around then you have the legitimate but resealed slabs and also the Fakes that actually manage to slip through and get graded.

[celebi]

@pikachutcg

@celebi

Im curious, with expensive cards like these, do you only purchase them if they are graded? I believe that PSA has the ability to recognize fakes (not perfectly but good enough).

I think if you were not confident enough to spot one of these cards as a fake then you shouldnt be relying on a grading company but instead get more familiar with the real cards so you can spot fakes like these.

Relying purely on the fact a card is graded would not work as there are plenty of fake PSA & Other slabs around then you have the legitimate but resealed slabs and also the Fakes that actually manage to slip through and get graded.

Interesting, I heard about fake slabs but don’t know how common they are. I personally consider myself decent to be able the recognize fake cards via pictures (or at the very least become skeptical of the authenticity of the card). I assumed that maybe grading would add another “layer of authentication” after you examined your cased card. Essentially you would use your own skills and have comfort that a grading company has also examined your card.

I’ve heard that fake cards do slip through sometimes. I imagine there is going to be some human error when your examining a numerous cards per day. Though I would hope that grading companies recognize fakes at a high rate.

[acebren]

@celebi

@acebren

not trying to be a dick, but its really a terrible fake, make sure to keep doing research and familiarise yourself with what a real card looks like before making a purchase

Im curious, with expensive cards like these, do you only purchase them if they are graded? I believe that PSA has the ability to recognize fakes (not perfectly but good enough).

No, we are the Pokemon experts

[smpratte]

@celebi

@pikachutcg

I think if you were not confident enough to spot one of these cards as a fake then you shouldnt be relying on a grading company but instead get more familiar with the real cards so you can spot fakes like these.

Relying purely on the fact a card is graded would not work as there are plenty of fake PSA & Other slabs around then you have the legitimate but resealed slabs and also the Fakes that actually manage to slip through and get graded.

Interesting, I heard about fake slabs but don’t know how common they are. I personally consider myself decent to be able the recognize fake cards via pictures (or at the very least become skeptical of the authenticity of the card). I assumed that maybe grading would add another “layer of authentication” after you examined your cased card. Essentially you would use your own skills and have comfort that a grading company has also examined your card.

I’ve heard that fake cards do slip through sometimes. I imagine there is going to be some human error when your examining a numerous cards per day. Though I would hope that grading companies recognize fakes at a high rate.

PSA graded fake cards are such a negligible exception. The general approach is true that buying graded = authentic.

[pikachutcg]

@celebi

@pikachutcg

I think if you were not confident enough to spot one of these cards as a fake then you shouldnt be relying on a grading company but instead get more familiar with the real cards so you can spot fakes like these.

Relying purely on the fact a card is graded would not work as there are plenty of fake PSA & Other slabs around then you have the legitimate but resealed slabs and also the Fakes that actually manage to slip through and get graded.

Interesting, I heard about fake slabs but don’t know how common they are. I personally consider myself decent to be able the recognize fake cards via pictures (or at the very least become skeptical of the authenticity of the card). I assumed that maybe grading would add another “layer of authentication” after you examined your cased card. Essentially you would use your own skills and have comfort that a grading company has also examined your card.

I’ve heard that fake cards do slip through sometimes. I imagine there is going to be some human error when your examining a numerous cards per day. Though I would hope that grading companies recognize fakes at a high rate.

Yeah my comment was not taking a dig at graded cards at all, My point was that if someone can’t spot a common raw fake what chance would they have spotting a fake inside a fake graded case? I would imagine the approach of ‘i will buy it because its graded so it must be legit’ is the reason why the fake slabs sell on ebay & other platforms.

[celebi]

@pikachutcg

@celebi

Interesting, I heard about fake slabs but don’t know how common they are. I personally consider myself decent to be able the recognize fake cards via pictures (or at the very least become skeptical of the authenticity of the card). I assumed that maybe grading would add another “layer of authentication” after you examined your cased card. Essentially you would use your own skills and have comfort that a grading company has also examined your card.

I’ve heard that fake cards do slip through sometimes. I imagine there is going to be some human error when your examining a numerous cards per day. Though I would hope that grading companies recognize fakes at a high rate.

Yeah my comment was not taking a dig at graded cards at all, My point was that if someone can’t spot a common raw fake what chance would they have spotting a fake inside a fake graded case? I would imagine the approach of ‘i will buy it because its graded so it must be legit’ is the reason why the fake slabs sell on ebay & other platforms.

I believe I understand what your emphasizing. Like smpratte said, the amount of fake cards that PSA grades is minimal. However, like you said, it is still helpful to develop an eye for detecting fake cards so that you can catch those few instances when PSA grades a fake card.

You also mentioned that there are legitimate resealed slabs that you need to look out for.

[pikachutcg]

@celebi

@pikachutcg

Yeah my comment was not taking a dig at graded cards at all, My point was that if someone can’t spot a common raw fake what chance would they have spotting a fake inside a fake graded case? I would imagine the approach of ‘i will buy it because its graded so it must be legit’ is the reason why the fake slabs sell on ebay & other platforms.

I believe I understand what your emphasizing. Like smpratte said, the amount of fake cards that PSA grades is minimal. However, like you said, it is still helpful to develop an eye for detecting fake cards so that you can catch those few instances when PSA grades a fake card.

You also mentioned that there are legitimate resealed slabs that you need to look out for.

Sorry if my comments didnt explain it very well, to be clear Its extremely rare that PSA would grade a fake card the link i posted was just a refrence, resealed slabs are also very rare as i would imagine its a lot of work and is easily caught due to damage to the case.

I was refering to fake PSA slabs themselves (the first link), fake plastic & fake labels with fake cards inside. They are much more common but again taking the time to learn the tells is easy to do.