YouTuber exposes “terrible” Pokemon card alterations getting past PSA graders

Collectors and traders have reportedly been altering rare Pokemon cards in an attempt to increase their graded value by falsifying their condition.

The value of Pokemon cards continues to increase, thereby increasing the demand as well. Some are so highly priced there are even police reports revealing drug syndicates are using Pokemon cards as a method of laundering money.

In more recent news, collectors have been caught altering rare collectibles in an effort to increase their graded condition and therefore sell value. These alterations attempt to hide scratches and small imperfections, disguising the card as a mint condition.

But such alterations are considered fraud, and all altered cards are very realistically ruined. These are temporary solutions that may look good at first, but may result in the cards losing all market value.

Keep in mind, this is a different form of alteration than fan-made backgrounds, where the artist completely changes the pokemon card to create their own renditions of the art.

YouTuber ‘Rattle Pokemon‘ goes deeper into this fraud occurring in the PSA scene.

In his words, “what if it causes some sort of discoloration? Or eats away at it over time? There’s a whole lot of bad stuff that can happen.”

“It basically might as well be worthless after it’s been altered like this, but you could end up with something that looks absolutely terrible.” In essence, these cards may look good at the moment, but the alterations may cause issues for the card’s value in the future.

When sold in a PSA-graded case, if the card ends up demeriting due to the alterations, then the PSA company is liable for the damage and has to pay the owner essentially the entire market value of the card.