Trading cards have steadily grown in popularity over the years, and in the last decade or so, their popularity has skyrocketed. More people are getting into the hobby, whether purely for fun or as an investment. It’s more popular than ever, but that also means there are more scams than ever. Continue reading to learn about the biggest trading card scams to look out for.
Pokémon Cards
The demand for Pokémon cards has fluctuated wildly over the last few decades. However, even with that constant back and forth, they’ve found immense popularity in the last few years, with multiple cards going for never-before-seen exorbitant prices. This popularity is great, but if you want to get into these cards, you must know which scams to avoid. With every trading card, apparent features will signify a fake. However, many sellers will sell “unopened” and “weighed” boxes and packs of Pokémon cards.
With Pokémon cards, some are holographic, and this adds a minuscule amount of weight, but enough to make a difference to sellers. They’ll specifically sell weighed holographic packs, but some sketchier sellers will claim a pack got weighed and contains a holographic card when it doesn’t include one. Gambling on unopened packs and boxes is cheaper than buying an already-graded card, but you are much more susceptible to scams when going down that route.
Fakes and Forgeries
With every type of trading card, whether Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, sports, or anything in between, you won’t be able to escape fakes and forgeries. People are always looking for a quick buck, and it’s easy to create a fake and mislead a buyer on a trading site who’s not looking as carefully as they should be. Always do your research when buying cards. In general, you shouldn’t purchase loose cards that aren’t graded because these are more likely to be fakes. Instead, graded, unsearched, and sealed packs are the way to go. There are still some risks with sealed and unsearched packs, but they have much more potential to be authentic than getting cards through other means.
Unreliable Grading Companies
Another source of ire for trading card fans is unreliable grading companies. Reputable grading companies know about the quality and authenticity of cards and packs because they are passionate about what they do. There are also grading companies that emerge from nowhere, throwing out tens and “certified authentic” on every card just to get a quick buck. Even Logan Paul has fallen victim to this, spending $3.5 million on six “sealed and authenticated” first-edition box sets of Pokémon cards, only to discover they were fakes. Thankfully, there are some reputable authenticating companies, such as:
- Beckett Grading Services (BGS)
- Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC)
- Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)
A card graded and authenticated by these companies should be in the clear!
If you want to start collecting trading cards, look out for these scams. They can be tricky to spot, but if you know what to look for, you can feel safer with any trading card purchases you make.
