Cheap Time Walk from Unlimited...

[Offler]

Yesterday I found two pieces of Time Walk from unlimited.

The price is very generous - 271 euro (approx 300 dollars) for one of them. The shop sell them as "fine" so it can be anything from near mint to slightly played.

However the price is bit low so I suspect that those cards are fake. I know they have blue glue inside, but surely I dont want to destroy them.

Are there any tests except checking back of card for color differeces? (yes i have read the article "Buyer beware" )

[Tinefol]

Its far from generous. Check there: http://www.magiccardmarket.eu/Time_Walk_%28Unlimited%29.c1p4795.prod and these prices are at the upper end.

[kiblast]

Its far from generous. Check there: http://www.magiccardmarket.eu/Time_Walk_%28Unlimited%29.c1p4795.prod and these prices are at the upper end.

I've seen Fair/ Exc Time Walks up for sale at 230-240 eur on italian forums.If you / any of your friends understand a bit of italian, you might want to check (http://www.tipo1.it/forum/search.php?mode=results) on italian site Tipo1.it, various sellers have many for sale at honest price.

[Offler]

I see. thanks about the price.

But how to detect if its not fake...?

[Picc]

This site (http://www.apathyhouse.com/fake/) has some good info to get you started spotting fakes but end of the day you just sorta have to get a feel for it by handleing a lot of cards.

Personally I would recomend getting a known good card (unlimited land or something) and looking at them really closely side by side (Ive been known to 10x jewlers loop I picked up on ebay). I would also recomend against doing the bend test on cards that old. They can fail even if their real.

[Offler]

thanks. this helped a lot.

1. Water test
Most color printers use inks which dissolve in water. No magic card would do this.
Access to good printers with better inks is not as usual, so this test will work.

2. Bend test
If card is rather old or played it might not be accurate

3. blacklight test
Seems fine, because most papers with same smoothness as MTG cards do not contain some minerals which react on UV... Same for inks.

4. Corners
If the card is not too played its very good indicator. Each card has to be printed and cut out... However good scissors and technique might produce good results.

[Picc]

4. Corners
If the card is not too played its very good indicator. Each card has to be printed and cut out... However good scissors and technique might produce good results.

Re number 4 be careful with this one a paper cutter and 3/4 corner punch can be picked up at most craft/scrapbooking stores and will produce very uniformly cut cards everytime (I have a friend who works in a print shop)

[derpp]

One of my friends has a loupe that allows you to see the individual color dots that they use to produce color variation on magic cards. Something printed with a laserjet would be solid color from what I understand.

[dontbiteitholmes]

thanks. this helped a lot.

1. Water test
Most color printers use inks which dissolve in water. No magic card would do this.
Access to good printers with better inks is not as usual, so this test will work.

2. Bend test
If card is rather old or played it might not be accurate

3. blacklight test
Seems fine, because most papers with same smoothness as MTG cards do not contain some minerals which react on UV... Same for inks.

4. Corners
If the card is not too played its very good indicator. Each card has to be printed and cut out... However good scissors and technique might produce good results.

1 & 2 = NOOOOOO, DON'T BEND OR PUT WATER ON POWER 9 WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

Blacklight test = yes.

Flashlight test = turn off lights, get a flashlight. Take another Magic card you know is real for comparison. Put the flashlight to the back of both cards and observe the light that passes through, note any major difference probably indicates a fake card.

Get a jeweler's loupe and look at the card under 15x or so magnification after looking at several real Magic cards. The process used to print real cards involves very expensive printing equipment and is not something someone can do at home, you will see the real cards have circular looking marks of color that form the picture while anything printed on a printer will have dots. Under 15x magnification anything but the best counterfeits made by professional printers in a serious printing press run complete with negative plates (not even sure if these exist) will fall apart pretty quick.

Look at the edges of the card compared to a real card from the same edition, if the layers are different it's possibly a fake.