So i was able to purchase this square cut gyarados exactly as you see it imgur.com/gallery/JvPlI the person whom i purchased it from told me they received it as a gift and weren’t sure exactly where it came from (when i asked them if they got this copy for working at WOTC as a proof).
I know people have been saying it is a miscut or a misprint, would the fact that i found a sealed copy in its original wrapping change people perspective on it being an error card and actually being something else like a proof it says on here? I figured this is a new discovery of sorts so i wanted to know what people thought about it, about its rarity, and what i should seek for it in value or trade… 
Pretty sure “sealed” square cuts are fake.
The square could be real I believe, depends on the cut, because it could’ve been hand cut by a person, but they were never sealed by WOTC. That was done by a third party.
Unless I am proven otherwise, with hard evidence, I am very doubtful that square cuts were released in plastic wrap. I believe that people wrapped it themselves to make it more presentable when selling. I avoid ANY square cuts being sold in “Original Packaging” wraps. My $0.02 
It isn’t “original wrapping” unfortunately. Some nefarious seller cut these from a sheet and sealed them himself. It was talked about a while back in the eBay garbage thread, it seems like he sold through his whole stock and enough time has passed that people will see these pop up and think they are rare…
This isn’t a promo, so it has no reason to be sealed like that. Plus the whole “I got it as a gift but IDK where” smells more of BS than a cow pasture. The card could be a legit square cut, but considering everything else I have to think that it’s not. I’m sorry, but you probably got ripped off big time. I’d suggest pressing them for more information and filing a case against them.
If you like it then keep it. If not, then sell it. The card is most likely a real card, just not officially cut. Personally, I love square cuts and there isn’t a true price to them. You pay what you think it’s worth. So there’s no real way to get ripped off with them…unless you buy an obvious fake card.
thank you all… well that kind of sucks to hear, but ill still hold out on hearing any more thoughts and insight… if i were to sell it would it be ideal to sell it as a legitimate card explaining to them that it was very likely home sealed but i am unsure (being as i am reading that it is a legit card produced by WOTC but were cut and sealed by the guy, however where is the “hard evidence” of all this? is what i ask myself). OR how do i go about presenting this card as honestly as possible as it stands in any future dealings with it. What perceived value would you put on this card being that its still a base card and condition looks nice, and i guess it does hold some (negative) historical value apparently. Sucks but it is still an interesting card. IF IT HELPS ANY I SAW THE SAME PERSON SELLING A MAGNETON AS THIS AND I BELIEVE A CHARIZARD EVEN, SEALED AND IN A SCREW HOLDER…
i agree, thank you.
Yes, this does count as getting ripped off. The seller claimed it to be a factory error and OP paid for a factory error, when in reality this ‘error’ was deliberately done. It’s comparable to someone selling weighed packs at full price and saying they’re not weighed. Yeah sure, you’re getting real cards, but it’s not what you paid for and the seller lied. If the buyer doesn’t care then that’s fine, but regardless, if they were lied to they were ripped off.
In this situation OP clearly states that “the person whom i purchased it from told me they received it as a gift and weren’t sure exactly where it came from”. Where exactly is “The seller claimed it to be a factory error” coming from? Buying packs, whether weighed or not weighed, is still a gamble in the end. In this case OP knew exactly what he was a getting, a square cut gyarados, so OP kind of got what he paid for.
Usually when someone makes a claim about knowing someone from WOTC, its can be pretty easy to trace based on their history or prior sales and even reputation. Not to mention it has “Very Rare” written on that picture, which to me is just silly when I see that.
So I stated to make a response that echoed what other members here have said but I wanted to point out evidence that would further prove this was not authentic. I thought that if this was done by WotC then the cellophane wrapper would be an obvious indicator and would be difficult to replicate. So I figured I’d take a look at single cards in cellophane from that time period to further give evidence that these are fakes… problem is that’s not what I’m seeing.
@new2pokemon you may want to pick one of these up, or something similar, and analyze the packaging and see if it matches up with your example. It’s something that is easy to do and could lend some evidence one way or another to the legitimacy of the original sellers claim.
www.ebay.com/itm/Mewtwo-14-Sealed-WOTC-Black-Star-Promo-NEAR-MINT-Pokemon-Card-/262362979504
I’d be curious what others think. This would be a surefire indicator one way or another in my eyes. I’ve always heard these were fakes but if evidence shows otherwise some/ all may be misinformed. If the packaging and sealed techniques are different then it could likely be fake (why would they re-invent the wheel for a one off employee giveaway). But if it’s spot on…
I’d sooner believe that the seller’s Uncle works for Nintendo. The “I got this and I don’t know where” story is the classic shady seller coverup. The seller was implying that the card is a factory error, and there is a HUGE pricedifference between factory square cuts and deliberate square cuts. If someone drew a first edition stamp on a shadowless Charizard, and you paid for it as a first edition Charizard, did you get what you paid for because it says First Edition on it?
What did you pay for it?
All I’ll add is this. When in doubt, avoid the square cuts. It’s a 99% chance that it’s not a legit factory cut (assuming we are talking wotc era…) The cellophane/plastic wrap or whatever is also a red flag, as others have already stated. Personally, I would not purchase it thinking it was 100% legit. If you really like gyarados though, it could be a unique add to a collection for sure. Just as long as you are comfortable with the price you pay.
Its not a fake card. A guy got a half dozen sheets and cut em up then cello encased them.
Factory cut square cuts are hard to determine unless you know, and trust, the provenance.
As shady as the seller is, you can’t assume that “I got it as a gift, so me don’t know” means that he is implying that “this card is a factory error”. If anything saying something like “I got it from a WOTC emoloyee because so and so works there” would be more along the lines of implying that. Can you provide some proof of sales and prices of some cards that were factory and deliberate square cuts? I would love to see proof that the cards sold were really factory and what proof that seller had to prove it’s authenticity (I honestly would). Also, you can’t assume that the seller advertised as “factory error”. OP stated that the seller didn’t know where he it came from, so in this case OP DID get what he paid for which is a square cut card that could’ve came from anywhere. In your example, if the seller sells it as a legit 1st ed, then no. But if he sells it saying “I got it as a gift so Idk where it came from” then yes, because you should be cautious at that point.
I guess you didn’t see my post just before yours.
I know who and where these came from and they WERE aftermarket cut sheets. No other square cuts were cello wrapped but his.
I’m only being adamant about this cause I don’t want a newbie to happen by, read that and hold out hope it’s a legit factory release.
I also said, the only way to know is to know the seller and trust the provenance.
I have 4 or 5 BGS GEM Mints with no 9 subgrade. That’s a good determinate of a factory cut. If you look at the ones that guy graded you’ll notice they all have at least one 9 sub.
Great stuff to chew on… for the record tho, I was willing to take the risk in purchasing it, even tho I felt as I had found something pretty rare(apparently not so much? I guess rarity is still rarity, which is cool enough for me). Being that I collect gyarados as my primary PC pokemon I did not mind paying the very fair price I did for it(I prefer to keep it private for now, no biggie, but just in case I were to trade or sell it, I wouldn’t want to askew its potential value to the next collector, personally I feel I got a fair deal any way you cut it, just personally, or I probabbly would not have purchased it; the seller did seem a bit green about pokemon but what do I really know? Ya know?). Buying another sealed card and comparing it to the wrapping on this card sounds like a good idea(as was suggested a few posts ago) but even then it would probably be forever impossible to say it was factory sealed based on the claims and statements not Zelda gilroy has said about knowing who sealed these. So these are legit cards but is the only thing not legit about them the packaging or is it the cutting process too?
I did notice it has that dot on the upper right corner that I have read on the internet makes it a factory miscut if you see that dot? Anyone know more about that dot?). Lastly based on what is known, if people don’t mind, what would be a fair value to assert on this card? The condition is immaculate (almost) and it still has its only story behind it and there are other reasons a collector might be willing to pay up (or not) for this card… I do not mind if I had to take a loss on this card, being that I am a gyarados collector, but I will add that if anyone is interested in this card and perhaps has an excellent trade for me, I am very willing to trade for the right offer to the right collector(for whatever it’s worth, thought I would add that in). Appreciate all the help and hopefully if there IS anything new to be discovered about this card(apparently not so though), that we can further hatch it out on this thread. (Apologies for my slow response time)…
Yeah, the cards themselves are real cards, but the square cut was done deliberately and it was sealed in a wrapper to make it seem more legit. The alignment dot does not mean that it’s a factory error. You can see a bit of the alignment dot in the upper left corner of this deliberately square cut and miscut card. (I know it was deliberate because the seller has a ton of square cut and miscut cards for sale from base set, like over 30 in one listing.) i.ebayimg.com/images/g/yqgAAOSwCGVYAwdX/s-l1600.jpg
I’d suggest keeping the card honestly. Because it is not a factory error, the card is technically worth no more than a normal card in its condition. You may be able to get some people interested because of the story behind it, but I don’t think you’ll be ever be able to make back whatever you paid. Just keep it for your own collection, it’s still an interesting item and makes for a good conversation piece.
Also while searching around, I found a similar sealed square cut card, this time a Venusaur. It most likely originated from the seller that NZG mentioned, but I don’t think the person selling the card is that person. I just hope you didn’t pay $489 for your card like the poor sap who bought the Venusaur. Here’s the image, won’t link the listing though. i.ebayimg.com/images/g/EJUAAOSwj85YPF6H/s-l1600.jpg
