I mentioned last time that one of the major hazards of collecting trading cards is the constant threat of buying a bootlegged card. I usually write about Naruto, but these tips can be applied to just about any game. Unfortunately many legitimate dealers, who aren’t aware that some of their cards are forged, will sell counterfeit cards alongside real ones. Of course, most player organizations will not allow the use of phony cards by players. Likewise, people will most likely refuse them in a trade.
If you’re buying online, make sure that you check the feedback of a dealer if that’s possible. Sometimes, dissatisfied customers will flat out say that the merchant was selling illegal cards. In the same vein, if you buy a pack, make sure that it doesn’t appear to be tampered with.
Most card games have carefully cut cards that stack together neatly. Oftentimes, a bootleg won’t be quite as close cut. Sometimes fakes will not have the image or text properly centered. There might be other things to give away the fact that the text was not professionally printed. Most important of these is whether or not the card has the correct copyright information at the bottom; many bootlegs simply won’t have this information.
Compare the cards to ones that you know are real, if you have the ability to do so. Are the colors all correct? Are there gross misspellings that could indicate the duplication was done illegally in a foreign country?
In any case, its important not to purchase or trade counterfeit cards. They encourage the production of more fakes and hurt the businesses that produce the real games. By hurting these businesses, one jeopardizes the chances of bringing further games onto the market. In short, it’s never a good deal to grab an illegal card.
