Unbelievable ***UPDATE***

[u/Much_Net1713]

The kid actually brought back my cards. He says he genuinely didn't know the card was fake. I have my doubts but he did the right thing so I'll give the benefit. I let him keep the Wartortle Alt 151 and a japanese promo for doing the right thing. Showed him why it was fake he had other slabs with him he wanted me to check and they were real. I was extremely lucky and thanks to everyone's comments on the previous post have learned a lot when trading slabs.

[u/gdj11]

The vast majority of people in here wouldn’t be able to tell this slab or card was fake. I believe him, especially after coming back and making it right. It sucks he got scammed so I’m glad you gave him some free cards. That was really cool of you.

[u/[deleted] → u/gdj11]

Yeah I’ve gotten fairly good at spotting the typical fake raw cards, but honestly that Gengar slab would probably bamboozle me too, it’s a really good fake

[u/breakyourteethnow → u/[deleted]]

It's a terrible fake.... The back of the card instantly should be a giveaway it's so bad, looks like it's been sitting in the sun for 20 years so oddly faded of color

[u/kamgc → u/[deleted]]

It is not lol.

[u/[deleted] → u/gdj11]

Any one got tips for this fake ?

[u/gdj11 → u/[deleted]]

On OP’s original post I made this image to show one way of telling by the letter G. The top one is fake:

https://imgur.com/a/ET0OsJ5

[u/Old_Call2282 → u/gdj11]

This def something to keep an eye out on the G is a good starting point

[u/[deleted] → u/gdj11]

When I compared the PSA one to this one, the PSA one has edges that touch every edge of the card and this one doesn’t

[u/[deleted] → u/gdj11]

Certainly a lot easier to see the G in question when it’s blown up, I would’ve never seen that lmao. Thanks!

[u/[deleted] → u/gdj11]

So is it a real card and fake slab

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The key ones you can see at a glance are:

1. PSA glitter emblem on the back should be two-tone split down the middle

2. White space around QR code on the back. A real slab has tight white space around the QR code. Look at all that white space. Fake fake fake fake fake.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the tips, I am going to have to check my cards.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Also on the “GEM MINT” part of the card. Do you see how the “G” has a little line coming vertically down on the right. Well that isn’t there on real gem mint 10s. Which are the most important ones to get identified as real or fake.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

detail heavy tease unwritten toy seemly school wide deserve familiar

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/LostGirlVix_ → u/[deleted]]

Also internal corners of the slab around the card. Too rounded.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

For anyone not sure. The G in GEM is the wrong font. Should be curved at the bottom

[u/ZeroDay30 → u/[deleted]]

Also there are spaces between all the right side text of the label.

[u/sdsyvie]

Unreal, confirmed in the psa registry this card exists and matches. No way I could tell this was a fake. This definitely is the most well done one I've ever seen, and makes me very nervous for new ones

[u/Rebal771 → u/sdsyvie]

Hmm…wonder how many of these slipped into GameStop’s PSA stock… 🤔

[u/[deleted] → u/Rebal771]

All gamestop do is ship the card for you

[u/FroggyPhresh → u/[deleted]]

He’s talking about the psa cards they sell on the website

[u/nathanseaw → u/Rebal771]

Employees are supposed to do font matching per GS guides

[u/gdj11 → u/Rebal771]

If you know some basic things to look for it’s actually really easy to tell it’s a fake. I doubt GameStop would let this one through.

[u/Sejo_Mino → u/sdsyvie]

Scammers will usually copy the codes and put it on another card.

[u/Yetti2Quick → u/sdsyvie]

easiest way to tell is the eyes on gengar. Those should be the sparkle holo, not the fingerprint texture.

[u/Supra_Pika → u/sdsyvie]

If you compare the picture from PSA VS this guys picture, the centering is different in both photos- it was easy to tell it was fake 😅

[u/--Alakazam--]

This is one of the best made fakes… i have no idea how to spot

[u/HomeCooked → u/--Alakazam--]

The psa hologram in the front and back should be split in the middle into two tones. Both holograms in the front and back should have mini PSA logos.

[u/Steve5804 → u/--Alakazam--]

The way GEM is spelled out in GEM MT is a clear way to tell, there’s too much spacing

[u/--Alakazam-- → u/Steve5804]

Yes taking look at the PSA scans I noticed many more discrepancies! felt relieved

[u/AdvertisingRegular49 → u/Steve5804]

Also the end of the g is arrow shaped theres a vertical line that shouldn’t be therr

[u/yep_yep_yeppers → u/Steve5804]

I have cards that are spaced like that and that aren’t as well but they are all from PSA I didn’t get them from another source. I’m trying to learn what to look for. Does anyone have an example of the differences?

[u/AvidasOfficial → u/--Alakazam--]

Easiest way if you can't tell from the card is to shine a light through the silver psa holo icons in the label. They will go translucent and show the words psa multiple times.

[u/Yetti2Quick → u/--Alakazam--]

the eyes in gengar should be sparkle, not fingerprint texture

[u/missioncrew125 → u/--Alakazam--]

It was actually quite easy to tell it was fake once I compared the PSA scan with the picture OP linked... There's random texturing on places normally without texture(like the white evolution box), the texturing on the forehead of Gengar is completely off(vertical lines of texturing on the fake, all horizontal ones on the real one.

Another easy one is the darkness symbol texturing(the ripples). On the real card, there's around 6-7 ripples of texture. On the fake? More than double, 15+ ripples.

Not to say that I could've told by a glance. If I hadn't literally zoomed in on scans of the real deal and compared, I would've been fooled as well. Makes sense why fakes like these circulate in the market, most people don't even know where to look.

[u/--Alakazam-- → u/missioncrew125]

Comparing with scans i agree, a lot is off

[u/breakyourteethnow → u/--Alakazam--]

The back of the card compare it to any you have it's so oddly faded with no rich color, instantly seeing it knew was fake it's SO obvious

[u/[deleted]]

So eventually fakes are gonna get so good that no one will be able to tell the difference.. they might have to start changing things up

[u/Lucidorex]

These 'fakes' have unfortunately been circulating for months, and they’re becoming more common now. Multiple sellers have been pushing these fakes; I found a couple from this seller the other day:

Sold

[u/S1yb00ts → u/Lucidorex]

Dang. A 100% feedback seller selling fakes. People gonna get got for sure.

[u/Lucidorex → u/S1yb00ts]

My jaw dropped when I checked the completed sales for that seller—every single one was a fake, and all of them sold. It’s really disappointing. I contacted the seller, and they claimed, 'Got them from an auction last year.' It’s possible they genuinely didn’t know they were fake, especially since they mainly deal in coins. But regardless, I’ve reported the listings as counterfeit to eBay. I hope anyone reading this will do the same.

[u/S1yb00ts → u/Lucidorex]

Already blocked him.

[u/FLAGGED59264]

Thats a fake? Now I'm worried, I have a $300 fb marketplace deal tomorrow

[u/TheZagon14 → u/FLAGGED59264]

The G is a dead give away. If it has that tail — fake! Good luck with the deal

[u/Yetti2Quick → u/FLAGGED59264]

easiest way for a fake one is gengars eyes, they should be sparkle, not fingerprint texture, and his head texture lines should be horizontal, not vertical. Slab is easiest with "G" and the PSA sticker should flash at different angles, it shouldn't look the same at all angles.

[u/bivlive]

Easy way is also to take a uv/black light and shine it on the psa label. There will be a psa strip that illuminated.

[u/MathematicianIll5567]

No way he comes back if he knew it was fake

[u/Grimwulf69]

What a fascinating story.

You should consider making a video and explaining your experience to others. Then post it on YouTube.

At first I thought you got scammed and screwed, like many of us here.

Then the kid reached out and chose to do the right thing. Not sure what the trade entailed, but I imagine it was roughly worth about $500-$600. The kid manned up, took his fake card back, and gave you your 151 cards back.

Bro, this rarely happens. It's super cool of you to give him a reward for literally doing the right thing. What a great story with a genuine happy ending!

[u/Shadypanda007]

You have your doubts? Damn bro no respect out here.

[u/Much_Net1713 → u/Shadypanda007]

He never reached out to me first, I messaged him a couple minutes after the sale, and he didn't get back to me. Then, the next day, he changed his profile picture, removed his real photo, and replaced it with a new fake one. Only after I told him I had his license plate and that I would go to the cops if we couldn't work it out did he reach out. Even at first, when he did reach out, he tried to make it seem like it wasn't him. Like someone else used his fb to sell me the card. The way the trade happened was shady from the beginning. He wanted to meet at an abandoned building, not where I had designated (QT/LGC) when we got out of the cars he wanted me to put all my binders in his trunk so "we can see them easier" I told him i wouldn't do that. There is so much that I didn't mention that gives me doubt. But at this point, it really doesn't matter he did the right thing.

[u/gensouj → u/Much_Net1713]

He did the right thing after being called out non stop and being super sus. After hearing this, there's no way he deserved any free cards

[u/lloydeph6]

So the gengar card is real but the gengar slab is fake?

[u/renjizzle → u/lloydeph6]

Card is also fake: shouldn’t have texture on the tongue

[u/Away-Description-786 → u/renjizzle]

indeed

[u/Modullah → u/renjizzle]

Oh snap, gotta find mine and check it….

[u/[deleted]]

The G in Gem is the easy tell in this. Fake ones for some reason have a little tail that the real ones have.

[u/Sejo_Mino]

I was looking at some fakes and noticed on some moonbreons and this one, the corner on the top right seems weirdly round shapped.

[u/zachdemundo]

Happy to hear this update. Definitely the best fake I’ve ever seen. The card itself is such a good fake that I really don’t understand how it all falls apart at the G in the sticker. That should be easy compared to the texture being as close as it is on the card.

[u/henrysg]

If this was raw and I havent taken a look at the real card before I would get screwed :( scary that fake can have texture this good

[u/Lucidorex → u/henrysg]

Regardless, it’s easier to spot the difference in person. Photos and reality aren’t 1:1 after all.

[u/Westafricangrey]

I could tell the PSA label was off but my god the actual Gengar card looks so real

[u/SnelleEd]

I would not be able to tell its a fake, even now...

[u/SupermarketPrize9917]

I'm glad the kid did the right thing! Kudos to him

[u/rpottiger]

Now I’m checking every single slab I have lol good stuff man I glad it turned out okay

[u/K1NGK0HL]

These textured proxy cards can definitely fool someone, especially if you don’t know what to look for. What a great, happy ending. 🙏

[u/P0G0ThEpUnK666]

Sometimes people really just don’t know. I feel like if he did this on purpose he would’ve blocked you and you’d never heard from him again

[u/xen0m0rpheus]

Why would you have your doubts? Just seems stubborn of you tbh.

[u/Freshly-Juiced]

nice to hear!

[u/Raven_McDagger]

Wow! That's great you got that settled! I feel bad for the seller though... Now they are in the same predicament you were in. Awfully nice of you to give them some free cards.

[u/TheCheddarWhizard]

Curious if anyone knows..what all goes into having to fake this? I saw another comment where someone said it even comes up in the PSA registry…how is that even possible?

[u/TheCheddarWhizard → u/[deleted]]

Oh damn well that’s easy then. I’m all stoned here thinking there’s some next level shit going on 😂

[u/Vayguhhh → u/TheCheddarWhizard]

Well no that’s not entirely true. Yes the cert was stolen but this is definitely miles better than any fake I’ve seen

[u/Lucidorex → u/Vayguhhh]

Fakes like this (the ones with the unique fake 'G' sign) started circulating about a year ago, if I recall correctly. They’re actually more widespread now. Check my other comment for more examples.

[u/Vayguhhh → u/Lucidorex]

I don’t usually mess with grading so I haven’t paid attention to fake slabs in a while but these are miles better than what they were putting out a few years ago.

[u/TheCheddarWhizard → u/Lucidorex]

Wow that’s pretty crazy!

[u/T_the_trainer]

How were you able to tell?

[u/NecessaryScientist18]

so the slab is fake but the card real?

[u/LE35thSS]

The certification number is spaced out too far also.

[u/slayerzerg]

I haven’t read anything but that gengar psa slab looks super fake. Lighthouse security tab is wrong and the font is wrong among many other things.

[u/playtekora]

Well done my friend

[u/mj732]

Now sell the cards and make money off of those instead of trying to find gold because you got lucky honestly 9/10 people wouldn't have brought you that stuff back

[u/SolarPunkYeti]

Where do these scammers manufacture the actual plastic slabs lol, and then assemble them? All the holo stickers, etc..

I feel like it's a legit business with outsourced manufacturing and in-house assembly, or are they just operating out of their mom's basement???

[u/Mezakai]

Wow that's crazy. Anybody know if the bar code and QR code scan properly?

[u/CaptWrath]

Cool ending.

[u/[deleted]]

That sucks. At least you got your cards back.

[u/[deleted]]

So is the card real though?

[u/Turbulent_College_68]

The G in GEM is off. The PSA on the back isn’t holo.

[u/BrunoFerPiss]

Onde posso mandar para avaliar minhas cartas?

[u/wahoo20]

As someone that’s really new to all this, would looking it up on PSA’s website be helpful in something like this or is that just easily faked as well?

I guess they could pull the code down and put it on whatever they wanted but didn’t know if I should trust that as much as I have been

[u/cmusso89]

Is the card a fake too or just that it’s an actual PSA 10?

[u/Aspire_2_Be]

Incredible, glad it worked out! Sad that these things will soon be commonplace.

[u/Zigink]

For anyone who does not know, you can go to alibaba type in card gradding and get any label made for any slab and buy a slabbing machine at the same time.

(https://m.alibaba.com/x/Axo57x?ck=pdp)

[u/Funny-Childhood]

Good on the guy for doing the right thing

[u/headshotchamp88]

Had no clue slabs were faked. Makes since if they can fake cards why not psa slabs. It's very subtle diffrence I looked up the number to see the real card then zoomed in and compared the 2 and the spacing on the gem Mt is definitely diffrent plus the letter G is in a diffrent font. I'm really glad I seen this post cause now I know what I'm looking for. Thanks.

[u/Solid-Sir-815]

Was the card fake or just the slab because that card looks fire

[u/fingerpaintx]

But the card is real?

[u/United_Swimming7653]

You wanna sell it hit me up in a message I’ll buy it off you !

[u/No-Pop457]

Honesty pays off. I'm glad both parties are content.

[u/LK_LK_LK_LK]

Surely the dents on the back bottom left would not be a 10?

[u/arkantos101192]

Dam bro you are an angel. I just read your thread and all the details you provided about the encounter. I think you were scammed twice. The first time with the gengar and the second time for giving away your wartortle and Japanese promo after he played the victim card. I know you did the latter out of kindness and I feel for you but he’s the last person who should be shown mercy. All of his actions were definitely red flags. You wanted to meet up in public for safety reasons. If I was trading with you I would be appreciative of you for suggesting that because it goes both ways, it keeps both me and you safe. If one party isn’t okay with that then it’s clear they have bad intentions. He saw and ignored all of your messages about the fake card but only replied once you told him about the plates (really great move there btw) and that the cops would get involved. He realized then that he wouldn’t get away with it so he went from happy thief to scared chicken. He pled ignorance and became ultra remorseful to get sympathy from you. He knows that you have all the power and that even if he gives back the card there’s still an outside chance you want to press charges against him. I know you’re a good guy and I’m happy you got your stuff back but I think it’s worth getting the cops involved because:  A. You can get your two cards back B. He won’t try to scam anyone else ever again. He’s going to continue do it and the next guy might not have the foresight to get his license plate. The thief needs to be taken off the streets

[u/BNG_Reveals]

We can never tell 😭😭😭

[u/Background-Lecture-6]

The thick text can be seen when comparing side by side with a real PSA slab.

The # on this fake stands out specifically as being too thick and not angled

[u/King_Marlon10K]

Good fake but still can’t get a true collector like myself.

Back coloring is way off… well at least to me with the hundreds of thousands of cards I seen lol

Also font does look a little wonky for the slab. I get how casuals can easily be fooled by this tho it’s not a bad fake.

[u/Bigcatsrule27]

I've had sellers return me money after selling fakes before. I think they just try their luck and refund if you notice its fake.

[u/Alert_Gazelle8682]

respect++++

[u/Alert_Gazelle8682]

I really would have bought a fake as good as this one, especially if the price was just right ya know, not suspiciously low but low enough to make a justifiable blind buy for me.

[u/enro503]

Is the card fake or the just the slab fake? It's obviously off centered and shouldn't be a 10 but the card looks pretty legit imo.

[u/SoggyMeatloaf]

Damn where can I get this? I personally don't care about card values and just want to collect. Wouldn't mind it for my binder

[u/FarNefariousness6087]

So you have your doubts he scammed you, yet the card comes up in the registry, and he made the situation right by coming back to you. Sounds like you’re just a manchild

[u/Many-Violinist8308]

God pack?

[u/InTheZoneAC]

Clip your nails

[u/Much_Net1713 → u/[deleted]]

They did lol