Hey everyone. I know some people will be shopping around for non-pony stuff this year, such as clothing, video games, and other accessories. I wanted to post something as a reminder for those buying on sites like ebay.
If you hadn't noticed or those who are a bit late, there has been an increasing number of bootleg/fake items and misleading prices being posted on ebay to catch bargain-hunting customers.
Bootleg Games:This what brought me to come post here in the first place. There are many reproduction games for old consoles like SNES and Nintendo DS. A lot of them have crazy game packages (482 games in 1 cartridge) or hard-to-find sought after games (Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver). It may seem authentic, especially stickers like "Official Nintendo Seal" or trademarks on it. These labels can be easily produced and stuck on. It may look like you're getting a good deal, but in reality you're not. Console game systems have anti-piracy checks and can do a number of weird or cruel things...weird being taking stuff out of the game you cannot access...or deleting your saves right at the final boss of the game. Do your research on the seller or purchase from an official video game distributor.
Misleading prices:There will be some listings on ebay that list a normally expensive item that goes for a few cents. When you click on the listing, you realize that what you're looking for isn't that price. When you look down at the list, you see something unrelated listed on the item...like a fidget spinner.
Some of those misleading prices lead to fake reproductions of items, like game controllers and equipment. Be on the lookout!
Fake Shoes and Apparel:This has been recently on the news, if you haven't heard, $2 million dollars worth of fake Nike shoes were seized by Border Authorities in New York City. *Source
https://solecollector.com/news/2018/12/nearly-2-million-worth-fake-nikes-seized *
To tell the difference if your Nikes are real or not, one of the easiest ways is matching SKU on the tongue of the shoe and on the shoebox. Also, check out the official Nike site to see if they make that kind of shoe that is being advertised by the seller. Here is a site that helps you find more stuff on shoes:
https://www.yournextshoes.com/spot-fake-nike-shoes/With Superbowl coming close in USA, there will be also fake NFL apparel. There's even crazy sites where they specialize in fake stuff...and even naming them like "Original Fake." You can check out this site for spotting fake apparel and links to licensed sellers
https://nflcheapskate.com/authentic-nfl-jersey.html .
TL;DR
-There are a lot of bootleg items for almost any category. Be on the lookout.
-Do your research to spot differences and on sellers.
-Cheaper isn't always better, and it's good to pay that extra couple dollars sometimes.
You can post here your recent findings on bootleg items that you think people may not know about.