How to Tell If a Pokemon Booster Pack Has Been Resealed
As a lifelong Pokemon TCG enthusiast and content creator focused on gaming news and insights, I often get asked how to identify whether a booster pack may have been opened and resealed. This risky practice of tampering with packs to steal rare pulls has grown over the years, luring innocent collectors into spending hard-earned money on weighed or mapped packs with no chance for hits.
Fortunately, there are ways to detect these resealed scams. After analyzing thousands of Pokemon products, studying collector communities, and tapping industry experts, I‘ve gathered the biggest telltale signs of manipulated packs. Equip yourself with this knowledge so you can spend wisely and help the hobby thrive.
Check All Edges and Seams Thoroughly for Glue
Authentic Pokemon booster packs feature a textured crimping pattern with no glue used in the sealing process. This crimping resembles jagged peaks and valleys pressed tightly together. Smooth, even seams or sticky residue along any edge means a pack was likely reopened and resealed after the wrapper was peeled apart.
Hardened glue can often be spotted leaking from the seams. Take your time inspecting the top, bottom and side borders while running fingers gently across them feeling for crustiness. Tucked glue can also be revealed by flexing a pack; if the wrapper separates more easily than it should, resealing is evident.
I once wasted $200 on vivid voltage packs with clear glue remnants trapped under folded crimping flaps. Don‘t feel rushed — without microscope-close scrutiny, resealing can be disguised.
Analyze the Integrity of Pack Wrappers
While glue is the most obvious sign, even its absence doesn’t confirm legitimacy. Carefully examine the wrapper itself for areas appearing lifted, peeling or stuck back down.
Does the color look faded or warn in one area, potentially from tape applied? Are certain graphics less vibrant from packaging damage? Sight along pack borders and print lines to detect subtle inconsistencies suggesting opened and re-closed access.
Pinched corners, small holes or slight bubbling under the surface could also betray tampering. Don‘t hesitate handling packs yourself using reasonable care to diagnose issues. Just avoid actually opening sealed products until after purchase.
In 2021, an Ohio seller was imprisoned for resealing vivid voltage packs he intentionally damaged by bending top corners diagonally before preclosing with glue. A YouTuber demonstrated this packing technique in a shocking exposé on retail pack theft tactics.
| Legit Pack Signs | Resealed Pack Signs |
|---|---|
| – Textured crimping pattern | – Smooth, even seams |
| – Tight, peaked crimping valleys | – Glue residue anywhere |
| – Uniform color and graphics | – Faded/torn/worn areas |
| – Intact corners and edges | – Peeling/bubbling in wrapper |
Verify Cohesive Card Looseness Inside Unopened Packs
Gently shaking or squeezing packs offers important clues about resealing too. Authentic packs feel firm and solid; cards inside won’t rattle around loosely but do slide covertly against each other naturally when moved.
Conversely, scammers often slide cards out to weigh or appraise contents before repacking with fewer cards, filler substitutes, or just extra airspace. This tampering creates a light, hollow pack sensation instantly detectable through basic handling.
The “card slide” test can also gauge this — decisively smack a pack’s side on a hard surface so contents sharply hit the opposite end. Cards shouldn’t heuristically splay apart inside legitimate packs when slid forcibly together.
While weighing sealed packs does directly predict hits, the practice promotes theft and consumer deception. Responsible collectors use info ethically or rely wholly on the integrity behind pack freshness.
Scrutinize Pack Text, Logos and Seals Meticulously
Another focal area when evaluating potential resealing requires studying text and design components closely for inaccuracies or manipulation indicators.
For example, sloppy glue work may cause the Poké Ball set logo to sit off-center or look warped. Image parts could get blurred or smeared too if adhesives seep underneath graphics. Even text fonts, spacing or punctuation looking just slightly “off” relative to normalcy shows probable meddling.
Keep a reference visual for base set symmetries handy when inspecting packs. Key regions should flawlessly line up without deviation when comparing to controlled examples. Minor manufacturing variances do rarely occur normally though.
I’ve caught fakes by noticing mismatched yellow borders on reverse holo symbols or the SWSH series “a” looking funky. It takes an expert eye attuned to microscopic features through learned familiarity.
Only Buy Sealed Products From Ultra-Reliable Sources
While these tips help identify resealing independently post-purchase, avoiding shady pack sources altogether remains the ultimate solution. No inspection fully guarantees packs weren‘t weighed, mapped, tampered with or even custom-resealed using advanced techniques.
Vet vendors judiciously, buy domestically directly through reputable retailers when possible, and ask sellers probing questions about inventory access controls. Buying older packs does entail more inherent risks in general as well.
I exclusively use highly reviewed eBay sellers for retired products, purchase modern at big box stores personally while observing stocking, and talk transparently with my contacts at smaller shops. This shields me from pack manipulation threats and helps curb their propagation industry-wide.
Together as a community, we must advocate pack freshness while keeping our wallets tight against those out to deceive consumers. Now go catch ‘em all the right way!
