Littlest Pet Shop from China and Hong Kong sellers on ebay are 100% fake! |
Unfortunately, as so often happens, Chinese manufacturers have flooded the market with cheap, shoddy versions (knockoffs) hoping to cash in on the popularity of these cute little figurines, with eBay opening doors to many sellers from China. While competition is healthy and definitely good for the buyers, eBay is now one of the most popular venues for sellers of fake collectibles. With labor and material costs being extremely low in China it is very easy for manufacturers to replicate figurines at prices that are unbeatable.
For those who may not be as savvy about how to recognize authentic figurines the prices offered for the ones from China must seem too good to resist. Sadly none of them are real. Obviously price is not automatically proof of authenticity, because some of the ones from China are priced as high as the real ones, thereby fooling some people into believing they are in fact purchasing a genuine item.
Sellers of genuine Littlest Pet Shop figurines are having to compete with the huge influx of fake figurines being sold from China, and it can be extremely difficult to do so when potential buyers are being lured away from listings for authentic items and enticed into buying the cheaper priced fake knockoffs.
Even when buyers who have purchased the fakes realize their mistake there is little that can be done. Reporting the seller to eBay is one avenue, but for every seller that gets shut down there are a great number more waiting in the wings to take the sellers spot.
There is another course of action that buyers can take. By simply refusing to buy the fake knockoffs the Chinese sellers will eventually realize there isn't enough return on investment and will move onto producing knockoffs of the next popular collectible items. It may take a while but the more knowledgeable buyers become about authenticity the quicker the Chinese fakes will lose their footing in the market.
Collectors should find reliable eBay sellers and only buy from them, avoiding the Chinese sellers altogether. And this is true for almost everything on eBay. Don't even get me started on Disney knockoffs from Chinese eBay sellers. It's a wonder Disney hasn't yet sent their lawyers. EBay is harboring and helping the sales of counterfeits and knockoffs on their site......
Fake LPs are stupid.I miss real ones.
ReplyDeleteI just ordered 3 lps from eBay, but
ReplyDeleteThey're from China and Hong Kong. ..I'm scared I'll receive the fake lps..
Hi, sorry but they will be. Unfortunately well know brands (not just Hasbro) are getting counterfeit by the millions in China. I hope they weren't too expensive? It happens to a lot of buyers, but next time you'll know.
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