Pearly brushables: bootleg vs. store bought

[MintySocks]

Hey everypony,
I just noticed there are quite a few pearlies up on eBay right now, coming directly from China, and they don't have that imprinted heart barcode symbol on their leg. (Personally, I think they look better without it.) They're definitely not fakies, and not different enough to be considered prototypes, but d'ya think this bit of differentness, this lack of techno-birthmark, will cause their value to be lower or higher than store bought? Would this matter to you as a collector whether your set had this mark or not? Curious to hear other opinions.

Direct from China:
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Store bought stateside:
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[Haruna]

Hmm -- I'm not sure how it will affect their future value; good question. As a collector, I'd personally want the official versions with the techno-birthmark, even though, like you, I think they look better without it Contradictory, I know . . . I just like getting the "real" version, I guess.

[PJSparkles]

I know some people prefer them without the foot QR code thing and will actually remove it with acetone. I leave mine alone because I actually had the app that it's for and I was curious to see what each one looks like in it  Honestly I was considering buying the wave 3 brushables from that seller because they're just not going to be released where I am.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

For some it will not matter, but if the person was an MIB Collector or some such then it might matter xD

[LadyMoondancer]

It wouldn't matter to me because I don't like the app-heart, lol.

[Tulips]

I guess for some it will matter, and for others it won't. I'm sure there will be purist collectors who wouldn't buy altered ponies, but there is debate about G4 collectibility in future and whether it will be any where near the degree of G1.

The only thing I'd consider about store bought vs. ebay/china is how they're selling them. Is there theft involved or did they not pass QC, and if so why?

[Wardah]

did they not pass QC, and if so why?

Probably because they are missing the hoof heart code thingy.

I'd hesitate to call them bootleg tho. Bootlegs are fakies and these are definitely not fakies.

[Duenia]

I'd rather just have a copy of both honestly. I like having the real one but I do want a second set without the zapcode.

[Carrehz]

I'm not a fan of the pearlies, but personally I prefer them without the zapcode in this case, it just looks weird against their pearly bodies.

I wouldn't call them bootlegs, though; "factory second" or "reject" would be a more correct term, I think.

[Violet CLM]

I'm sure the zapcodes will stop working soon enough (if they haven't already? idk), so I prefer my ponies without.

[nessa16]

I purchased a set with all the pearlized ponies except the mane 6. Some still had the heart and some didn't. Their hair seemed better to me though because they didn't have "Box hair".

[MintySocks]

I purchased a set with all the pearlized ponies except the mane 6. Some still had the heart and some didn't. Their hair seemed better to me though because they didn't have "Box hair".

For realsies! Box hair is hard to fix! Well I've ordered a Coloratura from this seller so we'll see when she gets here if her quality is up to spec. Can't really beat the price right now.

[shelvesofwhimsy]

I think I ordered the whole set (minus the mane 6) from this seller and I love them! I was worried the pearlies wouldn't come to my area, and so far I've only seen 2 or 3 of the non mane 6, so I'm glad I did. They look pretty legit besides the code so I am happy!

[lostpony]

How do you know they are not bootleg?

Before I knew there was such a thing I bought a whole bunch of bootlegs from a few sellers that took forever to arrive (I would have stopped purchasing much sooner if the first one had arrived sooner) and when they did start coming in, the quality was atrocious:  flashing, assembly problems, big bubbles, bad paint etc) and that's when I discovered that ponies aren't all real. 

So how does one know if they are bootleg vs real when they are direct from china and there is no Hasbro packaging?

[Baby Sugarberry]

Bootleg implies something made or distributed illegally, so in that sense yes they're bootlegs.  That said, it's pretty hard to differentiate when the manufacturing and origin are identical.

These guys are from the same factories putting out the retail packaged versions, they're 'seconds' (didn't pass quality control) test runs (unlikely, since they show up in such large numbers), or extras made specifically by the factory to sell - all without Hasbro's consent.  Once they're in the secondary market, unless there' s a physical difference like the missing codes, really no way to separate these from the 'authentic' versions unless the latter are still in their retail packaging.

G4 isn't going to have any significant long term value.  Like G3 but to an even greater extent, a large portion of the original run is in collector hands already.