quote:

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Originally posted by intelli78:

Looks quite good, what are the tells IRL?

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The font on the fake is a bit thinker, in the text box as well as card type, the set symbol is also a bit darker and the lines thinker. The equip cost is not correct (in this case thinner).

The inking used is also different. The card feels a lot like a MTG card, but the black inking reflects light if you tilt it to a light source (the texts shines / the text is more glossy than regular cards). Unfortunately, not all the counterfeits do that.

The back is also pretty good, but if you look in the brown oval, there should be some very faint crisscross linings that give it away. The counterfeits are of much lower quality, and a lot of them will have some unusual wear that seems inconsistent with an otherwise fresh looking card. There might be some tiny craters here and there etc. I find the backs on these to give them away, as a lot of them seem too scruff and not smooth.

If I swipe a real card on my table, it would be fine. If I do so to a counterfeit, it will almost certainly scratch up with ease. Also these cards do not pass a full bend test (tip to tip), as it will crinkle in middle. Not that I recommend doing a full bend test, especially on older cards.

If you can compare them to real cards, you should be able to spot the subtle differences. Otherwise, you need to inspect some of these cards rigorously for things that seem suspicious. How many people have put their hands on an Imperial Recruiter? It looks like a legitimate card, no gloss what soever, seemingly of high quality material, so it might not arouse suspicion.

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Originally posted by LandDestroyer:
I local card shop got a card in recently. I went and confirmed it was a chinese fake for them. i put my hands on it to do that. if you were a mod would you now ban me? (side note: that shop then tore up the fake snapcaster and threw it away)

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yeah I was suspecting such answers .... ;-)

Best solution for you would be ... you post a picture of the card teared up in 2 separate parts (min.) to stay unbanned ...

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Originally posted by mnDiff:
yeah I was suspecting such answers .... ;-)

Best solution for you would be ... you post a picture of the card teared up in 2 separate parts (min.) to stay unbanned ...

you can put hands on some ... but teared up in 2 you still can tell the difference + it wont reach second market

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While the older fakes might feel and look suspect, these cards feel like real magic cards and the quality of the cards have gone up dramatically. There sets are not glossy, and have improved the colour on many of the cards.

While some of them are not without fault, I'm willing to bet soon these cards will be indistinguishable from real cards without the use of a loupe.

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Originally posted by Death_Dealer:
I got some of the newer sets and these are VERY good.

While the older fakes might feel and look suspect, these cards feel like real magic cards and the quality of the cards have gone up dramatically. There sets are not glossy, and have improved the colour on many of the cards.

While some of them are not without fault, I'm willing to bet soon these cards will be indistinguishable from real cards without the use of a loupe.

I genuinely think a lot of these cards are good enough to fool people in trades...

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... so many for so many reasons here

a reddit thread someone made this week
https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/3bidx8/the_new_batch_of_chinese_fakes_has_been_produced/

It should be the non-power cards, you know, the cards that will generally not draw attention and be heavily scrutinized in a potential deal, that are alarming.

As for telling them apart? The best way is to have another copy of the card you know is real to compare with.

The manufacture has problems is aligning the cards and accurate texts. A lot of them are not perfectly centre, and one card was badly crooked, but then again real magic cards can also be misaligned or miscut. The text might not be perfect, but the only way to tell if there are either inconsistencies on the card itself (which is rare) or inconsistency with a real copy. But that requires a real card... and a lot of these cards have matching or very close to matching texts.

One thing I spotted is that the black orb on the back had a tint of green... it was less noticeable on another batch and not a problem on another. Aside from that, real magic cards can have various shades on the back... so I'm not sure how reliable the backs are to determining authenticity.

In short, these counterfeit cards are presenting a serious challenge to everybody invested in magic. The people manufacturing have demonstrated their willingness to correct problems from their initial sets, which include shades and colouring, texts and fount sizes, so it goes without saying the processes involved are rapidly improving. Oh, and they are changing up the lists, too.

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Originally posted by jamestosetti:
So, what about the Snapcaster Mage distinguishes it from a real one?

Edit: I'm going to take a stab at this one, is it the font?

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quote:

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Originally posted by jamestosetti:
Specs of color in the wide black border, or just where color meets the border?

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for this ebay user
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-REBACKED-Beta-Black-L otus-CE-NM-MTG-Magic-the-Gathering-See-Scans-/131572978465?hash=item1ea25c5321

quote:

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Originally posted by LandDestroyer:
Latest thing i'm seeing is them trying to claim chinese fakes are reback. created a reddit post here (plus upvote)
https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/3gho0b/beware_of_sellers_like_this_try ing_to_sell/

for this ebay user
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-REBACKED-Beta-Black-L otus-CE-NM-MTG-Magic-the-Gathering-See-Scans-/131572978465?hash=item1ea25c5321

stupd reddit users. downvoting me trying to protect them. any upvotes for visibility would be appreciated

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quote:

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Originally posted by intelli78:
It's because they're completely reverse-engineering the card design and typesetting everything out from scratch. It is a silly mistake, but the implication is not silly - it means they're moving way past simple copies.

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Originally posted by DJSmurfy:
I reported some items from that seller. I love how ALL his auctions are for cards that come from the packages of counterfeits.

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Keep the good work MOTL !

Thanks for your website by the way !!!

quote:

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Originally posted by LandDestroyer:
Latest thing i'm seeing is them trying to claim chinese fakes are reback. created a reddit post here (plus upvote)
https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/3gho0b/beware_of_sellers_like_this_try ing_to_sell/

for this ebay user
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-REBACKED-Beta-Black-L otus-CE-NM-MTG-Magic-the-Gathering-See-Scans-/131572978465?hash=item1ea25c5321

stupd reddit users. downvoting me trying to protect them. any upvotes for visibility would be appreciated

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quote:

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Originally posted by dwiz:
It's quite insane that people are buying expensive cards from this character while in his other auctions he is selling cards listed as "proxies" that look the same as his "real" cards. Sometimes you just can't feel bad for people losing their money, at least temporarily. He has gotten positive feedback, so some people are oblivious to the fakes. His account won't last long though, reported it to ebay. Another negative feedback and he'll be done.

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quote:

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Originally posted by DJSmurfy:
That Cradle is 100% fake. I sold a real one for a friend recently, and I have a fake within arms reach right now. Comparing my friend's to my fake, I was able to note that the fake has those exact same squiggles on the bottom edge of the text box.

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I don't think anyone is mistaking ANY of his cards for being real. Another neg and a neutral overnight. His days for this username are numbered. Rinse, repeat and up with a new ebay name tomorrow.

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Originally posted by dwiz:
I don't think anyone is mistaking ANY of his cards for being real. Another neg and a neutral overnight. His days for this username are numbered. Rinse, repeat and up with a new ebay name tomorrow.

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I don't know. A [url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-Gaeas-Cradle-Urzas-Saga-EX-MTG-Magic-the-Gathering-See-Scans-/131572977461?hash=item1ea25c4f35&nma=true&si=zN5U4i%252FGg8DbSeWeaP9fSO81PWY%253D&orig _cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557]fake Cradle[/url] (Squiggly text box) got bid up to $125. A [url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-English-Nether-Void-Legends-EX-MTG-Magic-the-Gathering-See-Scans-/131572337279?hash=item1ea2528a7f&nma=true&si=zN5U4i%252FGg8DbSeWeaP9fSO81PWY%253D& orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557]fake Nether Void[/url] (Easily detectable by the mana symbol) got bid up to $137. His Arid Mesas are sitting at $122.50 right now. Those are a bit harder to tell from just pictures. The Zen fetches I got are pretty solid, though oddly, the pack I got didn't come with an Arid Mesa.