Ways to protect yourself while buying at Fanime.

[kamehitsu]

i was planning on making a few t-shirts and stuff like that in my art class to sell at fanime for about 8-14$ each and i'll be making stencils and w/e myself, i wondering if it counts as a rip off or counterfeit if i do (it's not like i'm selling them as geniune) i'll just be selling to regain money i spent to enter

[KamijoIsLove]

Ooh, on the subject of bootlegs.

There's that guy that seems to be at every con I've been to (a total of two LOL), but...well, he sells JRock merchandise and prints and such.

I mean, he sells 'em cheap, and they're obviously all homemade, since I recognized many of the pictures as scans from like, PatiPati, or What's In?, and Cure, and Shoxx, and yeah. I bought a Hyde print that I recognized from What's In? for like...twenty bucks. >_< It was shiny. I had to buy it.

But does that count as 'bootlegging?' That guy's smart; he's the only guy that sells JRock merchandise in a sea of anime stuffs, so...he's the only guy to go to. xD ;;No competition. Yeah...

That's just about the prints. His CD's, DVD's, and photobooks all looked authentic to me, so yeah.

[FanFicGuru]

i was planning on making a few t-shirts and stuff like that in my art class to sell at fanime for about 8-14$ each and i'll be making stencils and w/e myself, i wondering if it counts as a rip off or counterfeit if i do (it's not like i'm selling them as geniune) i'll just be selling to regain money i spent to enter

If the art and images that are on the shirts are your creations that you used your own money and resources to make, there shouldn't be any problem with selling them.

It's when you use shopped images from anime/RPGs...slap them on a shirt and sell them for 10 dollars that it becomes an issue.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[migitlicious]

What about wall scrolls? I was planning on finding some at fanime this year and I wonder if those are subjected to counterfeiting as well. I already have some but never thought about how to distinguish a real one from a fake one.

[Keys]

What about wall scrolls? I was planning on finding some at fanime this year and I wonder if those are subjected to counterfeiting as well. I already have some but never thought about how to distinguish a real one from a fake one.

There is heavy bootlegging on wall scrolls. 

One way to be sure yours is legit is to see if it has copyright information on it.  You'll notice that the domestic ones produced by Great Eastern all have the name of the series and copyright information right there on the image.

Signs that a wallscroll is bootlegged include but are not limited to: cut-off/cropped off words, cut-off/cropped off characters/character parts/hair, low print quality (I saw one last year that was very splotchy and have heard there is a lot of speckling), and poor image quality (blurred, at an angle, aliasing)

Really to be sure, I would look for the copyright information.

[Keys]

To get a legit Ghibli item, just check for the Miyazaki copy right.  If it is there along with the other stickers, it should be good.  Once again, research plays a huge role.

Cells, are extremely hard to make sure of.  I have been told legit cells have the following:

1. Good cells usually are drawn rougher.  Remember, they work fast, their work won't be perfect.

2. It comes with a sketch of the cell to prove the cell came from the same artist.

3. It has a Letter of authenticity.

But for cells, this still is not guarantee you a legit item.  Just exercise caution, do your research, and make sure you buy from those with excellent reputations.

dealerjason

Well, anyone can make a letter of authenticity and some anime series tend to have cels released without sketches.  Furthermore, while I have plenty of cels with errors, I've never found the work to look sloppier on average than a fan done work.

I actually have a somewhat lengthy answer to the question of cel authenticity here: http://www.fukushuu.org/cels/faqitem.php?g=y&cf=91
The short of it:
- Buy from dealers you trust.  Not only are they less likely to have gotten a fake, if by chance they do, they'll give you a refund if you can show it isn't genuine. 
- A lot of cels aren't worth it to fake.  It's a lot of effort and supplies to fake a $50 cel when you  could be faking a $500 one.
- Check your cel versus the scene it comes from in the anime.  This may take some time to find.  Do the lines match up?  Do the flaws match up?  If the  sequence number is low does it come  early in the cut?  On the off chance you find the cel is fake, if you bought from a reputable dealer, you can get a refund.

[Keys]

I've generally found this page to be a good starting point on the issue of bootlegs:
http://www.digital.anime.org.uk/piratefaq.html

[Pika1979]

here is the one really good advice i can give you about buying anything and this goes for the dealers room as well as swap meet. if it dose not look right don't buy it. you all know what i mean. i have been to flea markets and seen this stuff. DBZ figures with the wrong color clothing, DVDs that have the badly blurred  covers, and CDs that have English lyrics for a j-rock band. so just remember look at what your buying. and just on a side note about bootleg DVDs i will admit that I have bought bootlegged items before. but as soon as it was available in the US i bought it.

[Varnado Barolius]

Can anyone tell me why the dealer room seems to get smaller and smaller? i this is my third year going and the dealer room was so small this year.

Mzre Yuen @ TaoToys booth

There were more dealers than last year, but less diversity of what they were selling.

I'd also like to say prices were higher, but prices are always too high for everything when you're a student.

[sky-chan]

I understand the concern about bootlegs, though I've had the pleasure of avoiding them completely in the two years I've been attending Fanime. I guess being very picky until the nice people in the Bandai or Funimation booths attack you is a good thing. XD They got me my first year, and I HAD to buy a Black Cat DVD just for the XIII tattoo that came inside. Because of that, I had to take the train back and grab snacks in order to make it through the rest of the con. I'm such a dork. XD;

[frumpy]

If anyone has suspicions that some of the products are bootlegs, feel free to drop by the FanimeCon Dealers Dept booth. We strive to ensure that no one gets ripped off by any dealer. All dealers should realize by now that we do not tolerate bootlegs anymore. And like it was mentioned in previous posts, RESEARCH IS THE KEY! I've been fortunate enough to work with various dealers who've taught me how to spot bootlegs. Also, just because a Dealer claims an item is real, doesn't necessarily mean it is legit. Believe it or not, there are some Dealers who just don't know any better & will get ripped off by their wholesalers. (Wholesalers will claim their products are legit!)

Things to be weary of:

-Plushies of All Sizes - Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Prince of Tennis, Sgt Frog, Studio Ghibli (mostly Totoro), Dragon Ball Z, Deathnote, Nintendo, Tsubasa's Mokona, etc. Tags AND stickers of approval have been copied. Make sure the cloth tags spell "made in xxxxx" correctly. I've caught some tags with "Mad in China". Fake cardboard tags will look pixelated compared to the real tags. Depending on the real companies, tags will sometimes have a gloss or not. Recent Ghibli bootlegs will have a smooth gloss, but SOME of the real tags will have a matte, non-gloss rough paper texture feel upon touching it.

-Boxed Gashapon - SquarEnix's Final Fantasy (ALL series), Kingdom Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist. MOST boxed gashapon are usually sealed by glue (and sometimes feature a pull-zip to open the box from the top). I've noticed that the fakes will are sealed with tape on top & bottom. However, there ARE few real items that are sealed w/ tape, but not many...

-PVC Statues - Various statues made by Good Smile has been heavily bootlegged, try to keep an eye out for their holofoil sticker of approval. Megahouse's Bleach (and other various titles) PVC's have been heavily bootlegged also. (fake Ichigo's box will have Rukia's name written in Japanese.) Again, look for the "studio pierrot" sticker of approval, but make sure the sticker is real - it's a deep blue, solid color. The fake stickers look a bit washed out and is off-center on the cut.

-Jewelry & Cosplay Items - ALL Final Fantasy items are not meant to be cheap. If you can get a necklace for $20, I'd highly question the authenticity of it. Naruto headbands are officially released by GE for North America. Bootleg headbands may or may not have the "studio pierrot" fake sticker.

-Misc Items - ALL Deathnote Notebooks are fake. Those are from H.K. and are generally packaged in a brown box for presentation.

Here's some dealers who I can definitely trust for legit items shipped straight from Japan:

-AnimeJungle - gashapon, PVC statues
-AnimePalace - plushies (and many other items)
-JPN Toys - plush & PVC figurines
-Wizzy Wig - video game related toys & plush
-Cards & Comics Central - PVC, action figures, gashapon, some plush
-Nikaku Mart - various toys & figures
-Toys Logic - PVC statues & action figures

If you're someone who's knowledgable on bootlegs and would like to be on Dealer's Staff, please PM me! I can always use an extra pair of eyes. 

[Azuru]

Haha #3 happened to me and my group last year. We were buying the prop plus petite code geass figurines, the chibi ones, and we bought them for $8 when we walked around a bit more we saw this lady selling the exact ones for $2! We bought more from that lady for cheaper.

[frumpy]

Haha #3 happened to me and my group last year. We were buying the prop plus petite code geass figurines, the chibi ones, and we bought them for $8 when we walked around a bit more we saw this lady selling the exact ones for $2! We bought more from that lady for cheaper.

Ah...but were you able to tell the difference in quality?? The figures can look the same, but the paint quality will be slightly off color or a little messy. The box/packaging print wouldn't look as sharp and pixelated as well....

[kimonomomo]

I bought a Japanese DVD online through Amazon... and it was a *bleeping* bootleg. The quality is poor, it won't last through too many viewings, and I've supported a parasite. But I couldn't tell online and I was anxious to grab a copy of the film when I could. At a show you can handle the case and look close enough to tell if the image on the cover is a copy or looks original.

[frumpy]

I bought a Japanese DVD online through Amazon... and it was a *bleeping* bootleg. The quality is poor, it won't last through too many viewings, and I've supported a parasite. But I couldn't tell online and I was anxious to grab a copy of the film when I could. At a show you can handle the case and look close enough to tell if the image on the cover is a copy or looks original.

Unfortunately, Amazon & eBay is like a giant flea market. The contracted vendors who sell thru Amazon aren't policed for bootlegs. 

[dburr]

Some very useful information on how to spot the bootlegs can be found at the Pirate Anime FAQ.  Looks like it hasn't been updated since 2008, but still quite a bit of useful information there.