The truth behind the 12 inch Chinese Plushies

[snwbear24]

So, I just accessed Frontwinner website and I am in the US. I used a different method but they have the same My Little Pony plushes as they do 123cosplay.com so it makes me think they did that website for the US. Just an observation I wanted to share. I pretty much just wanted to find a way to go to the website because I couldn't lol.

[Tilas]

Companies like Frontwinner really tick me off... why? Because Hasbro sent me a C&D on Etsy for 4 pony plushies I made and I nearly lost my etsy shops over it. Yet companies like this make and sell hundreds if not thousands of them... and nope. Nothing. Bah.

As for the whole ""It will be much harder for the plushies creators to sell their overpriced stuff."... people who believe that have no idea what it takes to make a custom made OOAK plushie and have no right to squawk.

[Noxxbunny]

Companies like Frontwinner really tick me off... why? Because Hasbro sent me a C&D on Etsy for 4 pony plushies I made and I nearly lost my etsy shops over it. Yet companies like this make and sell hundreds if not thousands of them... and nope. Nothing. Bah.

As for the whole ""It will be much harder for the plushies creators to sell their overpriced stuff."... people who believe that have no idea what it takes to make a custom made OOAK plushie and have no right to squawk.

Are you positive it was Hasbro? I've heard of people going around reporting things on websites claiming to be Hasbro, and the site just rolls with it. Sorry that happened to you though. I just find it odd since I've only ever heard of one other person getting a real Hasbro C&D.

[Tilas]

Companies like Frontwinner really tick me off... why? Because Hasbro sent me a C&D on Etsy for 4 pony plushies I made and I nearly lost my etsy shops over it. Yet companies like this make and sell hundreds if not thousands of them... and nope. Nothing. Bah.

As for the whole ""It will be much harder for the plushies creators to sell their overpriced stuff."... people who believe that have no idea what it takes to make a custom made OOAK plushie and have no right to squawk.

Are you positive it was Hasbro? I've heard of people going around reporting things on websites claiming to be Hasbro, and the site just rolls with it. Sorry that happened to you though. I just find it odd since I've only ever heard of one other person getting a real Hasbro C&D.

It was one of Hasbro's Legal representatives. I was skeptical too until I researched the name, and found out that yes, in fact it was one of their hired legal eagles who specialize in trademarks and copyrights. Honestly I'm far from the only person to get nailed on Etsy, I've talked quite a few artists on DA and Etsy and others have been taken down for the same (or similar) thing. I kept the emails in my records, it was the same on both of my etsy stores. :\

I get why they do it, really, I do. I just got bugged that a small time itty bitty seller like me gets a banhammer and companies like the above blatantly rip of fan artists, make and sell hundreds of plushies, and yet Hasbro either can't, or doesn't stop them. :\

[Noxxbunny]

Companies like Frontwinner really tick me off... why? Because Hasbro sent me a C&D on Etsy for 4 pony plushies I made and I nearly lost my etsy shops over it. Yet companies like this make and sell hundreds if not thousands of them... and nope. Nothing. Bah.

As for the whole ""It will be much harder for the plushies creators to sell their overpriced stuff."... people who believe that have no idea what it takes to make a custom made OOAK plushie and have no right to squawk.

Are you positive it was Hasbro? I've heard of people going around reporting things on websites claiming to be Hasbro, and the site just rolls with it. Sorry that happened to you though. I just find it odd since I've only ever heard of one other person getting a real Hasbro C&D.

It was one of Hasbro's Legal representatives. I was skeptical too until I researched the name, and found out that yes, in fact it was one of their hired legal eagles who specialize in trademarks and copyrights. Honestly I'm far from the only person to get nailed on Etsy, I've talked quite a few artists on DA and Etsy and others have been taken down for the same (or similar) thing. I kept the emails in my records, it was the same on both of my etsy stores. :\

I get why they do it, really, I do. I just got bugged that a small time itty bitty seller like me gets a banhammer and companies like the above blatantly rip of fan artists, make and sell hundreds of plushies, and yet Hasbro either can't, or doesn't stop them. :\

That makes me wonder what makes them pick someone to C&D then. I wonder if that means eBay is really the only site "safe" for selling then since they can be fickle about listening to reports. I hear about etsy taking down more accounts in other fandoms than ebay does. But even etsy is starting to get bootleg plush listings and yet like you said, no one does anything about it.

[hathorcat]

Companies like Frontwinner really tick me off... why? Because Hasbro sent me a C&D on Etsy for 4 pony plushies I made and I nearly lost my etsy shops over it. Yet companies like this make and sell hundreds if not thousands of them... and nope. Nothing. Bah.

As for the whole ""It will be much harder for the plushies creators to sell their overpriced stuff."... people who believe that have no idea what it takes to make a custom made OOAK plushie and have no right to squawk.

Are you positive it was Hasbro? I've heard of people going around reporting things on websites claiming to be Hasbro, and the site just rolls with it. Sorry that happened to you though. I just find it odd since I've only ever heard of one other person getting a real Hasbro C&D.

It was one of Hasbro's Legal representatives. I was skeptical too until I researched the name, and found out that yes, in fact it was one of their hired legal eagles who specialize in trademarks and copyrights. Honestly I'm far from the only person to get nailed on Etsy, I've talked quite a few artists on DA and Etsy and others have been taken down for the same (or similar) thing. I kept the emails in my records, it was the same on both of my etsy stores. :\

I get why they do it, really, I do. I just got bugged that a small time itty bitty seller like me gets a banhammer and companies like the above blatantly rip of fan artists, make and sell hundreds of plushies, and yet Hasbro either can't, or doesn't stop them. :\

That makes me wonder what makes them pick someone to C&D then. I wonder if that means eBay is really the only site "safe" for selling then since they can be fickle about listening to reports. I hear about etsy taking down more accounts in other fandoms than ebay does. But even etsy is starting to get bootleg plush listings and yet like you said, no one does anything about it.

Unfortunately I have heard of a lot of Hasbro lawyer issued C&Ds at the moment. With the size of fandom MLP has become this kind of thing was inevitable. Hasbro may have taken its time getting around to acting but with so many  fandom creations out there - many of them getting more attention than anything Hasbro makes money from - they were going to kick in to gear eventually. And its not just plush, its pretty much anything they think has too high a profile.

It is very frustrating for artists who are making the odd plush here and there getting a letter/email like that, while these mass market producers get away with what is going on here. However, it goes back to what we joked about earlier in this thread; their website is blocked from the US for a reason. Yes, its partly to hide what they do but its also so it cannot be claimed they are offering their items into a Hasbro controlled market. While its silly as they can still be seen to trade in countries outside the US, where Hasbro has a presence, the main goal is to protect themselves from all the big US companies they are infringing the copyright of. Unfortunately plush makers [and others who have received cease and desists] are trading in locations where Hasbro has either its own items for sale or it has sold licenses to companies, who expect Hasbro to protect their interests in that market. It is therefore easy and pretty straight forward to order these people to stop, rather than go after a factory on the other side of the world, in a country which pretty much does not care about copyright or intellectual property rights. These factories do get closed down on occasion...but they simply reopen again a couple of weeks later and normally with a minimally different name.

[Snix]

the new wave in progress...

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


ED: oh sorry, i don´t see that this was posted before

[Galactica]

Unfortunately I have heard of a lot of Hasbro lawyer issued C&Ds at the moment. With the size of fandom MLP has become this kind of thing was inevitable. Hasbro may have taken its time getting around to acting but with so many  fandom creations out there - many of them getting more attention than anything Hasbro makes money from - they were going to kick in to gear eventually. And its not just plush, its pretty much anything they think has too high a profile.

It is very frustrating for artists who are making the odd plush here and there getting a letter/email like that, while these mass market producers get away with what is going on here. However, it goes back to what we joked about earlier in this thread; their website is blocked from the US for a reason. Yes, its partly to hide what they do but its also so it cannot be claimed they are offering their items into a Hasbro controlled market. While its silly as they can still be seen to trade in countries outside the US, where Hasbro has a presence, the main goal is to protect themselves from all the big US companies they are infringing the copyright of. Unfortunately plush makers [and others who have received cease and desists] are trading in locations where Hasbro has either its own items for sale or it has sold licenses to companies, who expect Hasbro to protect their interests in that market. It is therefore easy and pretty straight forward to order these people to stop, rather than go after a factory on the other side of the world, in a country which pretty much does not care about copyright or intellectual property rights. These factories do get closed down on occasion...but they simply reopen again a couple of weeks later and normally with a minimally different name.

Oh I'm sure Hasbro would send Frontwinner (or any other Chinese knock-off maker) a cease and desist if they could- and maybe they already have-  but Chinese copyright laws are pretty different, and what they are doing probably doesn't violate those laws.  Makes it pretty hard for Hasbro (or any other company) to do much if anything about copyright infringement.  They can stop the company/companies from marketing to the US, but that's about it.

[hathorcat]

Unfortunately I have heard of a lot of Hasbro lawyer issued C&Ds at the moment. With the size of fandom MLP has become this kind of thing was inevitable. Hasbro may have taken its time getting around to acting but with so many  fandom creations out there - many of them getting more attention than anything Hasbro makes money from - they were going to kick in to gear eventually. And its not just plush, its pretty much anything they think has too high a profile.

It is very frustrating for artists who are making the odd plush here and there getting a letter/email like that, while these mass market producers get away with what is going on here. However, it goes back to what we joked about earlier in this thread; their website is blocked from the US for a reason. Yes, its partly to hide what they do but its also so it cannot be claimed they are offering their items into a Hasbro controlled market. While its silly as they can still be seen to trade in countries outside the US, where Hasbro has a presence, the main goal is to protect themselves from all the big US companies they are infringing the copyright of. Unfortunately plush makers [and others who have received cease and desists] are trading in locations where Hasbro has either its own items for sale or it has sold licenses to companies, who expect Hasbro to protect their interests in that market. It is therefore easy and pretty straight forward to order these people to stop, rather than go after a factory on the other side of the world, in a country which pretty much does not care about copyright or intellectual property rights. These factories do get closed down on occasion...but they simply reopen again a couple of weeks later and normally with a minimally different name.

Oh I'm sure Hasbro would send Frontwinner (or any other Chinese knock-off maker) a cease and desist if they could- and maybe they already have-  but Chinese copyright laws are pretty different, and what they are doing probably doesn't violate those laws.  Makes it pretty hard for Hasbro (or any other company) to do much if anything about copyright infringement.  They can stop the company/companies from marketing to the US, but that's about it.

Exactly! Its not that they dont want to, its that they cant and even if they could there would be nothing done about it. If they were seen to be selling directly to the US market - i.e, if the website was not blocked to US IPs - then perhaps Hasbro would attempt something although it would only be to prove to licensees that they are trying. But when Apple and Disney cant stop people basically replicating every inch of their stores, Hasbro sure as heck dont want to waste the effort and money in going after a plush manufacturer who probably is not denting their profit . In the meantime, Hasbro will continue to go after those operating in their main market [even though on a teeny tiny scale] and who they can easily target.

[Galactica]

Exactly! Its not that they dont want to, its that they cant and even if they could there would be nothing done about it. If they were seen to be selling directly to the US market - i.e, if the website was not blocked to US IPs - then perhaps Hasbro would attempt something although it would only be to prove to licensees that they are trying. But when Apple and Disney cant stop people basically replicating every inch of their stores, Hasbro sure as heck dont want to waste the effort and money in going after a plush manufacturer who probably is not denting their profit . In the meantime, Hasbro will continue to go after those operating in their main market [even though on a teeny tiny scale] and who they can easily target.

Yeah, and it's not really about profit when they go after custom-makers, it's just that if they become aware of an infringement and don't do anything to protect their trademarks, then legally they can be found to have "waived" the trademark... 

[nogames]

Did anyone buy Chryssi or Cherry yet? I'd like to see some photos.

[AJLareneg]

I got Chrysalis in the mail two days ago. I can post some pictures of her when I'm off work. she's pretty neat.

[nogames]

Great. Will be waiting.

[AJLareneg]

Okay, I took some pictures of her. She doesn't photograph quite as well as I'd like since she's black and it doesn't catch the light. :b

Pictures under the spoiler.

Spoiler

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

My least favorite part about her is the cheap felt wings. They're also only held on by what looks like 1 or 2 stitches, so you'd have to be careful with them or they could fall apart. The only good news is that since they are made of cheap felt, making her new replacement wings if they got broken would be easy. :b

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Also each of the insides of the holes in her mane and tail are unfinished like this, which looks sloppy.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Her legs are lumpy, and the holes in her legs are just embroidered on. I guess its better than doing no lumps and just embroidered holes.

Also her horn doesn't stand up at all. I'm not sure why, since my Cadence and Shining Armor have no problems with their horns. Oh well.

[Skeen]

So, all in all, you get what you pay for.  I was tempted to buy a Chrysalis just to deconstruct her, but your pics showed everything I wanted to see, so thank you! 

Still, despite being completely able to make my own, I'm SO buying those Cutie Mark Crusaders.  I do not even care.