I haven't really been playing Call of Cthulhu for a long time, and as a result I haven't bought any products in a while. Recently, a seller on eBay had some good stuff for sale and I couldn't resist. This particular seller has a good reputation, and an online store for a variety of goods (the eBay page is for overstock purposes, like a lot of sellers use).
However, the stuff that arrived was.....kind of off. I purchased two deluxe expansions (Secrets of Arkham Revised, and Mark of Madness) and two Asylum Packs (In the Dread of Night, and In Memory of Day).
The Asylum Packs were the first things that stuck out to me. Instead of the usual boxes with side flaps, the cards were placed in these...really, really generic looking blister packages with a really loose interlock - no seals or stickers to prevent them from just being opened. The "front" and "back" were nothing more than cards with the front and back printed on them. Even though the "back" card thingy says "These cards were printed with a different process than those in the core set. Slight variations in color and trim size may be noticeable. Players should use opaque card sleeves for their deck." Now, to be sure when I first started playing, I DID notice a very slight different in colors and trims, but the cards that came in these packs were.....REALLY noticeable. The cardstock itself feels very, very different - the edges are considerably rougher, and "whiter." Moreover, the lettering felt just a tiny bit blurrier.
The deluxe expansions on the other hand, the cards more or less felt right, but the outer boxes were quite a bit flimsier. The cardboard was much, much thinner than in previous expansions.
So, I have to ask: Is there a chance that Call of Cthulhu breeds counterfeits? I honestly never thought this game was big enough for that, but is there a chance? Or, are these actual FFG releases, but they simply....cheapened out on the manufacturing while I stopped keeping up with it?