About Pokémon Counterfeits
Bloomington-Normal is currently experiencing a pretty significant problem of counterfeit Pokémon cards. We are going to post one of the better written guides to spotting counterfeits as the first comment to this post. There are tons of articles & videos you can watch to help identify counterfeits.To help combat this issue, Red Raccoon Games is publicly announcing that we will follow policies put in place by TCGPlayer marketplace and many others:
Questions we answer often:
Isn't Pokémon just a kids game?
Yes and no. It is a game designed for kids, but is enjoyed by millions of adults around the world. As a collectible card game, many of the cards are worth money, just like baseball or other sports cards.
How do you know a card is counterfeit?
There are lots of ways, but the easiest way is to compare it against real Pokémon cards. The counterfeits often feel different to the touch, have incorrect colors, foiling in the wrong places, or use the wrong thickness of card stock. We also use magnication to look at the dot-patterns of the ink used to print the cards - once you know what to look for, you can spot the fakes pretty easily.
Why does this matter?
Trading and/or selling counterfeit Pokémon (or any other game) cards can be considered fraud, and selling them to a store can be considered retail theft. This is particularly true as some of these collectibles are $20, $50, or even $100+ now. Trading or selling these cards are also considered a violation of international copyright law.
Where do these counterfeit cards come from?
Most of the cards are printed in China - there is a flood of them coming into the USA via every sales channel you can think of. Pokémon International is trying to crack down on the websites that sell these cards, but it seems like for every site that is taken down, 2 more pop up. In central Illinois, we have seen these cards pop up at flea-markets most of the time. Generally speaking, if the deal seems too good to be true, it's probably too good to be true!
My child doesn't even understand the game & these fake Pokémon cards are cheap - why shouldn't I buy them?
I get that it seems like no one is getting hurt by buying these counterfeits. And that might be true - right up until your child trades the fake cards to another child on the school bus. Or worse, your child traded his real cards and received fake cards in turn.
Most of the time, kids do not know they have counterfeit cards and doesn't know they are spreading them around the community. Would you want to explain to another parent why your child traded fake cards to their child?
Additionally, playing with counterfeit cards in their deck can get your child banned from stores & Pokémon play.