Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Do Not Buy This Plushie!

After putting those reports together, my friend took me away from my work for some "retail therapy". One of our stops was a local independent comics and anime store, and what should I find there, but a hanging column of foot-tall Sailor Moon plushies. I looked and wondered, are these actually real? But then I noticed the flower brooch and the boots were all wrong. I picked one up, looked at the tags, and saw that it was indeed a fake without any of the usual trademarks or copyrights one would expect to see on Sailor Moon merchandise. This plush, is also being sold on Amazon. What is even worse, is that 2 other comic stores (all owned by different people) within a few blocks were carrying plushies by the same company, and were not carrying legitimate ones (or if they did, they made up less than 10% of their plushies stock). The name of the company is F W and you will also see "Made in China" written somewhere on the tush tags. We know that times are tough, but we think it's a better investment for stores to purchase legitimate merchandise for the Holiday season rather than purchasing knockoffs. Be on the lookout for these plushies Moonies, and do not purchase them!

10 comments:

Random Chick said...

I bought this same plushie from my local anime merchandise shop thinking it was legit. That was back when I was naive and the shop was still open. All anime fans should be aware of what are bootlegs and what aren't so they don't get stung.

Light said...

They also made a Diana cat.... it's pretty well done (it has Embroidered eyes wich is strange for these kind of products) but still a bootleg.... Ebay was full of these and they sold a lot between SM fans recently.... I haven't bought one but I admit, I was tempted to buy a Diana....

Sakky said...

Thanks for the heads up!! TokyoKid in Boston has bootleg wall scrolls too.

Unknown said...

In Amazon, even fake Sailor Stars DVD are sold.

Anonymous said...

Does it really matter if it is legit or not? I would buy any unofficial items as long as they are made well and look nice. ;) There is alot of bootleg DVDs and nobody is complaining. eBay support team doesn't help either. You can't win this war...

Anonymous said...

I purchased the Diana look alike for only $3 -- that's including shipping. She does look pretty good for a bootleg toy. I knew she was bootleg before I ordered her. I saw the Sailor moon plush at a comic shop some time last year for $12.95. The next time I went there it was gone...so people are buying them. I guess they don't care if they're bootleg or not?

Personally, I hate bootleg merchandise -- although Diana is pretty cute. :)

Usagii said...

OMFGG NOOO :( :( That doll was my pride and joy up until now i bought it in the local anime store in my town this past summer :( i had no clue it was bootleg the thought didn't even come to mind they also have a diana or luna one there to i was saving up to get it :( sadnesss :(

MusicallyObsessedBoi said...

I would've told an employee about it. We don't have a local anime shop around here. The closest we have is FYE.

The Moon Princess said...

I bought the Luna plush from the website that this "Sailor Moon" plush came from! but i still love it! = )

Unknown said...

Thanks for your information. I use to collect many plush Toys for my kid. She loves playing with colorful plushies.