How to spot a fake PSA slab before you buy

1. Start with the cert number

Type the cert number from the label into PSA's free lookup at psacard.com/cert, then compare the result with the slab: year, set, card name, card number and grade.

• No record: recheck the digits. If PSA still has nothing, walk away.
• A different card or grade: the number was copied from a real slab onto a fake label. This is the most common trick.
• Everything matches: good, but not proof. Counterfeiters also print real cert numbers onto copies of the same card, and a genuine case can be opened and refilled with a different card.

More detail in our PSA cert lookup guide.

2. Check the label

Genuine PSA labels print sharply, even in the small type. Put the slab next to a photo of a genuine label for the same card, for example from eBay's sold listings, and look for these tells:

• The type: letters that are too heavy, spaced too tightly or blurry in the small print. Misprint's guide notes that real PSA labels use slightly thin strokes and a specific red that copy shops struggle to match.
• The hologram: a real one shifts through bright rainbow colors as you tilt it. A fake one looks flat or muddy, or has blurry detail.
• The barcode: it should scan, and the result should match the printed cert number.
• The fit: the label should sit squarely in its recess in the case.

With the slab in hand, a cheap UV flashlight helps too. According to Misprint, genuine PSA labels show hidden security printing under UV light, which fakes usually lack or get wrong.

3. Check the case

A genuine PSA case is two halves sealed together ultrasonically, so it feels like one solid piece.

• The seam: clean and even all the way around. Glue lines, gaps or a hazy, frosted edge can mean the case was opened and resealed.
• The plastic: clear, with no haze or color cast.
• The feel: rigid. A case that flexes when you press the halves together, or feels light and hollow, is suspect.
• The molded logo: on genuine PSA cases the letters PSA are molded into the plastic and feel raised under your finger. Many fakes print them flat or leave them out.

4. Check the card inside

A genuine case can still hold the wrong card if someone opened it and swapped the card. Look through the plastic:

• Does the card match the grade? Creases, worn corners or obvious whitening don't belong in a PSA 9 or 10 slab.
• Does it look right? Compare the print, the holo pattern and the colors with a genuine copy.
• Does it fit? A card that sits loose or off-center in the inner well, or looks too small for it, may have been trimmed or put back into an opened case.

5. Check the seller and the price

Most fake slabs can be spotted from the listing, before you ever hold them:

• A price far below recent sales. PreGradeCards calls this the number one tell: treat a PSA 10 at 40% of recent comparable sales as fake until proven otherwise.
• A new or thin account with little feedback.
• Stock or blurry photos instead of the actual slab, front and back, or a seller who won't send more angles.
• No returns, or a cert number that is only "available on request".
• Pressure to pay outside eBay. Paying off eBay gives up your buyer protection.

It helps to know what fair looks like. Our PSA 10 vs PSA 9 guide explains how much the grade moves the price.

If you bought a fake on eBay

eBay's Money Back Guarantee covers items that don't match the listing. When there are strong signs that an item is counterfeit, eBay says the buyer must still request a return but may not be required to ship the item back. You also have to cooperate with disposing of it, and you must not resell it.

• Request the return within 30 calendar days of the estimated or actual delivery date, or within the seller's return window if that's longer.
• Keep the listing, the photos, your messages and the cert lookup result.
• Report the listing to eBay.

Cards that go through eBay's Authenticity Guarantee are checked before they reach you. If the authenticator can't verify a card, eBay refunds you in full, and if a PSA case is fake or shows signs of tampering, PSA deactivates the certificate and notifies the seller. More in our guide to buying graded cards safely on eBay.

How SlabPing screens listings

SlabPing alerts skip listings with words like proxy, replica, custom, reprint or fake in the title, and listings from sellers with fewer than 50 feedback or under 98% positive. Our targets sit about 28% under public price guides: a discount, not the giveaway prices that usually signal a fake. An alert still isn't proof that a slab is genuine, so run these checks before you buy.