Knowledgebase: Learn About Collectibles, Trading Cards, Sports Cards and More
Is My Pokemon Card or Magic: The Gathering Card Real or Fake?: A Step-by-Step Illustrated Guide to Identifying Authentic vs. Fake aka Counterfeit Trading Cards for Popular TCGs
As collectors and players of both the Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering trading card games (TCGs) since the late 1990s, we’ve seen all kinds of cards here at Collectiwiz, ranging in value from a few cents to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And we’ve received all sorts of questions about topics like appraisal of single cards or huge collections, the most valuable Pokemon cards from the early years, metal trading cards, and most commonly, whether Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering cards are real (aka authentic) or fake (aka counterfeit).
So, we decided to write this Knowledgebase article with an easy-to-understand, step-by-step guide to spotting fake cards with pictures of actual Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards, covering:
The difference between fake and real cards for both of these TCGs
Specific characteristics of real and fake cards to look for, including up-close high-resolution photos of these features
Inexpensive tools like jeweler’s loupes that you can buy to help you discern real cards from fake cards
Where to purchase Pokemon, Magic, and other TCG cards to make sure you’re buying real cards
The Fastest Growing Trading Card Games in 2025 and 2026: What is Disney Lorcana and Bandai One Piece, and What Are the Five Most Valuable Cards in These TCGs?
If you’ve been following Trading Card Games (TCGs) over the past few years, you’ve probably heard of two new big entries to the TCG market: 1) Disney’s Lorcana and 2) Bandai’s One Piece!
Both of these trading card games we’re only released during the past four years and have experienced steady growth since their development and launch.
Let’s take a closer look at the Lorcana and One Piece TCGs, including their origins, key features of both TCGs, and the top 5 most expensive cards from each TCG as of September, 2025!
Most Expensive Pokemon Cards from the English Black Bolt and White Flare Pokemon Sets: August 2025 Update
If you’ve been following recent releases in the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) universe, then you’ve probably heard of the Black Bolt and White Flare sets, which both launched on July 18, 2025.
These are the first “dual sets“ to appear in English, which means that they have two separate groups of cards, numbered to 172 in Black Bolt and to 173 in White Flare.
Much like the Prismatic Evolutions set that came out on January 17, 2025, the Black Bolt and White flare sets also have “God Packs“, which are packs that contain all full art cards.
These God Packs are totally epic and have been taking over social media videos recently, but they’re also exceedingly rare, as estimates put them at 1 in 800 or 1,000 packs!
Let’s take a closer look at the Black Bolt and White Flare Pokemon TCG sets, including the top 5 most expensive cards in each set as of August, 2025 in PSA 10 grades, as well as our predictions about future price changes and a preview of the next Mega Evolution set that drops in late September, 2025!
Magic: The Gathering + Final Fantasy: A Breakdown of the Chocobo Variants, 10 Most Valuable Cards and How to Buy Play & Collector Booster Packs
If you’ve been following the trading card market over the past few months, you’ve probably seen the incredible amount of attention on the Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set.
The inclusion of 77 extremely rare, individually numbered Golden Chocobo cards from 1 to 77 (aka serialized cards) has greatly amplified interest in this set, causing widespread shortages of Collector Booster packs and Gift Bundles, which are the only two products that can actually contain these Golden Chocobo cards.
Let’s take a closer look at the Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set, including (1) specifics about what the set includes, (2) the multiple variants of Chocobo cards available in the set, (3) the top 10 most valuable cards, and (4) where you can buy this set without paying exorbitant prices on the secondary market.
How Much Are My Pokemon Cards Worth?: A Guide to Pricing and Selling Pokemon Cards
So you found an old box of Pokémon cards in your attic or basement…score!
But what should you do next?
A recent article from Fortune showed that the average price increase in Pokémon and sports cards has outpaced the stock market, with recent annual growth of 46%!
In this helpful guide by our collectibles experts at Collectiwiz, we’ll break down the basics of how to understand (1) how much your Pokémon cards are worth, (2) the ways that condition impacts price, and (3) how to sell your Pokémon cards to get the best value.
The Only Real Metal Pokemon Cards: How to Avoid Fake Cards and Where to Buy
Despite what many sellers on eBay, Whatnot, TikTok, and elsewhere would like you to believe, there are actually only 5 (yes, 5!) real metal Pokémon cards that have ever been released as part of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG).
Let’s take a closer look at each of these 5 real metal Pokémon cards to see which set each one comes from, how much they cost (as of July, 2025, at a PSA 10 grade via recent eBay sold listings), and where you can buy them!
And even better, each of the card images you see below are from actual eBay sold listings in our eBay Store at Kendall Square Collectibles!