PLEASE BEWARE
TEST REFRACTOR BUYERS
I bought a Shaq and a Penny Hardaway Lottery Prize Test Refractor from eBay a few months back and when they arrived i was not 100% happy with them. I knew something was wrong as i have many of these cards, and when i set my eyes upon them I am always really impressed. They did not shine 100% like refractors do. In some lighting angles they even looked like the standard issue lottery prize card. I was really nervous but i was not at home to compare them to my other test refractors. I have a Shaq lottery prize at home already and i put the 2 cards side by side. To my horror the 2 cards i had just received were complete counterfeits. There were so many noticeable flaws when side by side with the real test refractor;
-The protective coating had been removed on the fake
-The iridescent refractor sheen was not as strong, was a little blurry, and covered the entire card (normally, the players skin is not iridescent like the rest of the card is)
-The different sections of the background did not shine separately, and the basketball in the background did not shine with the balls uneven surface, instead the whole card was shining all together and smoothly
-It looked as if there was a clear iridescent film stuck to the front of the card
-There were smear marks on the front of the card, as if someone had tried to push out an air bubble on the clear film
-Shaq's jersey (Orlando White) is supposed to only shine on the pinstripes, not on the white part of the jersey, and this fake was just completely shiny all the way through the jersey and players skin
In conclusion I received a refund. Luckily through eBay i could get it all sorted. Whilst in liaison with the seller he promised me he had no idea about the cards being counterfeits. Hopefully no-one comes across this same trap that i came across. I hope i have given some people a little knowledge on what to look for when purchasing test refractors. I will add some photos for some comparisons with my real test refractor. I didn't take a photo of the penny before i sent them back but it was exactly the same as the fake Shaq.
-You can see the real card has the protective coating and all different parts of the card shine separately
-The fake shines all over and on the players skin. It also doesn't shine at all on an angle
Happy card collecting everyone!!