Spent 4 hours hunting down a variant cover that doesn't exist

So I saw this post on Instagram about a rare variant cover for issue #87 of a popular series. Claimed it was a limited print run from a con in 2019. I spent 4 hours digging through eBay, comic shops, and forums only to find out it was a fan-made mockup someone photoshopped. The original post had zero disclaimers and like 500 shares. I'm still annoyed I wasted a whole evening on a fake listing. Has anyone else gotten tricked by these fake variant announcements?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oliver5d ago

Did you ever find a real variant that turned out to be a bootleg once you got it open?

felixm295d ago

Honestly yeah, I grabbed a "rare" Dark Charizard from a local seller once. Got it home, opened it up, and the holo was all wrong. Now I just stick with sellers I've used before or check the card weight if it's sealed.

rileyprice5d ago

oh man @the_oliver that's brutal but totally believable. I fell for something similar last year, spent a week tracking down a "con exclusive" variant for a series I collect only to realize it was a custom print someone was selling on Etsy. the cover art was crisp and everything, looked real in the photos. now I always reverse image search before I even click on a listing, saved me from a few more fakeouts since then.