Forum - View topicAstro Toy with Rob Bricken: "Portrait of Pirates" "Luffy"
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DomFortress
 Posts: 751 Location: Richmond BC, Canada |
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RedHotFunk
 Posts: 67 Location: Ontario |
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Theres a plus to checking in person as well, aside from the bootlegs and whatnot. A friend of mine wanted to buy a Ryuk figure (you know, the statue one they released a while back) and it was considerably cheaper then usual. Careful examination didn't show any bootleg signs, and it looked legit and adhered all the signs of authenticity. However, before he made the purchase, I noticed at the bottom of the statue, there was a bit of "Taping in Place". Ok, so it was obvious and I could have just mentioned it before all the bootleg signs, but you get my point. In person, you can always see other flaws outside of the bootlegs. Of course, another problem is that you don't always find what you're looking for at Cons, not to mention you're always against the thousand(s) of other people there 
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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I've heard that if you buy a bootleg off of ebay there is a way to get your money back, especially if you used paypal or a credit card. I'd say more except that I buy so infrequently on ebay that I've never gotten one.
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Milarkie
Posts: 12 |
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Thanks m_traydor and KuroiTsubasa4
I cant remember if there was a sticker on the box. Im pretty sure there was, at least on Nami. I seriously thought I shafted on these because I have one of each of the strawhats [except for Robin (on the way) and Chopper (though I do have Chopperman)] Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sogeking, and Franky all have the blue on their eyes. And I know that Luffy, Nami, and Sogeking come apart in some way shape or form. But if you guys know that yours are legit and that HLJ only sales Legit products, it does make me feel better about them. I dont feel nearly as cheated anymore. I thought I was gonna be out $360+ more the ones I thought were bootleg. |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Strangely enough, the 3 Saint Seiya dolls I ordered off Ebay have the stickers, but the ones I've bought at a local comic shop are hit & miss on having the Toei stickers which as made me wonder about the guy's sources.
I've always wondered why the Seiya series never has been reviewed. The dolls are amazing & about the price of this One Piece set (although there are more dolls so harder to collect them all. Then again, they have multiple parts-like extra hands & heads, etc.) I believe my daughter has this Luffy doll from a couple yrs ago. Or maybe not. Is there a beach set? Maybe that's Luffy in swim trunks. I paid double at con for a Kerero Gunso I found the week after con for about $10 at Walden. Ouch. (The changeable faces ones) The dealers are paying so much for those booths, they take it out on us. However, cash is often cheaper than charge. The guy I bought 3 Seiyas off charged more for the Aphrodite I charged because I ran out of cash & they were selling out pretty well so I was worried he may not be there the next day. |
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KuroiTsubasa4
Posts: 4 |
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CCSYueh: yeah, there was a beach set with Nami and Luffy released by Banpresto. Not portrait of pirates, but still pretty good quality.
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Starre257
 Posts: 90 |
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A warning: even though cons have rules that you can't sell bootlegs, it doesn't mean that the retailers that get dealers room booths don't sell bootlegs on their websites. One dealer I see at almost every con I go to sold me a bootleg CD online. I really does suck when you realize stuff like that.
I'm also pretty sure that this Ichigo from Bleach plushie that I bought at a con is bootleg. I'm not throwing it away, but I'm keeping it on a high shelf. I've heard that bootleg plushies can have unsavory things in the stuffing, and I wouldn't want my cat to rip it open and expose those things. |
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Fireline
Posts: 29 |
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Having detachable heads/faces does not make them bootlegs.
I'm not denying that you have a bootleg there, but some of the POP figures do have detachable heads/faces (for swappable facial expressions, among other things). Check the Megahouse website if you need proof; the facial separation lines are very clear, even in their official pictures. All my POP figures are authentic, and some do have removable/interchangeable parts. |
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Loganator456
 Posts: 52 Location: Oklahoma |
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Damn, I hope the figure I'm about to order isn't a bootleg. Of course, I've checked and it seems to check out, but you can never be quite 100% sure...
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RadicaLElly
 Posts: 194 Location: Coral Springs, FL |
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Unfortunately, PayPal has the delightful policy of not returning your money as long as the seller printed out the shipping label. They follow under the logic that since the shipping label is a contract that you promise to ship what you say you will and you of course wouldn't dream of printing it out just to make the sale final and then not send the product promised or, heaven forbid, nothing at all, they're more likely to take the seller's side in these situations. |
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Ashen Phoenix
 Posts: 2907 |
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Well, I'm sincerely very sorry to learn about this, Ms. Bricken, given how much you love this series, but I hope it comes as some consolation that you've probably helped out a lotta new figure collectors (myself included) with identifying future shady deals.
btw, just a helpful little suggestion for the fate of said craptastic Luffy wannabe: get a cheap microwave (or borrow one from a friend), wrap the atrocity in tinfoil, set the machine to the highest/most volatile setting/time, then... Sit back and watch the fireworks of delicious, plastic-smoldering justice. 
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rizuchan
 Collector Extraordinaire Posts: 974 Location: Kansas |
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I don't know where you got that from... but no. In the case of filing an "item not received" dispute on paypal, they do require proof of delivery, but this isn't the issue. Rob could file an "Item significantly not as described" dispute and would be almost guaranteed to get his money back, especially if the seller is in China, where there are often issues like these (Racist, just as Rob says, but also as he says, totally true). When it comes to disputes, paypal will almost always favor the buyer and while it's completely unfair for honest sellers, it certainly makes things easier for people that are scammed. Rob, if all of what you say is accurate, you're certainly eligable to file a dispute. I would contact the seller first and explain to them the issue, many sellers like that will simply refund your purchase, no questions asked, to avoid negative feedback. However, if that doesn't work, I don't know that I would actually advise filing a dispute. Paypal will almost certainly take your side, but they do often insist you ship the item back with proof of delivery, and if you're shipping to China then it sounds like you'd be paying about as much for that as the figure itself. If you do decide to file, though, I would recommend just saying the item wasn't what was in the picture rather than explicitly calling a bootleg, as then they might want proof that it really is and that can get messy. (Especially because these figures probably don't really look much different to the untrained eye) |
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RadicaLElly
Posts: 194 Location: Coral Springs, FL |
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I've known several people who've gone through this same scenario (ordering something off eBay that turned out to be bootleg despite seller describing it as legit), myself included, who never got their money back. I filed my complaint through eBay and this was the exact result. The explanation of them not being able to do anything because the shipping label was printed is almost word-for-word what I was told by PayPal, and I'm not the only person who was told the same. Maybe your experiences have been different and if that's the case I can only conclude you were either one of the few lucky ones who got what they were supposed to, or me and my friends just happen to be extremely unlucky. |
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Bricken
Posts: 4 |
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1) I took a closer look at some of my old POP figures, including my v1 Luffy, and some of them do indeed have a light blue on their eyes, so subtly I had to use a flashlight. So don't freak out. The bootleg's eyes were like 33% light blue, easily identifiable.
2) I can't speak for the V2 Luffy, but the V1 Luffy's arms and head are NOT removable. The only POP figure I know with a removable limb is Usopp/Sogeking. 3) I've never known HLJ to sell bootlegs, to trust them over your eyes or my words. 4) For those worried about my money, I basically raised hell with tyhe seller, told him I'd report him to ebay for selling illegal merchandise, and he immediately caved. I'm sure he'll keep selling bootlegs, but my wrong was righted. It was kind of funny, since he said the item wasn't a bootleg, but a "Chinese local version." |
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KuroiTsubasa4
Posts: 4 |
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Here's a very detailed account of the One Piece POP series for anyone still wondering about the features/pop-off-ability of the figures. http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Portrait_of_Pirates
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