Buying sealed Pokémon in London without getting caught out

How to spot a resealed box, why the weight test does not work any more, what "case fresh" should mean, and the three questions worth asking any seller.

Sealed product is the easiest thing in this hobby to get wrong, because the whole proposition is that you cannot look inside. Here is what to check before you hand money over — to us or to anybody else.

Look at the wrap, not the box

A resealed box is usually a perfect box in imperfect plastic. Factory wrap is tight, with clean corner folds and a seam that runs straight. Reseals show loose plastic, rounded or doubled corners, a seam that wanders, and — the giveaway — a slight cloudiness where a heat gun has been too close.

On Elite Trainer Boxes, check the seal stickers themselves. They should sit flat and be the same colour as the box; a lifted edge or a slightly wrong shade of white is worth a question.

The weight test does not work any more

It used to be that a searched pack weighed less. Modern packaging has enough variance between packs that the difference is inside the noise, and anyone searching seriously is doing it with equipment that does not care about your kitchen scales. Do not buy a loose pack on the basis that it "feels right".

Single loose packs from unknown sources are the highest-risk item in the hobby, full stop. Buy them because you want to open something, from somebody who will still be there next week — not as an investment.

What "case fresh" should mean

It should mean the box came out of a sealed manufacturer case that the seller opened themselves, and that it has not been to a fair, a market or three owners in between. If a seller says case fresh, it is entirely reasonable to ask when the case was opened and how many boxes were in it.

Three questions worth asking

• Where did this come from, and when?
• Has it been out of your possession at any point?
• If it turns out to be resealed, what happens?

The third one is the important one. Any shop that intends to stand behind what it sells will answer it immediately, in one sentence, without hedging. Ours is: bring it back, we refund it, and we deal with our supplier — that is our problem and not yours.