Nintendo logo and “expert level” logo on the reverse side is fuzzy. From the comparison photos, the pack on the top is a jungle pack I believe to be real.I cannot see the dot matrix from the print of these questionable packs. (Please google mtg dot matrix printing for identifing real vs fake cards if you want to know more)
Energy symbols next to “expert level” have no dot matrix printing and look incorrect (thick circular border, ink protruding out of thr circular boundary of thr energy symbol
The english text is not as sharp. Especially the red text that says ‘Each player must have a 60-card deck of pokemon cards to play”.
The reverse side flap is strongly crimped down, it does not separate readily with the rest of the pack like normal packs I’ve seen. (Not a huge indicator this one. But from the lot of packs I bought, every questionable pack has at least these 5 things in common.
Things I can sense when feeling the packs:
Plastic feels thinner and more cheap. Surface layer feels less laminated and is less smooth
More movement space in the pack, they are looser
These printing errors suggest to me that the person scanned the wrapper and found a person to produce these wrappers.
Many of the issues I identified are mentioned in this video below. Disclaimer, those are not my packs and that person is not me.
At first from listening to how he identified the issues, I thought they were just print run variations, but the fuzzy text and logos on my packs imo are fairly big tell tale signs. Though I am not 100% certain and I don’t have access to legitimate shadowless base set booster packs to compare.
For clarity, I bought a lot of booster packs, and identified some of the english packs as fake. I compared the fake packs which had all thr same issues with printing and quality with other packs in the lot that looked less fake. Note I say less fake since they might all be.
I will make a video shortly for more clarity on the issue. I hope my ipad camera will show the issues.
thanks in advance guys for your input and help. Ideally I would like to decide whether to inform the seller today regarding this.
I don’t know much about these packs, so I’ll let someone else answer you. However, when you see a video like that with nearly 50% dislikes, you should probably take the info with a grain of salt. If you look at the comments there are people saying that the packs weren’t fake and he was pretty much just bullshitting.
Guys I posted the video after you guys made your comments, do you mind having a look at the part where I show thr clarity of the nintendo logo at the back and let me know your thoughts? Thanks
I think you might be looking into this waaaaay too much. As stated above, base set had MANY variations. I was scared after seeing that video you posted a couple years ago and then I too read the comments and realized it was a crap video. I also opened a base set booster box and to my surprise EVERY REAL PACK had the heavy crimping that you are concerned with.
If still concerned you can do this…
A. Weigh the base set packs and see if any are heavy. That tells you there is a holo and likely NOT fake.
B. Open a pack and check the card order, but even that doesn’t guarantee they are fake entirely. You could also keep opening till a holo is pulled, but they may already have been weighed regardless.
C. Ask for a return
I think with the large variety of packs you have that it is unlikely they are fake. That’s a ton of effort and since you claim some to be real it also makes no sense. Who would sell real, mixed with fake packs?
Lastly, check the reviews of the seller. If they sell A TON of pokemon packs, that made be a red flag for weighted packs, not necessarily fake ones. You can also see if they sell frequently. It’s unlikley to be fake if they have one big lot sale and then nothing else, especially if they have tons of good feedback.
Just my 2 cents. I think they are likely real, but I avoid big purchases of lots for reasons that they can always be potentially weighed.
Unless your buying one pack of each style for a booster pack collection DONT WASTE MONEY ON PACKS. It’s a suckers bet. All are weighed or fake so why even waste your time? If you want to open packs, save up for a box where you’ll get a fair shake.
I do have a scale, what is the ballpark weight I should be looking for, for a heavy pack? If this is a taboo subject then please pm me.
The seller claimed the english packs came from a “hot box” from WOTC which according to the seller means it has a 92% chance of a holo. Yes he said 92% specifically in the ebay listing and in private messages. When I asked for a source he said he had none, just that he was told that.
I’d have to agree; you’re reading into this wayyy to much! Those packs are completly fine - I’ve yet to see any “good” fake packs; and I’ve bought / sold a A LOT over the years! Although, that whole “hot box” talk is 100% Garbage! LOL Unless the seller doesn’t know much about Pokemon and was referring to the Japanese Packs? Maybe he opened a few and thought he had something special after pulling a Holo in every pack?
The only way to have 92% chances of pulling a holo is the seller wheighing the packs and create that artificial rate on the packs he sells to you, which no seller will do, I guess.
If you don’t feel comfortable with them just return them.
