Rant: Thought I knew variant covers, got schooled hard

Spent three weeks hunting a 2016 variant at three different shops in Portland, only to realize the one I had was the second print. The bar code is different and I never checked. Anyone else get burned by a reprint pretending to be a first run?

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johnthompson23d agoMost Upvoted

Man that bar code trick is REAL and it gets so many people. The publishers make the differences so subtle on purpose, I swear they do it to mess with collectors. Once you learn about the second print tells, you start seeing them EVERYWHERE, like at conventions where dealers are hoping you dont flip the book over. What really gets me is when the second print has a DIFFERENT color on the spine or a tiny dot on the cover, stuff youd never catch unless you know exactly what to look for. Best thing I ever did was start taking photos of the barcode area on my phone before I leave the shop, then compare it to the official first print listing online. It takes two minutes and saves you from that sick feeling in your gut when you get home and realize you paid triple for a reprint.