# Buying Amiibo Cards from Etsy?



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

So I'm rather ignorant about amiibo cards and I found people selling custom made AC amiibo cards that they say works in getting these villagers into your campsite.

Does anyone have experience with these cards? Do they work? If they do, I might consider getting some. (And if you have bought them from Etsy, do you have someone you recommend buying from?)


*Mod Note: Please do not share links to unofficial amiibo cards. Thank you. *


----------



## ForgottenT (May 21, 2020)

Yeah, you can easily make your own as well, all you need is to purchase some cheap NFC chips called "NTAG215", and a phone with NFC capabilities.


----------



## Jam86 (May 21, 2020)

i don't buy from etsy since i don't have an account aha

but i do make my own amiibos and it's honestly the best thing since i can't afford proper ones lol
they work perfectly and are so worth it ☆☆☆


----------



## cheezu (May 21, 2020)

They do work but I've had issues with deliveries in the past.
Also, as a collector, I do prefer the originals but I guess if you just want a small selection of specific villagers, these could be a good option.
From what I can tell though, the prices have gone up considerably with the etsy ones with the release of NH so I'd wait for the hype to go down a little before ordering.


----------



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

Thanks for responses everyone. Interesting to make your own. I may buy some, but I'd have to figure out which ones I'd want. I found one seller selling $5.99 per card with deals of like 10% off if you buy 10+. Idk if I want to spend the money just yet.


----------



## salem_ (May 21, 2020)

aetherene said:


> Thanks for responses everyone. Interesting to make your own. I may buy some, but I'd have to figure out which ones I'd want. I found one seller selling $5.99 per card with deals of like 10% off if you buy 10+. Idk if I want to spend the money just yet.


if you make your own, you can literally get 10 for 8-10$!


----------



## ForgottenT (May 21, 2020)

aetherene said:


> Thanks for responses everyone. Interesting to make your own. I may buy some, but I'd have to figure out which ones I'd want. I found one seller selling $5.99 per card with deals of like 10% off if you buy 10+. Idk if I want to spend the money just yet.


6$ Per card?! The tags cost less than 1$ each.


----------



## Blueskyy (May 21, 2020)

You can make your own but if you buy, check where they are shipping from. If they ship from the UK and you’re in the USA it can take a while.


----------



## cheezu (May 21, 2020)

ForgottenT said:


> 6$ Per card?! The tags cost less than 1$ each.


Well, some of the sellers do customize the card to make it look like the actual amiibo card; others actually use their own artwork of the villager on the card - I think that's why they're more pricey.
However; as of now, the prices did go up a lot because of the demand.


----------



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

ForgottenT said:


> 6$ Per card?! The tags cost less than 1$ each.



It might have to do with the game artwork on them, but daaaaang. I'll look up how to make them myself and maybe I'll see lol.


----------



## ForgottenT (May 21, 2020)

cheezu said:


> Well, some of the sellers do customize the card to make it look like the actual amiibo card; others actually use their own artwork of the villager on the card - I think that's why they're more pricey.
> However; as of now, the prices did go up a lot because of the demand.


They're still bootleg, 6$ is what a pack of legit cards used to cost.
these sellers are literally printing money if this is what they can squeeze out of people.


----------



## cheezu (May 21, 2020)

ForgottenT said:


> They're still bootleg, 6$ is what a pack of legit cards used to cost.
> these sellers are literally printing money if this is what they can squeeze out of people.


Which is why I said in my previous post that, as a collector, I will always prefer the original ones over these.  
But I do get that some people might just want a group of specific villagers and with the current amounts that originals are going for, this is probably their best option unless they can make their own.


----------



## Bcat (May 21, 2020)

ForgottenT said:


> They're still bootleg, 6$ is what a pack of legit cards used to cost.
> these sellers are literally printing money if this is what they can squeeze out of people.


Not necessarily. They still have to pay for materials/printing if there's custom artwork involved. Just depends on the quality, really. And it also depends on whether or not they're charging shipping. 

But yeah, they're making mad cash even just by the sheer volume of sales probably.


----------



## Bioness (May 21, 2020)

If you have a Samsung Phone (S8 or newer) there is a Joy-Con app that has amiibo functionality, no cards or NFC needed! It works with a few other Android phones as well I believe.


----------



## SarahsNY (May 21, 2020)

I make my own, but I don’t sell them or have found a good way to customize them yet. I’ve been trying to learn how to work with resin, I think I may make some coins for myself that way.


----------



## amyahh (May 21, 2020)

yes they actually do work! however I know that some people actually sell their own customizations of the card. Like instead of looking like an actual Amiibo card they add their own drawings to them. I recently found out how to make the amiibo cards so it's a lifesaver to find my dream villagers now lol


----------



## Minimasher (May 21, 2020)

I recommend the website aliexpress. The amiibo cards on it are cheap and perfect quality


----------



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

Minimasher said:


> I recommend the website aliexpress. The amiibo cards on it are cheap and perfect quality



Very cheap from the looks of it, but I know shipping can take forever when it's from AliExpress.


----------



## Bcat (May 21, 2020)

aetherene said:


> Very cheap from the looks of it, but I know shipping can take forever when it's from AliExpress.


Yeah, not everything there is legit either. You can get scammed easy


----------



## bluetortis26 (May 21, 2020)

Does anyone know where to buy Amiibo Card *Packs? *I just want packs of them not individual cards.


----------



## SarahsNY (May 21, 2020)

I haven’t been able to find English packs in stores for years... they’re on amazon and eBay but are pretty expensive currently. I’m glad these “bootleg” amigos exist so they’re more accessible.


----------



## Bcat (May 21, 2020)

bluetortis26 said:


> Does anyone know where to buy Amiibo Card *Packs? *I just want packs of them not individual cards.


Those are kind of hard to find right now since they're currently not in production. There are some on Walmart and Amazon, but the prices are exorbitant. You're better off either waiting for them to go into production again or just buying individual cards imo


----------



## ZekkoXCX (May 21, 2020)

Just a random fact : If you have an Android phone with Android 9.0 and don't want to /can't buy NFC tags , you can use that phone to use amiibo files and bring characters over your island.


----------



## Mary (May 21, 2020)

I've done it and they've been great quality and work perfectly. A lot of times they'll even come in keychain/plush/custom amiibo form if it's one of your favorites, so there's that. From what I understand, they're pretty cheap and easy to make.


----------



## Eevees (May 21, 2020)

I bought fanmade Marshal card just due to his price  They work fine like the few other cards I have.


----------



## Alannah20 (May 21, 2020)

I bought homemade Sanrio amiibo cards off of Etsy for New Leaf and they worked great! Think they cost me $6 a card or something but I only wanted two of the characters 
I'm considering buying more for New Horizons!


----------



## kylie32123 (May 21, 2020)

Got Ankha and Marshal that way and they're perfect! They took a long time to ship though, so that's my only complaint. I'd recommend eBay for NFC tag purchasing, because you get the same thing, but faster!


----------



## Kadori (May 21, 2020)

I just bought one because I was curious as well! I'll update this post and lyk how it goes! Very excited ^^


----------



## DarkDesertFox (May 21, 2020)

Two words: Powersaves Amiibo

I was going to make my own cards, but the same randomly generated usernames were selling the blank cards on eBay and it seemed a little sketchy. Ordered this instead and you can get any villager you want other than the new ones without an Amiibo. Takes awhile to get here, but worth it in my opinion. I have other games to use it on.


----------



## Nunnafinga (May 21, 2020)

I have several fan made cards and they all work just like the real thing.I only buy them on eBay because Etsy won't help if you buy from a disreputable seller.If your Etsy seller flakes out and doesn't send your order then you won't get your money back but at least eBay will step in and try to resolve any issues(and I've always got my money back on eBay when I had issues).


----------



## John Wick (May 21, 2020)

I've currently been buying plain white, plastic blank cards, with the NFC chip in them, for $5.

I used Goldie's this morning.
Works perfectly.


----------



## Ras (May 21, 2020)

I got Lolly, Skye and Flora in today as coins. They were $6 a piece and free shipping, but I don’t have a way to make them myself. I found someone with $5/free shipping, so I have to decide if I want a dollar cheaper and not matching coins, or just use this seller again. Probably go for the match (not sure why I bother, since I don’t really want to swap out my current villagers).


----------



## Mairen (May 21, 2020)

MissPink said:


> I bought fanmade Marshal card just due to his price  They work fine like the few other cards I have.



I also purchased a fanmade marshal card. His actual card price is insane. 

I'm really looking forward to when they re-release legit amiibo card packs onto the market, though. I love collectors cards, and I love animal crossing so the prospect of that is exciting for me


----------



## Licorice (May 21, 2020)

I’ve bought all my cards off etsy and never had any problems. The last two I bought came on blank cards and they’re dirt cheap too. Like 2 bucks a piece.


----------



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

I went ahead bought 15 cards from Etsy. They were $6 per card but slightly cheaper the more you bought with free shipping so I'm okay with it. I bought a couple for a friend too so we'll be happy and I can finally get Phoebe without having to stress over island hopping lol. Thank you everyone on your input 

I did look into making my own but it stressed me out a little bit and I'm a tad impatient too LOL.


----------



## Octolino (May 21, 2020)

Minimasher said:


> I recommend the website aliexpress. The amiibo cards on it are cheap and perfect quality



Came here to say this. I've bought a few and they work. Keep in mind these are not official and they took like a month to get here... so, if you don't mind the waiting.


----------



## voltairenism (May 21, 2020)

They work pretty well. I bought a Static one ^~^ 
I want to buy the tags and make my own, just bc I will never be able go buy the original anyway so I want to buy a lot of tags and make watercolor paintings of each villager


----------



## aetherene (May 21, 2020)

voltairenism said:


> They work pretty well. I bought a Static one ^~^
> I want to buy the tags and make my own, just bc I will never be able go buy the original anyway so I want to buy a lot of tags and make watercolor paintings of each villager



I'm jealous of the people who are able to do cool things like that and make their cards pretty. I'm not artistically inclined or crafty so if I ever did make the cards, they'd look like junk. LOL


----------



## Flygon (May 21, 2020)

ZekkoXCX said:


> Just a random fact : If you have an Android phone with Android 9.0 and don't want to /can't buy NFC tags , you can use that phone to use amiibo files and bring characters over your island.


Only Samsung, I believe.


----------



## toenuki (May 21, 2020)

i recommend it tbh, i got a few custom ones. they also have coins, and you can make your own as someone said with the right tech


----------



## Milano (May 21, 2020)

I was so close to buying a Pietro faux-amiibo card but couldn't justify spending money on one. I just ended up using TBT to purchase him from someone who had his amiibo! I saw a marshal card get sold on mercari for like $60 if I remember correctly? I don't think I love any villager that much/I'm not much of a collector.


----------



## Luella (May 21, 2020)

Caution story for those making your own Amiibos:

I spent too much money because decorating them is so much fun. I've made 90~ chosen coins so far. Have an extra 100 stickers left still.

Want to make some into keychains/jewelry. And I have a sewing machine I bought ages ago so I'm also thinking of making some plushies.

It's my current favorite crafts project. Send help...


----------



## Mikaiah (Aug 11, 2020)

these knock-offs ride a thin line between legal and illegal - almost all are bootleg and not official.
I don't know if Nintendo can ever take action because the chips are identical in almost every way.

However, legitimate ones are... few and far between because nintendo has not produced them in awhile despite the demand, so unfortunately the only solution right now is spoofing... (which can be seen by some as an act of hacking)


----------



## Pintuition (Aug 11, 2020)

I have bought amiibo coins from etsy before, but not cards! My experience was great, they worked the exact same way as the cards do and were very cute!! You can get them for much cheaper than the authentic cards. Apple was going for like $30 on Ebay and I think I got her for $5-6 on Etsy!


----------



## dragonair (Aug 11, 2020)

I saw some ones with REALLY pretty artwork the other day and I almost bought them but I saw that people had issues with delivery time and I've had enough of that lately (I kind of went on a shopping spree in June and some things still haven't arrived hahahaha). If it's a person's own artwork I don't mind the price being marked up bc I love supporting artists and it's kind of like buying a print but one that has more use.


----------



## Larsi (Aug 11, 2020)

Well normally I'm absolutely against things like that. Not a fan of hacking or copying which will damage a company.
But this time Nintendo is just being weird again and creating this problem while it was easy to avoid... The game is so popular! Almost the best selling Switch game. Why didn't they release new amiibo cards or just a reboot of the old ones? They could've made a lot of money and keep everything pretty legal (sure not everyone will do that).

The cards are just too hard to get and the prices are insane. Who is going to pay €60/$60 for a specific virtual animal? Ok maybe some people with too much money but most fans will choose the cheaper way. But just fyi: haven't used a hacked amiibo myself haha


----------



## Bugs (Aug 12, 2020)

I bought some off eBay, and I've made my own too, if you're going to use a lot of them I'd say making them yourself is way cheaper, and it's pretty simple 

Buying them, I would either get ones that are more convenient (I bought some little NFC tag ones that can fit in switch multi-game cases) or ones with nice art


----------



## Fraggle (Aug 12, 2020)

Since I’m old and have no clue how to make them myself, I have bought custom cards from eBay uk. They’ve cost me typically £4-£5 all in and every one has worked perfectly


----------



## milraen (Aug 12, 2020)

I bought 10 from AliExpress for a few bucks each. The cards took a while to arrive but they feel good quality. One of them didn’t work but they quickly refunded me for it


----------



## InstantNoodles (Aug 12, 2020)

If you just want a surefire way to invite a specific villager to your island without going through all the island hopping / trading / campsite shenanigans then I would definitely recommend! I have gotten cards off etsy before and they worked perfectly, just make sure to check reviews


----------



## Corrie (Aug 12, 2020)

I heard the amiibo cards were going to be restocked a while ago. I guess that didnt happen. It's crazy though because they could make soooo much money off them due to the game's popularity. 

I remember how hard the cards were to find when HHD came out. Limiting items like that only help scalpers.


----------



## Baroque (Aug 12, 2020)

I’ve bought some back in the New Leaf days. Never had any issues but it does have the downside of having basically no resale value.

But, like, if I recall, they’re usually so cheap that they aren’t really worth trying to resale anyway.


----------



## AutomationAir (Aug 12, 2020)

I really want the real things but since they're no longer for sale I learned how to make my own. I have made them for friends but I never ask them to pay (most cover the material costs anyway because friends are sweet), but since they're not official, I refuse to make money off them. Some sellers do have really cute ideas (I've seen them in little coin-shaped protectors and put into a bell bag, for instance), which I wouldn't feel as bad paying for the creativity involved in something like that.


----------



## JellyBeans (Aug 12, 2020)

i've gotten *this* close to buying them (mainly for the cute artwork i'll be honest) but i enjoy island hopping a lot and I don't think there's any villagers in particular that I like enough (that aren't already on my island) for me to want to get their card. maybe one day...


----------



## Hobowire (Aug 12, 2020)

I wouldn't by spoofed amiibos on etsy.  If they had more genuine cards I would but def NO to spoofed.


----------



## FrogslimeOfficial (Aug 12, 2020)

Opal<3 said:


> i don't buy from etsy since i don't have an account aha
> 
> but i do make my own amiibos and it's honestly the best thing since i can't afford proper ones lol
> they work perfectly and are so worth it ☆☆☆


Heads up if someone hasn't said this already, but you don't need an account!


----------



## loveclove (Aug 12, 2020)

They do work, perfectly fine


----------



## FRANS_PLAYER (Aug 12, 2020)

Larsi said:


> Well normally I'm absolutely against things like that. Not a fan of hacking or copying which will damage a company.
> But this time Nintendo is just being weird again and creating this problem while it was easy to avoid... The game is so popular! Almost the best selling Switch game. Why didn't they release new amiibo cards or just a reboot of the old ones? They could've made a lot of money and keep everything pretty legal (sure not everyone will do that).
> 
> The cards are just too hard to get and the prices are insane. Who is going to pay €60/$60 for a specific virtual animal? Ok maybe some people with too much money but most fans will choose the cheaper way. But just fyi: haven't used a hacked amiibo myself haha


I feel like, if Nintendo were against it, they'd have started cracking down on it harder. I saw a post about someone's Nintendo account getting suspended, and they said that before that they'd used an Amiibo off Etsy. I couldn't imagine that would be the case for suspension!


----------



## Matt0106 (Aug 12, 2020)

No, but I'm currently on the fence about it. I thought they only recent had stock issues because of New Horizons, but after hearing how this has been a long on-going issue, I'm not too sure if I'm willing to wait for Nintendo to restock them.

I know there are some that view it as hacking, but Nintendo is really not helping their consumers with this; it could've been a win-win for both parties. If they aren't going to produce and they're just going to ignore the demand, well then no one should be surprised if other ways of getting them are discovered.


----------



## Insulaire (Aug 12, 2020)

You are not taking any money from Nintendo’s pockets by buying Amiibo stickers etc online. The original cards are out of print. Nintendo would not make any money from you buying a card they already sold to someone else. If Nintendo restocks cards for customers in your region or offers paid DLC to pick your villager, then sure, a moral argument is relevant. But for now, I can’t imagine exerting precious mental energy on this. Do what feels right to you.


----------



## tajikey (Aug 12, 2020)

Mikaiah said:


> these knock-offs ride a thin line between legal and illegal - almost all are bootleg and not official.
> I don't know if Nintendo can ever take action because the chips are identical in almost every way.
> 
> However, legitimate ones are... few and far between because nintendo has not produced them in awhile despite the demand, so unfortunately the only solution right now is spoofing... (which can be seen by some as an act of hacking)


The line isn't thin at all, at least not ethically. Knock-offs are 100% illegal, as the code to create them is the intellectual property of Nintendo, and I'd like to believe whomever hacked the cards to get the codes, then subsequently built the system to re-distribute them, did not pay Nintendo for the right to do so. It fully crosses the line when someone makes a profit off this Nintendo-owned code. Morally, however, is a bit muddy. If the average user buys the coins and loads the code for their own purposes, without any intent to distribute for profit, then sure, have at it. As someone said right above me, because Nintendo isn't producing and/or selling said cards, the only people losing money are folks on the secondary market seeking to recover what they paid, or flip and turn a profit.

Yes, I get it, the authentic, officially licensed cards are expensive, but even if Nintendo made more, it doesn't guarantee prices come down. I opened 18 packs of Series 4 looking for Stitches...got one. Meanwhile, Barold (or was it Hippeux (more like Hippeww, right?!?!)) showed his not-so-pretty face repeatedly.

And by "only solution," you meant, "only unethical - yet somehow morally acceptable - solution."


----------



## Pikabun (Aug 12, 2020)

I was at some point thinking of buying but I end up happy that I was trying to find villager myself. Just personally feel proud and exciting.

	Post automatically merged: Aug 12, 2020



bluetortis26 said:


> Does anyone know where to buy Amiibo Card *Packs? *I just want packs of them not individual cards.


Ebay or amazon?


----------



## Lavamaize (Aug 12, 2020)

FRANS_PLAYER said:


> I feel like, if Nintendo were against it, they'd have started cracking down on it harder. I saw a post about someone's Nintendo account getting suspended, and they said that before that they'd used an Amiibo off Etsy. I couldn't imagine that would be the case for suspension!


While it might not be the reason their account got suspended due to the difficulty of tracking down who used DIY amiibos, DIY amiibo cards are illegal. When you sell a card with code that Nintendo made for a game without authorization, that is illegal as you are selling code for a game that you don't own that was made and licensed by others. Basically you are infringing on Nintendos copyright.


----------

