Everyone has unfortunately heard of or had a run-in with fake Pokémon cards. There are also other unofficial fake gold cards and a number of others. But there is another interesting side of the Pokémon trading card world that is not as known or explored. And that is custom Pokémon cards.
If you don’t know the difference between fake, proxy, or custom cards, have no fear. This article is here to give a quick run through of the differences between them. It will also give particular focus to custom cards.
Let’s jump right in!
What is A Fake or Proxy Pokémon Card?
Proxy or fake Pokémon cards are cards that are intentionally made to look like a real Pokémon card. There isn’t an actual difference between “Fake” and “proxy”, proxy is just a nicer way to say a card was not manufactured by the Pokémon company.
Proxy Pokémon cards were initially created so that people could have and appreciate Pokémon cards they had or wanted, without paying the high prices for those cards. Unfortunately though, some of them look enough like the real thing that people started buying the proxy cards and selling them for profit.
If you read my article above and still want additional confirmation on if your card is fake or not, this Reddit Community is always willing to help out.
What is a Custom Pokémon Card?
Custom Pokémon cards are custom cards that are created outside of the image and makeup of actual Pokémon cards. They are made for fun, as gifts for other people, and just to generally show off some cool never before seen designs. The picture below is an example of some custom Pokémon cards in my personal collection.
So custom Pokémon cards are still not Pokémon company created items, but they are not used in Pokémon card scams like the fake and proxy cards above.
Let’s dive into some particular reasons people buy custom Pokémon cards.
Why Do People Buy Custom Pokémon Cards?
So custom Pokémon cards are still technically fake, nor are they made by the Pokémon company. The reason that people buy them and why I bought the cards above is for no other reason than they like them.
The design on the cards above is well done and I’m personally a huge fan of the stained glass art. Once I saw these I thought they would be a great add to the collection.
Dive in a little further and you will find several websites that will allow you to upload a picture to create a custom Pokémon card gift for someone. Or if you like Pokémon cards and have a pet that you want to immortalize, that can be done as well!
Other people paint them, and some cut them to give them a 3-D look. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.
I’ll show off one other that blends Pokémon with the anime Demon Slayer below. Once again, added to my personal collection for no other reason than I thought they were really cool.
Summary
Hopefully you learned some cool new things about custom Pokémon cards! If I missed anything, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected].
Thanks for reading!
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