The most useful spreadsheet fields are the grading company, certification number, detailed card identity, slab photos, transaction records, and case status. Together, they connect one graded Pokémon card to its owner, sale, loss, or suspected counterfeit. A slab is the sealed holder containing a graded card and its certification label. A spreadsheet cannot guarantee recovery, but it can organize evidence for a marketplace dispute, payment claim, insurance request, grading-company report, or police report.
Table of Contents
- Record the card's exact identity
- Preserve photos that distinguish the slab
- Connect ownership to the transaction
- Track the incident without overwriting history
- Build a recovery-ready evidence packet
Record the card's exact identity
Assign every slab an internal item ID that never changes. Then record the grading company and certification number exactly as printed, including leading zeros and letter prefixes. Card details should distinguish similar printings: Treat the grading company and certification number as a combined identifier.
The same number could exist in another company's numbering system, while a replacement holder may receive a different certificate. If a card is reholdered or relabeled, keep both the previous and current numbers in linked fields. A certification lookup can support identification, but it does not prove that the slab in hand is genuine. Fraudsters can copy real numbers and label details, so the spreadsheet needs visual and transaction evidence as well.
- Card name
- Set name and collector number
- Language
- Edition, stamp, or promotional release
- Holofoil or other variant
Preserve photos that distinguish the slab
Keep clear photographs of the entire front and back before selling, shipping, or storing a valuable card. Add close-ups of the label, certification number, card surface, holder edges, and any visible marks. Use filenames that include the internal item ID rather than relying on a camera's default name. Store the original files and place links in the spreadsheet. Useful photo fields include the capture date, file location, photographer, and whether the images show the slab before or after a transaction.
Small details can help match a stolen slab to a later listing. Examples include label alignment, plastic imperfections, card centering, print defects, and distinctive edge wear. None is conclusive alone, but several consistent details can strengthen an identification. Public listing photos may be copied to support another scam. Keep unwatermarked originals privately, and consider watermarking copies posted publicly without covering the card or label.
Connect ownership to the transaction
Identification evidence shows what the slab is; transaction evidence shows how it came into someone's possession. Record the acquisition date, seller or source, marketplace, listing URL, order number, amount, currency, payment method, and delivery address. Link supporting files rather than placing sensitive data directly in the sheet. Useful records include receipts, invoices, messages, shipping labels, tracking results, package photographs, and marketplace confirmations.
Never store passwords, full payment-card numbers, bank credentials, or identity-document numbers. For a sale, add the buyer's marketplace username, sale date, tracking number, declared package value, carrier, and delivery result. Record only information obtained lawfully through the transaction, and separate confirmed facts from suspicions. Keep the original listing description and condition photographs. In a false-return or payment dispute, they can help show what was offered, what was shipped, and whether the returned item has a different certificate or physical features.
Track the incident without overwriting history
Add fields for the incident type, date discovered, last confirmed location, last confirmed holder, disputed amount, and a short factual description. Use neutral labels such as "suspected counterfeit," "package missing," or "certificate mismatch" until the facts are established. A controlled status field makes the record easier to follow: Do not replace an old status without preserving its date.
Keep a status-history tab or change log showing when the entry changed, who changed it, and why. Record each report separately, including the organization, submission date, case or ticket number, contact channel, response deadline, and outcome. Save screenshots of suspicious listings because listings and account names can disappear, but also retain the original URL and the date observed.
- Owned
- Listed for sale
- Shipped
- Delivered
- Disputed
Build a recovery-ready evidence packet
A practical spreadsheet can group the fields into six blocks: Different fraud problems require different evidence. A suspected counterfeit calls for label comparisons, certificate records, packaging, seller messages, and photographs of discrepancies.
A stolen slab appearing online calls for earlier ownership records, original photos, listing captures, and matching physical details. For a marketplace or payment dispute, export only the relevant rows and linked evidence into a clear timeline. Keep the master spreadsheet private, preserve original files unchanged, and send each recipient only the personal and financial information required for that specific case.
- Identity: item ID, grading company, certificate, card details, grade
- Images: front, back, label, holder details, original-file links
- Ownership: source, acquisition date, receipt, prior certificate
- Transaction: listing, order, payment, buyer or seller, shipping
- Incident: type, discovery date, last location, observed discrepancies
