THIS IS A BRIEF GUIDE ON SPOTTING FAKE POKEMON CARDS

I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD OF FAKE POKEMON CARDS LAST YEAR WHEN I BOUGHT A BOX OF FIRE RED LEAF GREEN POKEMON CARDS

UPON OPENING THE FIRST PACK OF CARDS I NOTICED THAT THE CARDS WERE NOT FIRE RED AND LEAF GREEN BUT DIAMOND AND PEARL INSIDE THE FIRE RED PACKAGING! FORTUNATELY, AFTER MANY HOURS SPENT HAVING TO GET DOCUMENTED PROOF FROM A DISTRIBUTOR I WAS ABLE TO PROVE TO PAYPAL THE CARDS WERE FAKE AND BE REFUNDED BY THE SELLER.  TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT- I WILL GIVE A SHORT OUTLINE ON HOW TO SPOT A FAKE CARD AND HOPEFULLY SAVE YOU THE HASSLE OF TRYING TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK.

THE EASIEST WAY TO SPOT A FAKE POKEMON CARD IS TO LOOK AT THE ENERGY SYMBOLS DISPLAYED ALONGSIDE THE ATTACK AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CARD. A FAKE CARD HAS MUCH DARKER AND MUCH LARGER SYMBOLS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CARD AND NEXT TO THE ATTACK DESCRIPTION.

(STARAVIA FAKE IS ON THE LEFT.)  THIS PICTURE IS CLOSEST TO THE SIZE YOU WILL SEE ON THE INTERNET

  THE STAR SYMBOL IS THE MOST NOTICEABLE AND TAKES UP THE ENTIRE CIRCLE AND LOOKS A LITTLE OFF CENTER  WHILE A REAL CARDS STAR  SYMBOL TAKES UP ABOUT HALF OF THAT CIRCLE (GREEN CARD ,CALLED CHERRIM, FAKE IS ON THE RIGHT)

NEXT,  LOOK AT THE PRINT IN THE SECTION DESCRIBING THE ATTACK, ALMOST ALWAYS THE FAKE CARD FAILS TO PUT AN APOSTROPHE OVER THE E IN POKEMAN. QUITE OFTEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE CARD CLOSELY, YOU WILL FIND SPELLING ERRORS AND WHEN COMPARING THE SAME 2 CARDS SIDE TO SIDE YOU WILL SEE   DIFFERENCES IN PRINT FONT SIZE AND TYPE (AS SEEN IN PICTURE)   .  ALSO THE FAKE CARDS ARE JUST A SHADE DARKER IN COLOR THAN THE REAL CARDS. AND FINALLY WHEN THE FAKE CARD IS PUT IN A DECK OF REAL CARDS IT IS USUALLY JUST A LITTLE BIGGER AND EASILY PICKED OUT AND THE EDGES ARE ROUGH AS WELL

LATELY I HAVE NOTICED SOME FAKE  EX CARDS BEING SOLD THAT DO NOT HAVE THE SILVER HOLO BORDER ON ALL 4 SIDES OF THE CARD  AND WITH THE ABOVE MENTIONED FLAWS.  ALL REAL EX CARDS HAVE THE SILVER METALLIC BORDER ON ALL 4 SIDES.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:  WHEN BUYING POKEMON CARDS OVER THE INTERNET BE CAREFUL IF THE PHOTO OF THE CARD FOR SALE IS BLURRY OR SMALL- IF YOU CANNOT MAKE OUT THE SYMBOLS SIZE YOU MAY BE BIDDING ON A FAKE CARD.   IF THE PICTURE IS LARGE ENOUGH MAKE SURE THERE IS AN APOSTROPHE OVER THE E IN POKEMON.      

ONE FINAL WORD ABOUT THESE FAKE CARDS-THEY ARE EASILY PURCHASED AT FLEA MARKETS EVERYWHERE,  AND MANY TIMES SOLD OVER THE INTERNET  BY SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW MUCH  ABOUT POKEMON AT ALL-- EXCEPT THAT THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF ROOM FOR MARKUP.  .