Bootleg Finders
LilSeebs13 years agoBootleg Finders
This club is dedicated to finding bootlegs and preventing people from buying them. What's a bootleg? Broadly speaking, it refers to any item/media/etc. that is reproduced and sold without licensing or taxation; it is an illegal business! Many places sell bootleg figures and media because they are cheap to reproduce and have a bigger profit turnover. Sellers take advantage of both new and old collectors alike with this business. The goal of this club is to educate and prevent members of My Figure Collection from falling for bootlegs.
If you find products you think are bootlegged, are not properly marked in our database, or aren't linked here please post or let a MOD or ADM know so we can change it.
For an ongoing list of Ebay bootleg sellers please check this thread: club/139/discus...
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Some common signs of bootlegs and a bootleg seller:
• Price too good to be true (e.g. $40 USD for a figure that normally retails for $100-$150 USD)
• Shiny, fake plastic looking skin or parts
• Noticeable seams, details seem to be missing, parts may not be molded correctly, eyes look different than original figure
• Lack of a holographic sticker (may or may not be true, some official products lack official stickers as well)
• Jointed figures (Nendoroid, Figmas, Figuarts...) may appear loose or like they're about to fall apart
• Seller lists other known bootleg products or other large amounts of cheap merchandise (jewelry, electronics, etc.)
• Seller's username is a combination of random letters/numbers (e.g. 1327198, xmg50427867-4)
• Listing does not state the company or that the figure is legitimate. They may use phrasing such as "China version, China original, China homegrown product", terms such as "new PVC statue, PVC figure, 100% High Quality Brand New", or nothing at all
This club is dedicated to finding bootlegs and preventing people from buying them. What's a bootleg? Broadly speaking, it refers to any item/media/etc. that is reproduced and sold without licensing or taxation; it is an illegal business! Many places sell bootleg figures and media because they are cheap to reproduce and have a bigger profit turnover. Sellers take advantage of both new and old collectors alike with this business. The goal of this club is to educate and prevent members of My Figure Collection from falling for bootlegs.
If you find products you think are bootlegged, are not properly marked in our database, or aren't linked here please post or let a MOD or ADM know so we can change it.
For an ongoing list of Ebay bootleg sellers please check this thread: club/139/discus...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some common signs of bootlegs and a bootleg seller:
• Price too good to be true (e.g. $40 USD for a figure that normally retails for $100-$150 USD)
• Shiny, fake plastic looking skin or parts
• Noticeable seams, details seem to be missing, parts may not be molded correctly, eyes look different than original figure
• Lack of a holographic sticker (may or may not be true, some official products lack official stickers as well)
• Jointed figures (Nendoroid, Figmas, Figuarts...) may appear loose or like they're about to fall apart
• Seller lists other known bootleg products or other large amounts of cheap merchandise (jewelry, electronics, etc.)
• Seller's username is a combination of random letters/numbers (e.g. 1327198, xmg50427867-4)
• Listing does not state the company or that the figure is legitimate. They may use phrasing such as "China version, China original, China homegrown product", terms such as "new PVC statue, PVC figure, 100% High Quality Brand New", or nothing at all
Comments1,365 comments
You're probably right about the thrift store honestly it would just end up in the toy section and a grandma might buy it xD there's barely any anime fans in my area let alone I don't think any of them are figure collectors so I didn't think of that at first.You could ask in the DIY club CLUB #1348 if someone wants the figure for practice.
www.ebay.co.uk/...
heres the link
From the photos, it looks authentic. If the back of the base has the copy right then that’ll 100% answer whether or not it’s authentic if you wanted to ask.
www.ebay.co.uk/...
heres the link
You're probably right about the thrift store honestly it would just end up in the toy section and a grandma might buy it xD there's barely any anime fans in my area let alone I don't think any of them are figure collectors so I didn't think of that at first.
lorycia • 4 days ago • #120606785I would not gift it to a thrift store because there is the possibility that someone buys it thinking it is a legitimate figure, i (personally) wouldn't want that. I know the feeling of the frustration if you realize that the figure you own is just a fake and very often new collectors won't see the difference (or don't even know bootlegs exists).
For example, I had once a bootleg of ITEM #342758. I gifted it to a non collector, but i made it clear it is a bootleg. He did not care that it was a fake figure, for him it looked "good enough", especially for free. Funnily after a while he bought some originals of characters he liked (ITEM #234716 was one of it) and he was blown away by the difference. He is now a very small collector. Without that bootleg he would never get into figures in the first place (and he still owns that bootleg as a reminder btw XD).
Your other options are also good ideas, especially gifting it for customization. That way someone can practice their skills.
For example, I had once a bootleg of ITEM #342758. I gifted it to a non collector, but i made it clear it is a bootleg. He did not care that it was a fake figure, for him it looked "good enough", especially for free. Funnily after a while he bought some originals of characters he liked (ITEM #234716 was one of it) and he was blown away by the difference. He is now a very small collector. Without that bootleg he would never get into figures in the first place (and he still owns that bootleg as a reminder btw XD).
Your other options are also good ideas, especially gifting it for customization. That way someone can practice their skills.
This club should be deleted, seriously, anyone who have bootlegs gonna feel absoulety sad. I collect original characters, but sometimes I collect some bootlegs because I have seriously many figures so I don't really have something to collect.
I don't care if you gonna hate me or something, I needed to say it :P.is this a bait comment? I’m not gonna argue with u in the morality of bootlegs, but they’re literally illegal by definition. And basically exist to scam people for easy profit. Whether u buy them or not is your choice, and I’m not gonna judge you for it, a lot of people on the site buy bootlegs and they’re doing completely fine. but this club is extremely helpful for collectors who want to know if they’ve potentially been duped, or if some certain figures may have bootlegs or not. It’s helpful to improve the database. No one is being like children, figures are a luxury, and it sucks when people are taken advantage of and accidentally buy a bootleg when they thought they were buying the authentic item. The club is great for the community and especially newer collectors, who may want to be educated so that they don’t get scammed.
And yes a lot of bootlegs are really that bad lol. Even some of the not awful looking ones still pale in comparison to the original. Though it seems they’re improving, I’ve seen that a lot of bootleg bunny figures are becoming close to the originals. But anyways, this club isn’t really meant to make people that purposefully buy bootlegs feel sad. like I said, it’s very helpful to the community