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INTEREST: Man Making Thousands Selling Fake Love Live Pins Arrested


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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:46 am Reply with quote
At the very least, that's dedication.
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2894
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 6:55 am Reply with quote
omegaproxy wrote:
It shows how much merchandise sells and thats only from a pin, from one man in one year. thats alot of money, and probably would hurt the sales of a real merchandises, even a little bit.

Small anime trinkets such as can badges, pins, and rubber straps are all the rage in Japan nowadays. I think we have mainly UtaPri to blame, but lately everyone buys tons of the same item to hang onto their bag (called an ita-bag, similar to ita-sha but a bag). To be honest, it annoys me to no end. These people monopolize the limited goods (event exclusives, etc) by buying them up in massive quantities. They even buy the ones they're not interested in either to scalp or to trade for the one they want (because of purchase limits). You can imagine how quickly old this gets for the normal folk who just want one or two but can never get their hands on one unless they line up at the butt crack of dawn.

More and more people are showing their otaku side in public nowadays and I'm not sure if that is a good thing.

See here for examples of ita-bags.

/rant
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13581
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:06 am Reply with quote
We might as do it to any and all copyright/trademark infringers. Also, while it is wrong to do, I wonder how many Japanese figures/companies would be hesitant to admit how infringement can/does help sales. There's a Feb. '11 ANN article called "Paper: YouTube Views Appear to Raise TV Anime DVD Sales" about this.
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_Cyphon_



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 996
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:25 am Reply with quote
Wow, I feel bad for those who got tricked and had to pay more than the actual merchandise. What a scam.
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Lostlorn Forest



Joined: 03 Apr 2014
Posts: 544
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:29 am Reply with quote
_Cyphon_ wrote:
Wow, I feel bad for those who got tricked and had to pay more than the actual merchandise. What a scam.

They probably spend more on lunch per day.
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_Cyphon_



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 996
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:34 am Reply with quote
Lostlorn Forest wrote:
_Cyphon_ wrote:
Wow, I feel bad for those who got tricked and had to pay more than the actual merchandise. What a scam.

They probably spend more on lunch per day.

At least the lunch is genuine. I wouldn't want to pay for any bootleg, much less one that costs even more than the original.
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Lostlorn Forest



Joined: 03 Apr 2014
Posts: 544
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:42 am Reply with quote
_Cyphon_ wrote:
Lostlorn Forest wrote:
_Cyphon_ wrote:
Wow, I feel bad for those who got tricked and had to pay more than the actual merchandise. What a scam.

They probably spend more on lunch per day.

At least the lunch is genuine. I wouldn't want to pay for any bootleg, much less one that costs even more than the original.

Very true. I'm just saying it's not like buying some pin will be a blow to their wallet, so it's not like they lost anything particularly valuable.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 12:56 pm Reply with quote
That's probably how this guy was able to get away with selling so much: Because they're somewhat inexpensive, people are more inclined to purchase them impulsively.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 1:28 pm Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Well, it depends on what it is you're making. What I have in mind are scrapper pins, which are VERY hard to tell apart from official Disney pins as they're made using the molds Disney orders the manufacturers in China to destroy. Some actually destroy them, but some say they do and hold on to the molds.


Unless Disney sends someone (who can recognize said models by eyesight and is somehow immune to bribes) to china with the order to personally destroy the molds I find it hard to believe said molds are destroyed (unless they are at a point they have shattered from usage and further usage is potentially dangerous).
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 1:34 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, I find it hard to believe anywhere close to them are destroyed either. And safety isn't really a concern for Chinese factories. Well, most of them anyway. A bigger concern with the molds deteriorating is that it becomes obvious the pins are pirated. Scrapper manufacturers are very, very careful with that. They know there are collectors with incredibly sharp eyes who will report them if they see them. (I'm not good enough to identify a well-made scrapper.)

One incentive to following Disney's orders is that there are so many Chinese factories that they are in competition with each other to get the attention of foreign companies. They know that if their affiliate finds out they're not following orders, that foreign company will do business with one of their competitors. The question then becomes how long they can get away with doing so. Well, I suppose the same goes for any pirating operation: They do it because they think they can get away with it long enough to make money and not get caught.
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Wandering Samurai



Joined: 30 Mar 2014
Posts: 875
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:09 pm Reply with quote
GokuMew2 wrote:
I feel bootlegs are becoming more commonplace in Japan. I've seen tons of fake seiyuu autographs being sold on Yahoo! Japan Auctions, and there are now many people who sell unofficial event photos.

The only real photos and autographs are the ones that you receive and keep for yourself Wink
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