The Sordid History of PrintingProxies: Why We Strongly Advise You to STAY AWAY

TL;DR: PrintingProxies has a troubling history involving subreddit bans over alleged fake reviews, the admitted removal of negative customer feedback, hostile responses to critics, accusations of exploiting community-created artwork, and serious reports of compromised payment cards. Its published shipping and refund policies are also remarkably unfavorable to buyers. After our own order of 200 MTG proxy cards never arrived, we investigated the company’s history. What we found convinced us that customers should stay away from PrintingProxies.

One undelivered order might be an unfortunate mistake. Two separate Reddit communities banning a business over accusations of fake reviews is considerably harder to dismiss. Add a public admission about deleting negative feedback, aggressive responses to unhappy customers, complaints from artists whose work allegedly appeared in commercial listings, and reports of fraudulent credit card transactions, and the picture becomes deeply concerning.

Welcome to the sordid history of PrintingProxies.

We initially had a simple reason to distrust this company: we ordered 200 Magic: The Gathering proxy cards and never received them. That’s 200 cards ordered and not a single card delivered. It was an infuriating experience that left us unwilling to recommend PrintingProxies to anyone.

But after looking into the company’s history, we discovered that our negative experience was hardly the only reason for concern. PrintingProxies has generated controversy within the MTG proxy community for years, and some of the most disturbing episodes involve the company’s own statements and policies rather than anonymous allegations.

We believe customers deserve to know that history before handing over their money. And after examining the evidence, our recommendation couldn’t be clearer: stay away from PrintingProxies.

PrintingProxies Was Banned From Two Reddit Communities Over Alleged Fake Reviews

The first major red flag dates back to April 30, 2022, when moderators of r/bootlegmtg publicly announced that they had banned PrintingProxies from the community.

The reason was serious. Moderators accused the business of using alternate Reddit accounts to promote itself while pretending to be satisfied, independent customers. This practice, known as sockpuppeting, is a particularly dishonest form of online marketing when used to manufacture positive customer sentiment.

The moderators described multiple accounts posting praise for the company, sometimes repeating virtually identical promotional messages. They also pointed to similarities in writing style and punctuation, along with accounts that had reportedly been shadowbanned by Reddit.

The announcement wasn’t merely a disagreement over advertising etiquette. The moderators considered the conduct serious enough to ban the company and warn community members against using its services.

Then, on March 5, 2023, moderators of r/mpcproxies announced another ban.

This second announcement accused PrintingProxies of sockpuppeting and spamming. Moderators also published links to screenshots showing accounts they believed were being used to promote the business deceptively.

Among the accounts identified were Alex-Martin20485, ShawnDavis242, and Apprehensive_Cup7495. The moderators highlighted what they described as duplicated promotional messages, suspiciously similar writing patterns, and supposed customer recommendations that they believed weren’t independent.

To be precise, these were findings and accusations made by subreddit moderators, not conclusions reached by a court. PrintingProxies subsequently disputed the allegations, claiming that enthusiastic community members had acted independently.

But even accepting that defense, the company’s history remains remarkable. Being publicly banned from two sizable communities devoted to the exact products you sell is not a minor public relations problem.

It is a significant warning about trust.

Customers rely on independent reviews to decide where to spend their money. If they cannot confidently distinguish an actual customer from someone promoting a business under a disguised identity, the entire review process becomes compromised.

A company accused of manufacturing trust has a much harder time asking customers to trust it.

PrintingProxies Admitted Removing Negative Reviews to Protect Its Reputation

This may be the most revealing episode in the company’s history because it doesn’t depend entirely on accusations from its critics.

In August 2023, a PrintingProxies representative responded to criticism on Reddit, denying responsibility for the alleged fake promotional accounts. The representative blamed an early community supporter and accused one subreddit moderator of having a personal grievance against the company.

But buried within that defense was an extraordinary admission.

The representative acknowledged that PrintingProxies had removed negative reviews from its Discord community.

The explanation was that those complaints involved blurry images resulting from customer mistakes rather than actual printing defects. According to the representative, allowing those reviews to remain would unfairly damage the company’s reputation.

Think about that reasoning.

A customer receives cards, dislikes the quality, and posts a negative review. The company decides the customer made a mistake when choosing the image, so it removes the review to prevent reputational damage.

That is not how a trustworthy review system should work.

A customer review is supposed to describe the customer’s experience, not merely reinforce the seller’s preferred interpretation of what happened. If the business believes a complaint is unfair, it can respond, explain its position, and provide context.

Deleting the unfavorable review accomplishes something entirely different. It prevents other prospective customers from seeing that criticism.

Even if every deleted review resulted from poor customer-supplied artwork, that would still be useful information for a prospective buyer. It would show that customers can end up with disappointing results and that the ordering process may not adequately prevent those mistakes.

Instead, PrintingProxies acknowledged removing reviews that it believed unfairly tarnished its reputation.

The irony is difficult to miss. A company defending itself against accusations of manipulated recommendations openly described its practice of removing negative feedback.

We consider that a serious credibility problem. And we don’t think the company’s explanation makes it any better.

The Company Publicly Insulted an Unhappy Customer

The next episode is almost astonishing in its lack of professionalism.

On March 14, 2024, a customer posted a review in r/mtg describing experiences with PrintingProxies. The customer acknowledged that the cards themselves were good, but complained about shipping delays and the way customer service handled the situation.

The customer also claimed to have been removed from the company’s Discord after criticizing the experience.

A PrintingProxies account responded publicly, disputing the customer’s description and accusing them of repeatedly complaining about USPS-related problems.

Then came this particularly revealing line:

“If you act like a Karen, I will treat you like one.”

There it is. A business publicly insulting a dissatisfied customer for criticizing its service.

The company also emphasized that it wasn’t Amazon Prime, defended its growing number of favorable reviews, and suggested that the customer might still have been welcome in its Discord if they had behaved more respectfully.

We find that response appalling.

Customers are not required to flatter a business to receive professional treatment. They don’t surrender their right to criticize a transaction just because the company believes the complaint is unreasonable.

The customer even acknowledged liking the printed cards. This wasn’t someone making an entirely negative accusation about every part of the business. It was a buyer expressing frustration about shipping and customer service.

And PrintingProxies responded by insulting them.

That is precisely the kind of behavior that should concern prospective customers. When everything goes right, nearly any business can seem friendly. The meaningful test comes when something goes wrong.

Does the company respond constructively, or does it treat criticism as a personal attack?

In this documented exchange, PrintingProxies chose the latter.

The 2026 Credit Card Controversy Is Far More Serious

The earlier controversies are embarrassing. The payment-security allegations that emerged in 2026 are far more alarming.

On March 24, 2026, a customer posted in r/bootlegmtg describing an order from PrintingProxies. The buyer said the cards arrived quickly, although the foil quality was disappointing.

But approximately two weeks after ordering, the customer reported discovering fraudulent charges on the payment card used for the purchase.

Other customers began describing similar experiences.

Some reported unauthorized transactions after ordering from PrintingProxies. Others said their payment cards were compromised following repeat purchases from the site.

Particularly troubling were reports involving virtual payment cards.

One customer said they had created a virtual card specifically for PrintingProxies and subsequently discovered attempted fraudulent charges against it. Another reported that a disposable card assigned to the site had been targeted.

These claims deserve attention because a payment card used with only one merchant can provide a stronger clue about where card details may have been exposed.

Still, these are customer reports rather than independently verified forensic conclusions. They do not establish that PrintingProxies deliberately stole anyone’s payment information.

The controversy became even more serious in July 2026.

A Reported Security Notice Raised New Questions

On July 4, a Reddit user linked to a page on PrintingProxies’ website titled Security Incident Notice.

Other commenters quoted the notice as saying malicious code had been placed on the website and that customers entering payment information during the preceding 20 days might have been affected.

The original notice was not accessible during our review, so its complete contents could not be independently examined. However, the contemporary discussion preserves the notice’s URL and quotations attributed to it.

If those quotations accurately represent the company’s statement, PrintingProxies was acknowledging a genuine website security incident affecting payment information.

That is a substantially more serious issue than a handful of poor customer reviews.

It also raises an obvious question: why were customers reporting suspicious credit card activity months before the exposure window described in the reported notice?

There may be an innocent explanation. Earlier incidents might have been unrelated, or investigators may have identified only a particular period of exposure. Without the underlying forensic findings, nobody outside the investigation can reliably establish the full timeline.

But these are questions customers have every right to ask.

And consider the larger context. This wasn’t happening in a vacuum. It followed years of controversy over the company’s reputation, responses to criticism, and treatment of customer complaints.

For us, the credit card controversy alone is sufficient reason to avoid entering payment information on the site until there is convincing evidence that the reported security problems have been resolved.

We are not accusing PrintingProxies of intentionally stealing credit card details. We are saying that the reports, particularly those involving single-merchant virtual cards and the apparent security notice, are too serious to dismiss.

Artists Have Accused PrintingProxies of Selling Their Community-Created Designs

The controversy extends beyond buyers.

For years, Magic: The Gathering proxy enthusiasts have contributed artwork, custom card layouts, and alternate designs to online communities. Much of this work is shared so players can create inexpensive personal playtest cards.

In December 2025, a discussion in r/mpcproxies included accusations that PrintingProxies was commercially selling designs created by community members.

One creator reported finding their own designs, originally made available for free use, offered through the PrintingProxies website. Another commenter checked the catalog and said they also found their designs being sold.

Those are serious allegations, although they don’t independently establish that any particular use violated copyright law. The ownership and licensing arrangements surrounding fan-made proxy artwork can be complicated.

But the ethical criticism is understandable.

There is a meaningful distinction between a hobbyist sharing their work with other players and a commercial seller profiting from that work without the creator’s knowledge or approval.

PrintingProxies’ own published terms also deserve attention. Its custom-upload policy says that uploading artwork gives the company permission to potentially use that artwork in promotional materials or add it to a gallery where other customers can purchase printed cards featuring it.

That is a substantial permission for customers to grant, particularly if they are uploading original creations.

Whether every customer understands that provision before uploading artwork is another question.

For a business already associated with accusations of manipulating reviews and removing criticism, complaints from artists about the commercial use of their work add another reason for concern.

PrintingProxies’ Shipping Policies Put an Unreasonable Burden on Buyers

If the preceding controversies don’t convince you to exercise caution, read the company’s own shipping troubleshooting guide.

It is an astonishing document.

PrintingProxies explains that if USPS officially determines a customer’s package has been lost, the company will provide a free reprint. But the customer must pay shipping costs again.

In other words, under its published policy, a customer can pay for an order, have the package lost during shipping, and then be required to pay an additional fee to receive replacement merchandise.

The company characterizes its free reprint as a courtesy and emphasizes that the shipping carrier’s mistake is not its responsibility.

We think that attitude is completely backward.

When someone pays an online retailer for merchandise, they expect to receive that merchandise. Shipping is part of the transaction, not some unrelated adventure that customers undertake entirely at their own risk.

A customer shouldn’t have to be grateful for the opportunity to spend more money after their purchase fails to arrive.

PrintingProxies’ policies become even less appealing when packages are returned to sender.

The company states that it does not have a return-to-sender address and that returned packages are discarded rather than recovered. In certain cases, customers are offered another printing at a discounted material cost, plus shipping.

And its published return policy says it does not provide refunds merely because a customer claims merchandise is missing, instead identifying store credit as a possible resolution.

These policies don’t necessarily override consumer protection laws, but they communicate a profoundly unfavorable approach to customer risk.

The retailer gets paid. The customer assumes much of the delivery risk. And when something goes wrong, the retailer reserves the right to demand more money.

That is not an arrangement we would voluntarily enter again.

Our own experience with PrintingProxies involved 200 ordered cards that never arrived. Reading these policies afterward only reinforced our decision not to recommend the company. Read proxy reviews online.

Customers Have Also Reported Poor Printing Quality and Disappointing Service

Even setting the controversies aside, PrintingProxies has attracted repeated criticism over the actual cards it produces.

Customers have described blurry artwork, faded colors, inconsistent cutting, thin cardstock, bent cards, and disappointing foil effects.

In November 2025, one Reddit reviewer documented an order of 158 PrintingProxies cards that cost approximately $180, excluding an additional customs charge. The customer complained that the cards had blurry lines, low saturation, and edges that looked poorly cut.

The reviewer also described customer support as dismissive when the print-quality problems were raised.

Other complaints from 2025 and 2026 similarly described uneven borders, poor color reproduction, and print quality that customers felt did not justify the price.

Of course, customer experiences vary. Not everyone is dissatisfied with PrintingProxies. In fact, as of October 2026, the company maintains an approximately 4.9-star Trustpilot rating across more than 3,800 reviews, with many customers praising the speed and ease of ordering.

That favorable feedback deserves acknowledgment. There is no credible basis for claiming that every PrintingProxies order fails or that most customers are dissatisfied.

But a positive aggregate rating doesn’t erase the documented subreddit bans, the admission about removing reviews, hostile public customer-service exchanges, or the reported payment-security incident.

Nor does it explain away the experiences of customers who received poor-quality products or never received their purchases at all.

The existence of satisfied customers does not mean dissatisfied customers should be dismissed. And a business with thousands of favorable reviews is not automatically beyond criticism.

PrintingProxies Has a Trust Problem That Good Reviews Cannot Erase

The central issue here isn’t that PrintingProxies sometimes makes imperfect cards.

It’s that the company has accumulated several different kinds of credibility problems over multiple years.

In 2022, moderators banned it from a proxy community over accusations of deceptive promotion.

In 2023, another major proxy community announced a ban over similar allegations. That same year, a company representative publicly acknowledged removing some negative reviews to protect the business’s reputation.

In 2024, a PrintingProxies account responded to a customer complaint with a personal insult.

In 2025, creators alleged that their freely shared proxy designs were being sold commercially, while other buyers continued reporting disappointing print quality.

And in 2026, customers reported unauthorized credit card transactions following purchases, alongside an apparent company security notice concerning malicious website code.

Not every accusation has been independently proven. The company disputes some of the historical allegations, and it has many satisfied customers. Those facts matter.

But the overall history is still deeply troubling.

At what point should customers stop making excuses for a business?

How many incidents must pile up before a retailer’s reputation becomes a legitimate reason to shop elsewhere?

For us, that point was reached long ago.

We don’t believe a business earns immunity from criticism because it successfully fulfills thousands of orders. Businesses should be judged not only by their successes, but by how they behave when things go wrong, how honestly they represent customer experiences, and how seriously they treat their responsibilities.

On those measures, PrintingProxies has given us far too many reasons for concern.

Our Verdict: Stay Away From PrintingProxies

We started with a simple purchase. We ordered 200 Magic: The Gathering proxy cards from PrintingProxies, and the cards never arrived.

That experience alone was enough for us to stop recommending the company.

But the history uncovered afterward makes our position substantially stronger.

The public subreddit bans, accusations of fabricated customer praise, admitted deletion of certain negative reviews, insulting responses to critics, complaints from community artists, and serious payment-security reports collectively describe a business with a reputation we would not feel comfortable endorsing.

We are not claiming that every allegation has been proven or that PrintingProxies deliberately committed credit card fraud. Those are different questions from whether we consider the business worthy of our recommendation.

And our answer to that question is emphatic.

We strongly advise people to STAY AWAY from PrintingProxies.

There is no reason to gamble on a retailer that has generated this much controversy when your goal is simply to get some custom MTG cards printed.

Customers shouldn’t have to research a company’s Reddit bans, investigate its reputation for removing criticism, study alarming payment-security reports, or untangle harsh shipping policies before placing an ordinary order.

They should be able to pay for cards and receive them.

In our case, even that basic expectation wasn’t met.

We will not recommend PrintingProxies, and based on everything we found, we see no compelling reason for anyone else to take the risk.

Our final recommendation is simple: avoid PrintingProxies and spend your money somewhere else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Was PrintingProxies Banned From Reddit?

Moderators of r/bootlegmtg and r/mpcproxies announced bans in 2022 and 2023, respectively. They accused PrintingProxies of using alternate accounts for promotional activity and misleading customer recommendations. PrintingProxies has disputed responsibility for the alleged fake accounts.

Has PrintingProxies Been Accused of Deleting Negative Reviews?

Yes. In an August 2023 Reddit response, a PrintingProxies representative acknowledged removing certain negative reviews from its Discord, explaining that those reviews concerned blurry artwork attributed to customer mistakes.

Has PrintingProxies Had Credit Card Security Problems?

Customers reported fraudulent transactions following orders in 2026. A July Reddit discussion also linked to an apparent company security notice and quoted it as acknowledging malicious website code. The complete original notice could not be independently reviewed.

Is PrintingProxies a Scam?

Our own experience was that we ordered 200 cards and never received them. Combined with the company’s controversial history, that is enough for us to strongly recommend avoiding it. However, the available evidence does not establish that all orders are fraudulent or that the company deliberately steals customers’ money or payment information.

Is PrintingProxies Worth the Risk?

We don’t think so. Although many customers report successful orders, the combination of historical controversies, concerning policies, and our own undelivered purchase makes PrintingProxies a retailer we cannot recommend.

References

1. r/bootlegmtg: PrintingProxies Ban Announcement, April 30, 2022 — Moderators’ allegations about sockpuppet promotion and fake customer reviews.
2. r/mpcproxies: PrintingProxies Ban Announcement, March 5, 2023 — Second ban announcement, including links to screenshots offered as evidence.
3. r/starwarsccgalters: PrintingProxies Community Controversy — Includes the August 2023 response attributed to PrintingProxies disputing the accusations and acknowledging the removal of certain negative reviews.
4. r/mtg: PrintingProxies Customer Review, March 14, 2024 — Customer complaint and the company’s public response.
5. r/bootlegmtg: My Experience With PrintingProxies, March 24, 2026 — First-person account and subsequent reports of suspicious credit card activity.
6. r/magicproxies: PrintingProxies Fraudulent Activity Discussion, July 4, 2026 — Customer allegations and references to the reported website security incident notice.
7. r/mpcproxies: What’s So Bad About PrintingProxies?, December 8, 2025 — Community criticism, including allegations concerning artwork and printing quality.
8. Federal Trade Commission: What to Do if Your Online Order Never Arrives — Consumer guidance concerning undelivered merchandise and credit card disputes.