Due to problems that have arisen in the past I would like to post that Fanime has a zero tolerance for Bootlegs & Counterfits in the Dealers Hall.
If anyone notices a bootleg / suspicious item in the Hall please alert Dealers Staff of the company and the item and we will follow up. Some vendors won't have a bootleg where we can see it, but if an attendee asks for such and such a plush they might pull it from under their table/out of visual sight. If a vendor pulls an item out from non viewable stock look it over carefully or alert Dealers Staff if you don't know how.
Please do not take it upon yourself to confront the vendor, leave that to our staff. If you are looking for Dealers staff you can find us at the booth up front or starting 2014 look for staffers wearing Blue Tom Nook aprons that also say FanimeCon.
If you have any concerns regarding treament please let us know as well.
The other thing to note is we do allow "Doujin" items. "Doujin Items" are ones that are of licensed characters, but are original artwork done in a differing style by an artist on the vendor's staff. Typical "Doujin Items" in the past have included actual Doujinishi, t-shirts, dakimakura covers, and wall scrolls. If you have a concern regarding these let staff know and we'll follow up.
Post convention if there are issues you can PM me here on the forums or contact dealers at fanime dot com.
Quote from: Dajoo on March 25, 2014, 02:27:27 AM
If you are looking for Dealers staff you can find us at the booth up front or starting 2014 look for staffers wearing Blue Tom Nook aprons that also say FanimeCon.
I just wanted to say that this is really cute and fitting for the Dealers Staff. Although I may feel inclined to avoid them out of fear that they'll want me to repay some loan or something...
Anyway, glad you guys are looking out for these things! I've ran into some counterfeit issues before where we didn't know what to do until Fanime was over and it was too late. It's good to know that the staff will have our backs if we need them to help.
I bought a counterfeits figma from abctoy4me last year...
Quote from: miku2013 on May 10, 2014, 08:04:22 AM
I bought a counterfeits figma from abctoy4me last year...
Sorry to hear that but your not alone, I bought Claire (from Claymore) and it was also counterfeit. I should have checked my phone and see if it's official or not but I got a lot of mean looks from them saying "no photos". this was like.. 2-3 years ago.
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on May 12, 2014, 02:37:09 AM
Quote from: miku2013 on May 10, 2014, 08:04:22 AM
I bought a counterfeits figma from abctoy4me last year...
Sorry to hear that but your not alone, I bought Claire (from Claymore) and it was also counterfeit. I should have checked my phone and see if it's official or not but I got a lot of mean looks from them saying "no photos". this was like.. 2-3 years ago.
There is an old saying once is a fluke. Twice is a coincedence. Three times is a pattern. I will personally go over their stock this year to keep a pattern from forming.
I was wondering but how do you tell the difference from real merchandise to counterfeit? This si my second time at Fanime or a convention in general so I really don't know how to tell the difference.
Quote from: Haseo on May 14, 2014, 09:34:47 AM
I was wondering but how do you tell the difference from real merchandise to counterfeit? This si my second time at Fanime or a convention in general so I really don't know how to tell the difference.
It depends on the products, but a few of the big things to looks for are the brands on the packaging and coloring.
The inks should be vibrant and non blurry for the packaging. Look for holographic/foil stickers (not all products have them). Paint on the product should be smooth. Fabric edges should be finished.
Quote from: Anix on May 14, 2014, 11:17:13 PM
The inks should be vibrant and non blurry for the packaging. Look for holographic/foil stickers (not all products have them). Paint on the product should be smooth. Fabric edges should be finished.
FYI - Some holographic/foil stickers have been counterfeited as well. ie: Fake blue Studio Pierrot (they have the Naruto license) stickers are off center and have a less vibrant hue of blue.
Also, I forgot the name of the Japanese company - it's the one that's usually gold and has a bear mascot on the sticker. Those have been counterfeited as well because they hold licenses for Bleach toys. The fake stickers have "solid" dots for eyes on the bear. The real stickers, you can see the bear has actual white of eyes + pupils.
If I can find my "fake" samples, I'll try to have it at the Fanime Dealer's table for everyone to see.
There have been far too many arpakasso alpaca bootlegs. Only one stall sells legitimate ones (at a very good price at that).
That stall is the only one that carries the other signature Arpakasso/amuse product Wooly the sheep
http://d1nr5wevwcuzuv.cloudfront.net/product_photos/1903510/CIMG0126__E5_89_AF_E6_9C_AC_original.jpg
Although, someone from a fake-selling stall stopped me and took a picture of the one I was holding, so be on a look out for fake woolies in the coming years.
It's a real shame since I see so many girls buying out fake, wonky alpacas labeled as llamas for high prices than the real ones.
See: 35-38$ VS ~40$+
Yes, most of them were fakes, but I did see legitimate Arpakasso plushies at two other booths besides the one you mentioned.
ive noticed a vendor selling Hallmark items re-wrapped and priced higher than the original MSRP...is that legit to do?
I wish I had red this before I left con, since I know I saw a booth selling bootleg My Little Pony plushies. I didn't buy any but I'm sure some other fans will be upset.
I'm pretty sure the "Luffy Pirates" items that were part of the charity auction were bootlegs.
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on May 27, 2014, 05:26:55 PM
I'm pretty sure the "Luffy Pirates" items that were part of the charity auction were bootlegs.
If you are referring to the Ussop/Nami tile art those came directly from Viz. The pins were brought back from Japan by a friend of mine that used to do swap meets, so I'm certain those are legit as well.
I want people to know we check all the items on the silent auction table carefully, as it would be quite embarrassing if Fanime violated its own bootleg policies.
Quote from: NetBelleAnie on May 27, 2014, 05:01:39 PM
I wish I had red this before I left con, since I know I saw a booth selling bootleg My Little Pony plushies. I didn't buy any but I'm sure some other fans will be upset.
We were aware of these, but allowed them to stay as they were different from the licensed ones, did not bear any trademark id (Hasbro/My Little Pony) and they had proof that they were homemade like plushies found in the artist alley.
Quote from: spycker on May 26, 2014, 08:32:58 PM
ive noticed a vendor selling Hallmark items re-wrapped and priced higher than the original MSRP...is that legit to do?
It is perfectly legit. That is how the entire collectors/vintage world works. Otherwise that Babe Ruth rookie card would still be worth only a penny.
Quote from: 4Devas on May 26, 2014, 11:37:00 AM
There have been far too many arpakasso alpaca bootlegs. Only one stall sells legitimate ones (at a very good price at that).
That stall is the only one that carries the other signature Arpakasso/amuse product Wooly the sheep
http://d1nr5wevwcuzuv.cloudfront.net/product_photos/1903510/CIMG0126__E5_89_AF_E6_9C_AC_original.jpg
Although, someone from a fake-selling stall stopped me and took a picture of the one I was holding, so be on a look out for fake woolies in the coming years.
It's a real shame since I see so many girls buying out fake, wonky alpacas labeled as llamas for high prices than the real ones.
See: 35-38$ VS ~40$+
I was unaware that there was a brand behind these. I will see what I can do about controlling this issue in the future.
There was a booth at one of the ends of the lanes that sold wall scrolls of illustrations. The wall scrolls were not licensed and the illustrations were quite obviously fan art. I have no problem with people selling their art in the dealer's room, but to be honest I couldn't tell if the art belonged to that person. There were illustrations of many different styles that didn't seem like they would be drawn by the same person. I could be wrong, but there was a red flag raised in my mind, especially since using art stolen from DA and Pixiv to create merchandise for profit is not uncommon.
Quote
I was unaware that there was a brand behind these. I will see what I can do about controlling this issue in the future.
Yes,
Amuse is a Japanese company that produces toys for UFO catchers in Japan. But, the alpaca/alpakasso series is incredibly famous and because of the mass crazy to get them, many companies in China began producing counterfeit/non-Amuse brand alpacas. I don't know how Amuse feels about this, but the Chinese companies have even begun to replicate the "Amuse" tags, so many websites have popped up to tell fans which alpaca's are fake and which are legit.
I definitely saw some DVDs that looked kinda fishy, but how can you say anything if you're not sure? I feel like it's a serious accusation to make.
If you see anything that you believe 100% or think might be bootleg you should take the time to mention it to the staff members up front no matter what. If they aren't bootlegs it will work out for the dealer if they are they are F'd
Quote from: Kanameshito on June 01, 2014, 05:27:53 PM
If you see anything that you believe 100% or think might be bootleg you should take the time to mention it to the staff members up front no matter what. If they aren't bootlegs it will work out for the dealer if they are they are F'd
Couldn't do said it better. Outside of gross lack of safety or concern for con-goers, bootlegs are the only reason we would kick a vendor out, especially during the show.
Just found out that they aren't allowed to sell bootlegs at the Dealers hall, unfortunately this happened 2015 fanime.
But I bought what I thought was a S.H.Figuarts Sailor Moon. It was a fake, and I remember asking if it was legit, and the vendor said yes. It was the one vendor that always sell's all the sailor moon stuff. I still have the figurine and the box, I mean it's not like I can resell it for the price I bought it for anyways. They've been at fanime the last three years I've gone, and I was very upset to have been ripped off like that, it was the first sailor moon figurine I bought and not gonna lie, I cried when I found out it was a fake. I probably wouldn't have been so upset if they hadn't passed it off as official merchandise and asked me to pay ~45$
So I guess I'll leave this up as a warning for those who go to buy from this dealer
Quote from: MadasaHatter on November 02, 2015, 01:52:01 AM
But I bought what I thought was a S.H.Figuarts Sailor Moon. It was a fake, and I remember asking if it was legit, and the vendor said yes.
Out of pure curiosity, what tipped you off that it was fake?
Bootleg references & research sites. Buyer beware! Do your research! If anyone else knows of some good bootleg reference sites, please share!
Information specific to Good Smile's Nendoroid & PVC statues
http://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/fake/
Forum users have great reference images on REAL figures and will help you identify fakes.
http://myfigurecollection.net
Pokemon bootleg plush:
http://pkmnlove.weebly.com/how-to-identify-a-fake-pokedoll.html
http://j-ule.livejournal.com/6872.html
http://pkmncollectors.livejournal.com/3315872.html
oh, I would like to point out something, when I was looking at the anime and manga being offered for sale, most of the vendors that were selling them had either the cases of the anime dvd's cracked or damaged and some manga was torn or bent. The only booth that didn't have this problem was the vendor that had the security cameras and bag holding.
Quote from: DankLordPopo on June 07, 2017, 09:04:28 PM
oh, I would like to point out something, when I was looking at the anime and manga being offered for sale, most of the vendors that were selling them had either the cases of the anime dvd's cracked or damaged and some manga was torn or bent. The only booth that didn't have this problem was the vendor that had the security cameras and bag holding.
Unfortunately, that's something out of our control as many of our vendors are literally the modern day "traveling salesman". Many of their products usually end up being damaged either during shipment/transportation, by careless convention union personnel, and/or by con attendees from previous shows.