Is this card fake?

[Bittersweet]

I bought a Secret Rare Pikachu card (BW #115) on eBay and it arrived a few days ago.

I can upload a pic if need be, but it's just I'm paranoid about fake cards (this one especially as it cost me $13 + shipping.)

The card is in mint condition. The Lightning symbol next to HP is holographic, as is the Pikachu in the illustration (but no other part of the illustration is holo), the rest of the illustration has a sort of 'bumpy' texture, as does the lightning bolt behind the attacks. The energy for the attacks are also holo, as is weakness and retreat energy symbols. The tiny symbol for the Black & White Expansion is also holo, and the tiny 'Rare' star.

The bit that concerns me however is that the card is slightly off-centre: the left border is about 1mm thinner than the one on the right. The bottom border is also 1mm thinner than the top. The back of the card has the blue border misaligned in the same way.
The card isn't 'tilted' or anything, the border's are just off. I know that border misprints can happen sometimes...

But do I actually have reason to think the card might be fake? I see no other signs it's a forgery, and the eBay seller has a 100% feedback score and over 2400 reviews.

Does this card look how it is supposed to from what I've described?

 

[Palbert6393]

not actually sure, since i dont own one... but a picture would be incredibly helpful. Judging fakes is hard to do without actually seeing the card.

 

[Sheldor00]

The description sounds pretty accurate. I was checking vs my pikachu pulled from a booster pack that I bought at a store in town. There is one more area that is holographic, the word basic that appears in the upper left hand corner. Other than that, it matches my card. My left border is also a bit smaller than the right border, but the rest of the borders are fine. A picture would help too, but I have found that fakes normally have typos, wrong pictures of the pokemon evolved from, wrong font, etc... I am curious myself if off borders are a potential sign of a fake card (don't know on this one). If I were to guess, it is probably a real card that's just a little off center.

 

[Bittersweet]

My card has the word "BASIC" in holographic too. Misaligned borders will definitely mean a fake card if it's crooked:

Say, if the border is 3mm at the top, but 1mm at the bottom.
An example can be seen in this video: Video: How to Spot Counterfeit Pokemon Cards | eHow.com

Nintendo doesn't sell cards when the borders come out crooked. I would upload a pic, but evidently, I am the world's worst card photographer because it comes out as a blur. The eBayer has replied to my message:

"Hello. I appreciate your concern for fake or counterfeit cards. However, you do not have to worry about that with me.

In my listings, I state "Straight from a pack and into a sleeve!" That is 100% true. Every card that I sell comes directly from a pack (with the exception of promo cards, which are not found in packs, but come in a sealed package with packs).

I have opened thousands of packs and have pulled cards with cutting errors, misaligned printing, even cards that are scratched. I've seen cutting errors so bad that the bottom of the card actually shows the top part of another card. If I pull one of those, I won't sell it.

If you are unhappy with the card, by all means, return it. I will refund your money. I take my customers' happiness very seriously, and have no problem if you want to return it.

Be assured, however, that the card you received from me is 100% authentic.

If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Have a great day,"

The card appears genuine enough. I may have to take his word for it.

Arcanine 03, would you mind checking the BACK of your card and seeing if the blue border is misaligned too??

 

[Sheldor00]

The back of the card is actually correctly aligned. The front is the only place where the borders are a little off. I would have to say that the card you received seems genuine in my opinion (without a photo that is). I have stumbled across fakes from ebay tho. One was a Lanturn Prime, however there were many identifiers it was fake. Got a full refund for that one.

 

[Bittersweet]

I'd probably need to get more info on the printing process to understand how it works.
It'd make sense if the front of the card and the back were cut separately, and then stuck together.

 

[donavannj]

Other than the misaligned cut, this sounds exactly like mine that I pulled from a booster.

Also, if my memory serves, there are at least 3 layers of card stock used to make a Pokemon card.

 

[Charmanderzilla]

Other than the misaligned cut, this sounds exactly like mine that I pulled from a booster.

Also, if my memory serves, there are at least 3 layers of card stock used to make a Pokemon card.

Hey guys, new here. But I agree totally, some of these are hard to tell apart from real except for two I have gotten on craigslist that looked like a misaligned cut.

 

[Palbert6393]

Hey guys, new here. But I agree totally, some of these are hard to tell apart from real except for two I have gotten on craigslist that looked like a misaligned cut.

actually, all of the ones ive seen are actually fairly easy to tell, but only if you are paying close attention. A quick glance wont tell you anything.

 

[donavannj]

Hey guys, new here. But I agree totally, some of these are hard to tell apart from real except for two I have gotten on craigslist that looked like a misaligned cut.

I was saying it was a legitimate card, not a fake. Fakes are usually much easier to tell apart, and it's usually not the cut that gives it away (since those happen all the time in the printing process for the Pokemon cards).