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”
May i just say that god cards do not ahve konami written on the back, i bought the game with the cards ages ago in a shop(think it was hmv) and it didnt have the konami trademarks on the back
Do you know of any places where i could take my cards in and have someone check to see if they’re real or not? thank you
I have the secret rare version of the god cards gb1-001 -003 slifer, ra and obelisk, does this version supposed to feel a bit rigid and contain a very faint (can be seen in light) gloss?
i know this is not about counterfeits but can anyone give me an email adress for the yu-gi-oh depatment of konami??? it is super urgent!!! thanx
i live in south africa and yu-gi-oh is dieing out!!! i have a HUGE passion for the game and i need to try and save it somehow. ill do practically anything! please help me out.
@yu-gi-oh!fanatic: We appreciate your enthusiasm for the game, but let’s try to keep this thread focused on the topic at hand. Thank you :)
I have been reading about the fake Yu-Gi-Oh cards purchased at Kmart and Walmart. Check out a lawsuit found online filed in Oct. 2008 by Konami, in Cal. Federal Court against Vintage Sports Cards a distributor of Yu-Gi-Oh cards for Kmart, Walmart and ToysRus and other retailers. The Vintage Sports Cards Company packaged their own product that was filled with fake Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The company is facing Trademark and counterfeiting charges. Walmart, Kmart and ToysRus are still selling cards from this company although Vintage Soorts Cards got their Reps. to pull most of the counterfeit cards from the shelves after they were caught selling counterfeit products. There are probably still plenty more of these counterfeit cards being sold in retailers and can be spoted by looking on back of package and it will say “Packaged and Distributed by Vintage”., Conroe, Texas. Recently Konami has taken over all distribution of their trading cards and hopefully out of the hands of cheaters like Vintage Sports Cards.
I have about 200 fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that I purchased knowing that they were fake. The reason that I purchased them is because the’re funny (and, it was at a dollar store for $1 for every 50 cards)! Take, for example, the “Dark-eyed White Dragon” (it’s supposed to be Blue-Eyes White Dragon with the alternate darker artwork). Its type is “Dragon junta” and it reads: “In the legend,it is boasting with very high attacking power,which can ruin any kind of adversary and its power can not be estimated.” I mean, come on! People are saying that the fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are SO hard to filter out from the real ones, the fake ones are quite obvious.
See http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathryncramer/93167089/sizes/o/
I have the “Dragon F.G.D.” card and the “Motorized Gear Man” card.
Ok, i have a copy of Slifer the Sky Dragon, and i really hope that it is real. can i scan it and email it to someone who can tell me if its fake? its in japanese, and the little code in the corner to the bottom right of the picture says G4-01. Fake? Real? Please tell me?!?
Lol, I have this same one, bought it off my friend for $10. But, I still can’t use it in tournaments cause it’s already illegal lol.
how much do you want for this card? if it is for sale
If anyone has any other questions about fake cards, please email me
killer_keith199 AT hotmail DOT com