Collecting Potentially Fake EX Sandstorm Packs?

PoketuberSilver

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Apologies if this is the wrong forum to post this in but I am hoping someone more knowledgeable can help me out.

I recently purchased an EX Sandstorm booster box. Upon closer inspection of the packs, I noticed that there is no Nintendo logo on the back of the pack. I have purchased Sandstorm packs in the past (and seen plenty of videos on YouTube of them) and all of those had the Nintendo logo on them. You can see photos of both the non-logo and logo packs I own below:

Pack I bought separately - not from the booster box in question.
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Pack included in the box. All of them look like this.
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The box was wrapped in the shrink wrap seen in authentic boxes. I unfortunately don't have a picture of that.
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Unfortunately, I did not notice this difference until after I opened all of the packs. The cards themselves seem legitimate but that lack of Nintendo stamp worries me. I have included pictures of one card from the box below. When I tore it, it was pretty sturdy and didn't feel fake. The black line of paper/cardboard is in there, even. You can see it all below:

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The seller has noted that they purchased these straight from Nintendo and are willing to issue a refund if I send the box, opened packs and cards back to them. I don't want to waste their time with that if the packs aren't truly fake. Any thoughts or expertise on the subject would be greatly appreciated!
 
Those are not fake. I can see the Lairon is not a fake card. I can't really explain the nintendo thing but I bet someone else here knows more about that than myself. I can tell you based on the Lairon (Rest In Peace(s)) that the packs are real.
 
The reason why the logo changed is because during that series, TPCi (Pokemon USA) took over manufacture of the cards from Nintendo. So, when they went to print further editions, the packaging was changed. Prior to Nintendo, Wizards of the Coast manufactured the cards.
 
Thank you both for the information! I was really hoping these cards were authentic. Its my favorite set in the TCG and the pulls in the box were awesome so I am really relieved to know the cards are real!
 
All you need now is an e-Reader for your GBA so you can scan the bottom of some of those cards to play some mini-games.
 
Did you happen to save the booster wrappers? If so, may I request one? I want to have a wrapper or two from the sets I collect, and Sandstorm is pretty hard to find nowadays. I'd rather not buy a sealed booster just to open it.
 
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