I feel like ranting!

[Aeithales]

Dear all,

I am an MLP pony lover ever since I was 5 - my first ever was Chloe, being greek myself, and an enthousiastic collector from 2003 until 2009 (roughly). I stopped collecting gradually, because I very much needed to come back from the other side of the rainbow. My pony love was becoming an addiction and, as such, it was consuming my energy, my time and my money. So, I admitted I had a problem (it' s the first step, as they say) and I stayed sober, with the few exceptions of Lyra and some very precious gifts from great fiends. I even down-sized my collection a bit and used the money from re-homed ponies to go on vacation!

So, apparently, I missed a lot that happened here, on FB, eBay, you name it, although I never renounced my love for ponies. I have not visited the Arena in A LONG TIME now and I decided to log in a few days ago. A friend of mine urged me to look at the "Important Note regarding Greek MIBs". I had a discussion with a moderator not too long ago on this topic and didn't really put too much thought into it but there is a problem. Greek ponies are very dear to me - they started it all for me. And they are very popular among the community for all the right reasons. So, to hear that some people are trying to make some easy money, taking us for fools infuriates me. Everybody can discern whether a pony has been re-haired, but would one open a pricey MOC to look inside its head? Tough one. And what kind of b@$4@%d would "kill" innocent, rare ponies to fool a niche market with an expertise knowledge on the topic? It's easy to give a second chance in life to a heavily-loved (call them bait) pony, even a greek one, but who in their right mind think the effort would go un-noticed?

Furthermore, El Greco workers, much as they had fun experimenting with colours and poses, did follow certain patterns, so there are pony "families" sharing the same popular traits. And although we probably haven't seen it all yet, there are a few things we know we won't legitimately find.

So, to all those sneaky people out there lurking for easy-money, you don't fool us. This is a collector's community, above all, and we know the difference between a rarity and a custom. Furthermore, it's not fair to spread un-based rumours about El-Greco. A toy-shop owner would occasionally throw left-over toy figures together in boxes but this wasn't done with the intention to "marry" the toy-lines, rather to get rid of unwanted stock - and provide a home for those who were looked-down at (most toy-shop owners were usually genuine kids at heart)! I remember seeing the Greek Show-Stable sold with some Hasbro pony as a freebie or Easter Candles adorned with unsold Happy-Happy Sister dolls and even one with TE Sweet Tooth on, but these were private initiatives. Be careful with the information you read. Some people would say anything for quick money but El Greco's official catalogues were extremely detailed and precise.

Sorry for the "tsunami", I just had to get it out of my chest! If anyone needs any help regarding greek ponies, feel free to ask me. I will probably log in again in a couple of years to reply  !

[cloud_weaver]

Hi darling!  I remember you.    Hope all is well for you.

And I completely understand your frustration.  It's hard to be a collector of toys, especially with so many frauds out to make a quick buck at the expense of the ponies (many of which cannot be replaced once lost). 

Happy for your return, but sorry for the circumstances.  Have you kept any of your personal collection though? 

[pinkkittywinks]

I owe you an email!

Thank you for sharing this information with us all.

I know that the some of the accessories were swapped between toy lines in the factory, but I had no idea that the toy shop owners would add in freebies!

If I remember correctly from my trip to Greece, many of the toy shops are one off shops rather than a chain?

Love pkw xxx