Can any sealed game experts help me out?

[spman]

So I have an opportunity to get a sealed Zelda at a good price, but those resealers are getting better and better. Can anyone look take a look at this for me and give me their best opinion on authenticity? Thanks

http://s28.postimg.org/ie89978ql/162...02951561_n.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/6qe7enjlp/106...40463913_n.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/497i4i60t/106...25106534_n.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/j7pwyxl31/107...69338076_n.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/4ahfxx7ul/107...60089119_n.jpg

[Tanooki]

Looks legit to me, but the images aren't that huge either. Look somewhere on the seal for a line of teeny pinholes in the seal, those were on all those old games as the sealing machinery did that while frauds generally lack that.

[spman]

Here's a few more pictures

http://s14.postimg.org/bc9rmja69/102...48359418_n.jpg
http://s14.postimg.org/f8s5fn1hd/107...60089119_n.jpg

[CRTGAMER]

Sealed games are worthless to me. What if the disc inside is defective or maybe not even inside?

[bb_hood]

Im no expert but the picture of the top of the box looks a little suspicious.
Its hard to tell with internet pictures.

[ZeroCool]

Isn't there like a line seam in the back that suppose to make it legit...I forgot where I saw this but Ive seen it a couple of times. I do have a NES game where the top was only opened and the rest was still on the box and there was a line seam in the middle that went across. I do have a sealed NES game somewhere but I can't find it, Im pretty sure it had that seam as well.
Also I got a 32x sealed game and although it was vertically there was a seam there as well. If I find that NES game I'll confirm it.

[Bojay1997]

Im no expert but the picture of the top of the box looks a little suspicious.
Its hard to tell with internet pictures.

Agree. The plastic looks weird and there is wear to the box right where the flap on the top tucks in. I suppose it could have happened through the wrap, but it looks very peculiar given that the wrap in that particular spot looks clean.

[Tanooki]

Sealed games are worthless to me. What if the disc inside is defective or maybe not even inside?

I agree you're paying for packaging. After seeing enough of these over the years in person or the high quality stuff people would debate over at NA that's why I responded. It looks fairly decent but it also looks like it got banged around a bit too on those corners. I couldn't make out the top with the non-high quality images there to see if there was apparent opening nor could I make out vent holes which is why I asked about that too. It's just too hard to say if this one is legit or not for me at least with those pictures.

Looking again at the pictures there's one problem, you don't have one of the top of the box where the back of it is pictured. You can't in those images make out if it has been opened before and resealed or not as you can't make out the fold to see if the ink of the box has creases or rips which is a dead give away. Combine that with no imagery of the vent holes, it's suspicious for now. It does have that h-seam in the sealing of the packaging on the back which can be just made out but that's it.

[Bojay1997]

Isn't there like a line seam in the back that suppose to make it legit...I forgot where I saw this but Ive seen it a couple of times. I do have a NES game where the top was only opened and the rest was still on the box and there was a line seam in the middle that went across. I do have a sealed NES game somewhere but I can't find it, Im pretty sure it had that seam as well.
Also I got a 32x sealed game and although it was vertically there was a seam there as well. If I find that NES game I'll confirm it.

Most legitimate NES sealed games do have the seam on the back, but unfortunately, fraudsters have figured out how to fake that as well.

[wiggyx]

Most legitimate NES sealed games do have the seam on the back, but unfortunately, fraudsters have figured out how to fake that as well.

I don't understand why the seam on the back has always been the big thing to look for. It's incredibly simple to reproduce with the cheapest of shrink wrapping equipment.

OP, post this on Nintendoage. Though you'll likely get more than you asked for, they will be able to tell you what you're looking at there.

[Bojay1997]

I don't understand why the seam on the back has always been the big thing to look for. It's incredibly simple to reproduce with the cheapest of shrink wrapping equipment.

OP, post this on Nintendoage. Though you'll likely get more than you asked for, they will be able to tell you what you're looking at there.

It's actually not easy to replicate, at least not well. That's why it's a fairly recent fraud phenomenon.

[wiggyx]

It's actually not easy to replicate, at least not well. That's why it's a fairly recent fraud phenomenon.

It's easy for me.

[Bojay1997]

It's easy for me.

Sure it is. Please provide some examples of boxes you have resealed with the proper Nintendo seal. I've seen plenty of attempts and they are pretty easy to spot as the forgers seem to miss certain details or make the seam too thick or miss the precise twisting motion on either side of the box. It's also not something a modern shrink-wrapping machine, at least not one that the vast majority of consumers would have ready access to, can duplicate.

[wiggyx]

Sure it is. Please provide some examples of boxes you have resealed with the proper Nintendo seal. I've seen plenty of attempts and they are pretty easy to spot as the forgers seem to miss certain details or make the seam too thick or miss the precise twisting motion on either side of the box. It's also not something a modern shrink-wrapping machine, at least not one that the vast majority of consumers would have ready access to, can duplicate.

No thanks. That's a can of worms best left untouched. Just know that it's a very simple process and there will be VGA graded forgeries as soon as someone out there with the same skillset figures out that there is money to be made by doing so (if there aren't already), and it doesn't require more than about 200 bucks worth of materials and equipment. I'm not sure why you would assume that the process cannot be duplicated. Shrink wrap tech isn't exactly state-of-the-art.

[Bojay1997]

No thanks. That's a can of worms best left untouched. Just know that it's a very simple process and there will be VGA graded forgeries as soon as someone out there with the same skillset figures out that there is money to be made by doing so (if there aren't already), and it doesn't require more than about 200 bucks worth of materials and equipment. I'm not sure why you would assume that the process cannot be duplicated. Shrink wrap tech isn't exactly state-of-the-art.

I'm sorry, but you're spreading incorrect information and moreover, you can't even support your own claim that you could easily duplicate the seam. Without going into a ton of detail, there are still many tell-tale signs of a forgery involving the seam on the back as it's not just a matter of buying a shrink-wrap machine and setting it to duplicate the seal. That's why there have been very few attempts and even fewer accurate forgeries. Most sealed collectors also don't rely on just the seam, but this idea that someone can just come along, spend $200 on a shrink-wrap machine and forge a perfect "sealed" NES game is totally false. It's like saying paper or cardboard tech is not state of the art. You're right, it's not, but that doesn't mean it's something that's easy to forge either.

[sfchakan]

If wiggyx and common sense tells you it's possible to replicate, I'm inclined to believe them both.

[Tanooki]

Wiggy I'm glad to see you make that post. I think I recall over at that other site I used to visit, I think I remember some VGA frauds being brought up before and that very debate over being able to fake the seal and it is known it can be done. The fact you're saying you can do it reinforces that. Personally I applaud the fact people can simulate that since VGA is a farce since they have no credibility at all except amongst their drones since they refuse to post standards let alone be consistent in the grading of the same item over resubmissions. It's no mystery that seal is completely doable, it's not like technology has gone backwards someone can not copy a 1980s/90s style box shrink wrapping method. Even with a legit game, a known one, you still can get stuff in the corners where you got whiting, and you do have cases where the hinges have ink cracking too because some dude somewhere back in the period had to fold the box, stuff the contents in all nice, and then seal it up before shrinking it up for shipment in a box to retail. I imagine it is and isn't easy to do, you have to have a certain skill set, and the eye to really copy what was once done, but yeah buying the equipment and stuff probably really is only a couple hundred bucks but if you don't have the talent to back it up you get those really solid fakes you see called out online. I just chock it up to other frauds before, such as those fake Honus Wagner cards some years back they got over on the baseball card graders and it made them look incredibly foolish, and they really do know their stuff and are open about it, including admitting when they were wrong.

[wiggyx]

I'm sorry, but you're spreading incorrect information and moreover, you can't even support your own claim that you could easily duplicate the seam. Without going into a ton of detail, there are still many tell-tale signs of a forgery involving the seam on the back as it's not just a matter of buying a shrink-wrap machine and setting it to duplicate the seal. That's why there have been very few attempts and even fewer accurate forgeries. Most sealed collectors also don't rely on just the seam, but this idea that someone can just come along, spend $200 on a shrink-wrap machine and forge a perfect "sealed" NES game is totally false. It's like saying paper or cardboard tech is not state of the art. You're right, it's not, but that doesn't mean it's something that's easy to forge either.

The major flaw in your argument is that you're obviously ignorant of the process, which is evidenced by the way you describe the details which you think are pertinent and/or controllable and assumption that a machine would be doing the work for me. This is part of why I have no interest in presenting evidence. I'm fairly certain that I could post a factory sealed game and you would incorrectly call out flaws just based on your extreme bias and lack of knowledge. The other reason that I have zero interest in posting samples is the possible and probable backlash. I can already hear the accusations of forgery. No thanks. This is an argument that cannot be proven in my favor, as you have already made up your mind and are so very certain that what I say simply cannot be true, regardless of what information or photo proof I could provide.

The truth is that I have a significant amount of hands-on experience with this sort of thing (packaging. I have LOTS of experience in packaging design both within my own business and as a packaging designer for a handful of other businesses before starting RCG).

If a forgery is accurate, then you'd never be aware that it is a forgery. That's the whole point. Your assumption that forgeries aren't out there in a measurable number is presumptuous at best. If retro game collecting keeps on its current path, then I would expect a lot more forgeries to find their way onto the market. As soon as it's a viable means by which to make money, people will do it, and they'll do it so well that you'll never know.

[Yorkie]

That's a real seal.

And Wiggy, you're full of shit.

[Daria]

I'm also inclined to take wiggyx at his word. He certainly has a more credible reputation then the Yorkie that just posted.