How do you check if a box was resealed?
In short: I weigh it against reference, examine and photograph the seal and shrink pattern, check the pack map where one applies, and state a finding: consistent with factory-sealed, not consistent, or inconclusive.
Sealed product is valuable because nobody has seen inside it. That is exactly what makes resealing worth someone's while. A reseal check looks for the evidence that a box has been opened.
Weight against reference
A factory box of a given product falls in a known weight range. Packs that have been searched, swapped or removed often change the weight. I weigh the box and compare it with reference figures for that product. Weight alone does not prove anything, but a box outside the range needs explaining.
Seal and shrink pattern
Factory shrink wrap has a consistent look: how the seams sit, how the folds are made, how tight the wrap is and what the markings look like. Rewrapped boxes tend to show loose or uneven seams, heat marks, the wrong kind of film or folds in the wrong place. I examine and photograph each face and each seam.
Pack map, where it applies
Some products are packed in a known order or pattern. Where a pack map applies, it can show whether the contents have been rearranged. See what a pack map is.
The finding
Every check is photographed and named on the sheet, and the finding is one of three:
- Consistent with factory-sealed. Nothing I checked suggests it has been opened.
- Not consistent. One or more checks point to tampering, and the sheet says which.
- Inconclusive. I could not complete a check or the evidence points both ways. That is an honest finding, not a failure. See what happens when I cannot tell.
What the finding is not
It is an opinion, not a guarantee. A careful reseal can pass outside checks, and I say so on the sheet. If the check is done from the seller's photographs instead of in person, the sheet states that no physical inspection took place.
The same checks start every documented break
When a shop books a documented break, every box is weighed and its seal photographed at intake, and anything that does not look factory-sealed is flagged before it is opened. See what happens during a controlled opening. The photographs are kept under the retention and consent policy.