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:
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
