Fake Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards on Ebay
Believe it or not, one of my most popular posts here at Perishable Press is an article I wrote about a counterfeit Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! card. Since its publication, I have received some very interesting information regarding the apparently extensive market for fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Recently, reader Deana wrote to share her experience with an eBay purchase of a “very good counterfeit” Slifer card on eBay.
As a savvy Yu-Gi-Oh! collector, Deana has purchased “some really great cards” on eBay. For example, she once scored an authentic, 70-dollar DDS-001 Blue-Eyes White Dragon card for about 35 bucks. She says that obtaining legitimate high-value cards through eBay is “really and truly a luck of the draw.” Even worse, many eBay shoppers may have purchased counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! cards without even realizing it. As Deana explains, the subtle differences between “real” and “fake” cards are not “something you would notice unless you are a collector.”
Fortunately, after receiving a Yu-Gi-Oh! Slifer card that she had purchased on eBay, Deana’s experience as a collector paid off: the Slifer card was a fake! After being contacted from Deana about the fake Slifer card, the vendor acted surprised, responding that, upon closer investigation, he had realized that another one of his cards — Obelisk the Tormentor — was also a counterfeit. On another occasion, Deana received a refund for a $21 “counterfeit Red-Eyes Black Dragon card” that she had also purchased on eBay.
As for the fake Slifer, the vendor allowed Deana to keep the card, which she dutifully scanned and posted for this article. Here are the front and back scans of the counterfeit Slifer card, followed by a list of carefully observed “flaws” in the cards design.
![[ Front/back scans of counterfeit Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! card ]](https://perishablepress.com/wp/wp-content/images/2008/slifer-card/counterfeit-slifer-yu-gi-oh-card_set.jpg "Click the links below for full-size views")
- Full-size view: front of counterfeit Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! card (scan by Deana)
- Full-size view: back of counterfeit Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! card (scan by Deana)
Observed counterfeit mistakes
- Displays the word “GOLD” (in both English and Kanji) instead of “DIVINE”
- Foil logo in bottom-right corner reads “top-to-bottom” instead of “right-to-left”
- Totally missing the Kanji characters at the bottom-left corner on the front of the card
Totally missing the trademark Konami and Yu-Gi-Oh! logos on the back of the card( apparently, authentic god cards display neither trademark nor logos on the back of the card. )- Artificial holographic properties resulting from waxy gloss finish
Displays “© 1996 KAZUKI TAKAHASHI” on the bottom-right corner
( Thanks to George Hazard for the correction. )
Also worth mentioning is that the vendor shipped this supposedly “rare” Slifer card in a “simple white letter envelope.” Further, “the card itself was in one of those flimsy card protectors, even though [the vendor] promised in the auction that it was going to be in a ‘rigid plastic sleeve.’” If you have purchased valuable Yu-Gi-Oh! cards through eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter), you should take a few moments and investigate the authenticity of your cards.
Hopefully, this article will help others understand the subtle differences between counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh cards and those that are legitimate. Yes, it’s pretty sad that there are subhuman garbage bags out there that feel the need to rip off kids (and adults) with fake collector cards. I guess that’s what happens when you lack the skills needed to counterfeit the Benjamins. Thanks to amateur trash like yourselves, I enjoy the distinct pleasure of exposing and mocking your feeble skillz! Maybe if the Yu-Gi-Oh! market takes a dive, you pathetic losers can counterfeit Garbage Pail Kids instead! :) </rant>
Many thanks to Deanna for bringing this story to my attention. It does help! ;) If you have an interesting “counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh” experience to share, please drop me a line or leave a comment on this post. Thanks!
72 responses to “Fake Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards on Ebay”
Well the problem is that i bought these cards at stores. and i’ll continue with the Slifer card, i have a card that the name above the picture says “Dragon-Sky” and it has the same picture as the real one. and code under picture on right side is “G4-01”. so i dont know if its real or fake, can you help?
Hi brandy, I would like to help, but it is difficult to make a diagnosis without actually seeing the cards in question. Perhaps you could scan a few good examples at high resolution (i.e., 300dpi) and email them to me? Scroll down the page for the link that says “Contact via email” and I’ll see what I can do :)
Hey Brandy I think the card is 100% fake unless the card is in japanese and The ATK & DEF are different from the english cards with the ATK above the DEF. It would help if you scanned it. But based on what you described its most likely a fake.
If anyone needs more info on the card game e-mail me at DiezPina@Yahoo.com or Wolfman_FX@Yahoo.com
Thanks for keeping an eye on things, Diez! ;)
Ok I looked at both of the scans. These cards are 100% fake.Heres whats wrong with both cards. Both of them are missing the word divine above their attribute symbol and the text are wrong because its suppose to say something else. They are also missing the phrase “this card cannot be used in a duel” in English or Japanese in the bottom right corner(BTW any other card would have a number that can unlock them in the video games). Slifer’s name is wrong, He is suppose to be a [divine beast], and the number G4-001 should say GBI-001 or YMA-001 if it’s in English. Obelisk main problem is the artwork which proves its a complete fake since there isn’t any alternate artwork for the card.
I hope this was helpful
@brandy: Thanks to Diez, I have also seen the scans and concur that the cards are indeed “100% fake.” May I ask the name of the store from which they were purchased? Such information would certainly help others avoid a similar situation.
well the first couple of packs i bought at Kmart. then I started buying the cards at a 99 cents store in Shafter, CA. but thank you for your help. Can i send you more cards and see if you can tell me if they’re fake or real? they’re in japanese.
Hi I have a god card that has on the bottom (this card can not be used in a duel) can you tell me if it is real because I know that real god cards dont have 1st edition only limited and none and the one I have is non with that saying. Please Email me back with the information
Thank you
@Brandy: Kmart!!?? Yikes, that suggests a much larger Yu-Gi-Oh counterfeit problem than I had previously imagined. Generally, I would suspect, counterfeit cards wind up in smaller outlets and venues (99-cent stores, ebay folk, etc.), but to think that Kmart is buying bulk cards from illegitimate dealers is fairly newsworthy. I don’t suppose Konami would be interested in this..
@Nick, @Brandy: As for verifying fake Yu-Gi-Oh cards, I highly recommend taking Diez up on his offer for assistance in comment #15. He seems more than happy to examine your potentially counterfeit cards. Thanks again, Diez! :)
Hello, Yu-Gi-Oh TCG collectors. I would highly doubt that Kmart would be dealing in counterfeit cards. I buy a lot of cards from Kmart (although, it is the Australian version of the store which is owned seperately from the American store) and all cards I have bought are legitimate. The cards you bought at the 99-cent store are probably the inferior ones. As we all know, counterfeit cards are illegal and I doubt that many stores such as Kmart would get themselves involed with such business.
By the way, I have a friend who recently acquired a large number of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and after examining them I was able to tell him that most were fake. The thing that I find frightening was that some of them were extremely accurate, such as a Red Eyes Black Dragon which was almost identical to the legitimate card, except for thinner text in the heading.
I have been reading here and now understand howto determine real or fake cards..in fact i was so dissapointed in myself..i just binned the fake cards right away (found 7 fakes, All high lvl monsters that i cant remember names for.
Again thank you very much….still got 72 cards…just started collecting again >.<..even watching the tv shows as well :D