From Childhood Hobby to a $7K Collectible Card Sale: The Pokkedo Story

Indonesian illustrator Edo Huang didn’t set out to build a trading card business. For years, he worked as a magician and a playing card designer. Then the pandemic hit, and the work slowed down. That’s when he rediscovered his childhood hobby, collecting trading cards.

That curiosity turned into Pokkedo, a parody trading card brand inspired by anime and Japanese pop culture. Edo started small in 2023, illustrating cards himself, printing limited batches, and selling to just a handful of supporters. 

Now the cards have collectors around the world, active communities, and even one rare card that sold for $7,000. The business has grown, but the setup has not changed much. Edo still designs the cards on his iPad, packs and ships orders with help from his family, and sells through his Sellfy store.

The cards are available only in Indonesian, depicting jokes that only locals would understand. Still, people all over the world buy and collect them. 

Instead of aggressive marketing or large-scale production, Edo focuses on four principles: authentic storytelling, community connection, high product quality, and strictly limited releases. All of this seems to work very well in his favour.

This is how Pokkedo became what it is today.

How would you describe your business to someone who’s never heard of it?

When people ask what I do, I usually say something like “I make funny parody trading cards inspired by anime and manga culture”. Originally, I’m an illustrator, and before founding Pokkedo, I worked as a magician and playing card designer for over 10 years.

It all started during the pandemic, when the work in magic and playing cards slowed down. I was at home looking for something new to focus on. I went back to a childhood hobby, collecting trading cards, especially Pokémon. 

Learn how to sell online the simple way

See how

So I thought – what if I created my own cards inspired by that world?

But I didn’t want to copy the original Pokémon franchise. Instead, I wanted to create parody cards with my own characters and humour. Initially, I intended to create an Instagram account to document my unboxing of Pokémon stuff, so at the beginning, I just made videos.

That’s how Pokkedo started. The name actually came from a friend who jokingly merged Pokémon and my name, Edo, into Pokkedo.

When did you launch your first card set?

I launched the first Pokkedo card set in August 2023.

You might think it would be easy, given my background. But I had to start from zero. My previous audience of magicians and playing card collectors was a completely different market. This time, I was entering the trading card and anime community.

Even the creation process was new for me. At my previous jobs, I designed using software like Illustrator or Photoshop. But with Pokkedo, I wanted to draw everything by hand on my iPad, so I had to relearn drawing from scratch. It took about six months to finish the first card series.

First, I started small, selling to only around 10 or 20 people who believed in the brand. It wasn’t sold out, but I was happy that people wanted to support it. 

Then things shifted. About six to eight months later, overseas collectors started discovering my cards, and the audience began to grow.

Why do you think the cards became so popular?

I think there are a few reasons. 

First, every release is limited. I never print huge quantities. Some cards are numbered or signed, and certain rare cards might only exist in extremely small amounts. Сollectors love that kind of rarity.

They connect with the brand and the artwork, but there’s also an investment angle. People see the potential of these cards to become more valuable over the years. Second, I have to give credit to the whole Pokkedo community for sharing, selling and trading Pokkedo cards with one another both on Discord and streaming platforms like Whatnot.

Finally, the artwork and humour are unique. All the jokes on the cards are written in Indonesian. Many of them are local jokes that only Indonesians fully understand.

Ironically, international collectors also love them. Even if they don’t fully understand the language, they enjoy the artwork and the personality of the brand. There are even communities and whole ecosystems that emerged from Pokkedo that I’m not managing. 

Was there a moment when you realised the brand had truly taken off?

There was one moment I will never forget.

One morning, I opened my Instagram and saw hundreds of messages. People were telling me that one of my cards had been sold for $7,000. I first thought they meant $700. But no, it was $7,000.

It happened during a live stream on a platform called Whatnot, where people bid on trading cards. Someone pulled a rare Pokkedo card from a pack, and it quickly turned into a bidding war. In the end, a dedicated fan bought it for $7,000.

For me, it was shocking. It’s not even an official franchise card, it’s just a fan art parody card that I created at home. But it showed how much collectors value the brand.

How did you build such a dedicated following?

My philosophy is simple: if you want people to love the product, they also need to love you. That’s why I try to be very open with my audience.

I regularly do random Instagram Lives where I talk about upcoming cards, answer questions, and show the creative process. On Patreon, I share even more behind-the-scenes content and involve members in decisions like packaging designs or character ideas.

I also reply to most messages myself. I don’t have a team, so I’m answering DMs, packing orders, and handling customer support personally. Over time, that creates a real connection with the audience.

Another big aspect of Pokkedo’s popularity is being part of The Great Collectibles Discord community.

Your audience often sees your personal life, too. How has that helped build your brand?

Most of the things I post are completely spontaneous. I’m not trying to create a perfectly curated image online. My audience sees the real situation:  messy dining table, my daughter walking around, my wife helping with packing orders.

Sometimes my daughter even carries the packages to the car when I’m taking them to the post office. One follower once told me they love seeing how my family helps with the business because it feels real. 

And I think that authenticity makes people want to support the Pokkedo brand.

You practically run a global business from a dining table. What does your day-to-day work look like?

Today, Pokkedo is my full-time job. And everything happens at my dining table. It’s my studio, my office, and my packing station. I draw there, pack orders there, and even do interviews there. I believe that keeping it small is what helps me be more efficient. I don’t see why I should make it any bigger if this small environment works well for me.

My schedule also revolves around my daughter. I take her to school in the morning, work during the day, pick her up at noon, and continue drawing when she goes to activities or after she goes to sleep. It’s a lot of juggling between family life and work, but somehow it works.

What has kept you going and growing?

To be honest, I didn’t start making significant amounts of money until I was about 8 months in. I even started looking for jobs at some point. And my friends wouldn’t give me a job because they didn’t believe I actually would need one.

Many people would quit for not seeing the success on the first try, but I was committed. Thanks to my wife’s support and a full-time job that provided a stable income, I was able to keep working on the cards and some freelance work to support that. We also agreed I’d take a few months to give Pokkedo my full effort, and if it didn’t work out, I’d find a job. Luckily, Pokkedo did work out.

What’s also important is that I deeply understand and respect my creative process. We, artists, can’t just force ourselves to be creative and productive on schedule. I’ve learnt that if I’m too ambitious and put pressure on myself, I end up releasing a half-baked product, which I’m not 100% confident about. And the sales also reflect that. 

So taking breaks, inspiration trips to Japan, and allowing ideas to arrive organically are a very important part of my being able to sustain that creative process.

Learn how to sell online the simple way

See how

Where does Sellfy fit into your business?

My Sellfy storefront is where customers buy my products. I originally used another platform, but once my sales started growing, it wasn’t the right fit anymore. When I searched for alternatives, Sellfy kept appearing in the results. At first, I was nervous about switching platforms. But when I tried it, it turned out to be very easy to use.

Now all my public sales happen on my Sellfy storefront. My launch process usually looks like this – first, I give early access to Patreon members, and then, I do a public release on Sellfy.

Because the products are limited, many sets sell out quickly. Sellfy makes the process simple. I can upload products, manage orders, track shipments, and even run discount codes – all in one place. For me, Sellfy’s biggest advantage is its simplicity. I don’t want to spend time building complicated websites. I just want to focus on creating art.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about building this business?

The biggest lesson for me is to never rush a product. I tried that last year when I released a set too quickly. I pushed myself to meet deadlines, but honestly, it was a half-finished idea, and it sold only about 10% of what I expected. 

I learnt my lesson, and now, I take my time. Sometimes I only release two or three products a year. When I focus on quality instead of speed, the results are much better. And when I follow these principles, my card sets sell out on Sellfy within a few hours.

What advice would you give to someone starting their own creative business?

Start with something you truly love. Don’t begin with the question, “How much money will I make?” Instead, ask yourself: “Can I dedicate the next few years of my life to creating this?”

If you love the process, you will keep going even when things are slow. And if you create something meaningful, people will feel that. Money might come later, but passion has to come first.