[elbe]

Hello everyone,


I was doing a search on Ebay because I was interested in buying the NECA TMNT figures when I saw that they were selling pretty cheaply by a lot of Asian locations (Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, etc). Not only did I see this for NECA figures but I saw this for Marvel legends as well.

What are people's thoughts about this? Are these figures just sold more cheap because of where they are manufactured, or are these fake action figures and are defective somehow? What are your experiences with this?

Let's also say though that these are fake, or are questionable so you try to buy from a legit seller... What if they just brought the figure from one of these places and sell at a higher price so you think you're getting the real figure?

I would be really interested to hear people's thoughts on this, because if it turns out that you can get really good quality figures from Hong Kong sellers I would definitely prefer that, however, at the end of the day I want to make sure that it won't break or that it is not fake.

[En Sabah Nerd]

The NECA turtles are knockoffs but from what I've read (I don't own anything TMNT) they're not bad since the real ones are hard to get and come from NECA's earlier days when their QC was pretty crummy. Most figures on eBay from places like China are often either knockoffs, factory extras/rejects, or least likely the real deal but swiped from the factory. NECA figures for instance are pretty easy to spot as far as crummier paint and price on highly desired figures being like retail. For example I've seen the NECA Predator series 8 masked Jungle Hunter for only $20 plus shipping out of China and it was obvious they were knockoffs, the real thing goes for like $50 minimum apparently. Then people who fell for it show the item on Twitter and it's usually pretty obvious what happened. I don't buy anything from China sellers and wouldn't recommend it unless you're aware and okay with it being knockoff merchandise.

[Trivial Psychic]

Like En Sabah said...it's totally a buyer beware situation whenever you order something from China, as there's a good chance you might not get what you're looking for. I've bought several things from China in the past, with mixed results. In some cases, like loose Star Wars and Marvel Universe figures, the results haven't been too bad. I was able to add some hard to find characters that looked nearly identical to the original figures, (such as Ahsoka Tano and MU Human Torch) without having to break the bank. The same can be said for many of the PAK figures coming from Hong Kong, although I haven't had the guts to give one of those a try.

In others, such as the case with Marvel Legends, it's a mixed bag, as the paints and overall quality of the figures might not be there. Out of curiosity, and the desire to use the body for a custom, I bought a Skyline Sirens Black Cat from China, which when received, looked noticeably different from the actual released figure, which wasn't a bad thing entirely since the altered face sculpt would make it look not so much like a repainted Felicia. It's leg then snapped off moments later as I fooled around with the articulation. Many others though have had better success with the infamous Chinese Deadpool figures though, so mine could have been just a fluke. Thankfully, I didn't pay too much for it (about ten dollars) but attempts to get it replaced by the Chinese seller needless to say didn't go so well, so now I'm out ten bucks.

That will often be the case with many KO figures from China as well, so again, buyer beware, and be prepared to eat your money if for some reason your figure is defective or broken.

Your best bet is to still chase the original thing, but if you do decide to buy Chinese, do your homework. Inspect the pictures carefully (right now there are several Rocket Raccoon Black Panthers flooding Ebay from China...only problem is that while the sculpt is the same, they are missing several points of articulation that can easily be spotted in the photos.) and look up reviews online and at youtube, as there are collectors out there who review these things. Checking the seller's feedback can be invaluable as well. Most importantly, keep your bottom line low. Don't drop too much cash for these things. It's much easier to eat a ten dollar loss than it is a C-note. If you're willing to spend that much on a figure, you might as well hunt for the real thing.

[Cyclopswc]

I buy 2 things from Chinese sellers: Lego knockoffs and PAK knockoffs.

Lego knockoffs because Lego doesn't make some of these characters, and you don't have to buy a $100 set just to get the few figures that you really wanted. Because the minifigures are the ones I really care about.

PAK knockoffs because there's NO WAY I can afford the real things. And overall, I find the knockoffs are nearly identical. Sure the plastic may feel cheaper, but I don't really play with them, they're just for display so they look just as good.

The downside is, like others mentioned before, beware of the sellers! There are MANY Chinese scammers, I only buy from eBay because eBay has a great customer refund policy, so I've always got my money back when the seller simply disappear after taking my money. But it's still frustrating to buy something, wait a month, then realized you've been scammed and have to file a claim. So here are my tips:

If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

If the seller has less than 100 positive feedbacks in the history, I don't even bother because chances are high that they created the account just to scam people.

That said, buy the real things if you can find a good deal. Take your chances with an Asian seller if you're willing to take the risk. There are some people that will never buy a knockoff simply on moral ground, and I respect that. But until the day I hit the lottery or decide to get out of the toy collecting hobby altogether, I am willing to deal with some inconvenience in order to own some of these cool toys I wanted!

[Lazer]

Bought a couple bootleg Black Series figures from Hong Kong, Vader for $11 and Maul for $14. I literally only wanted to compare to some legit figures and take the lightsabers as extras.

There isn't much to stop you so long as you know you're only going into it for self education. The figures didn't turn out that bad, they're passable as the real deal save for a few minor articulation oddities.

Aliexpress sometimes has better deals than what you find on ebay, but they're basically coming from the same exact place and take just as long to ship. I was actually tempted to go as high market as buying a knockoff electric guitar to test out and give to a learner later on...

It's only a ripoff if you didn't already know better. There are re-sellers in the states who try to sell bootlegs for collector prices of the real McCoy. I lament that that market actually exists and people can't really do anything to avoid it except limit your purchases to anything you find in hand or known/trusted sellers.

I grew up shopping at swap meets though so I don't hold a grudge at all towards bootlegs/knockoffs. Would I buy "Nikee" brand shoes or jersey's today? Maybe, cos' irony isn't dead yet...and the mint on card TMNT Mexico version figures all came in plastic bags and for like $4 a figure, which was awesome back in the day.

[elbe]

This has all been great advice. I did order some figures from china so I will cross my fingers and hope this turns out well. I only brought from sellers with high marks, although I wonder if their ratings have been artificial marked higher somehow...


I just which the secondary market wasn't so expensive. If you miss a figure you have people who buy it but then sell for 4x the price and I think its so much after awhile specially if a figure was only worth $20 to begin with....