Taobao Buyers: How Guilty (Or Not Guilty) Do You Feel?

[Lon-san]

This applies to anybody who has bought directly from Taobao or even bought items that you KNOW came from there and not a toy store after the official release date.

The "Hasbro Getting Tough on Prototypes On Fansites is sort of debating the ethics of buying this stuff so I thought a poll to see in numbers how members who buy feel about their purchases might be interessting.

I believe this polls are anonymous, yes?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I won't buy ponies this way; I feel it's unfair and unethical to do so to Hasbro.  I'm not taking money away from them by collecting their products on the secondary market, but to condone factory theft and inappropriate employee gain... I won't deny that working life in China is unbearably difficult but they should not be stealing from the corporation - they should be blaming their supervisors and factory owners... 

[ShannonInPonyland]

I've never bought a pony from Taobao but honestly I don't think that I would feel that guilty.
I guess the way I think of it as, is a pony like the Fashion Style Pony, is probably not going to be on shelves after the whole debate over it.. so in my opinion I don't see it as taking money from the company because they would be getting that money themselves if they had decided to actually market her.
As far as other ponies like the Canterlot Wedding set, that's kind of different because they're actually going to be releasing that in stores so I think that would be more in the realm of "stealing" from the company or whatever.


Idk. Personally I don't think that anyone who has bought from them should beat themselves up over it too much seeing as I doubt anyone on here was buying them as a direct jab towards the company.

[Lon-san]

There were about 30ish views before there were any votes. Non-buyers checking it out or were folks checking to see how others voted first? 

I sort of wish there was a way to add a sub-option to find out not only how guilty people feel but how likely people in each catagory would be to buy something again.

I can't remember where it is but there's some country where you can anonymously send them money if you cheated on your taxes, didn't get caught but feel really terrible. This is purely hypothetical but I wonder if anybody would feel bad enough to use something like that to slip Hasbro a few fivers for their Taobao Luna or whatever. Not because Hasbro is hurting for the money but to kill the guilt.

[Koudoawaia]

I haven't bought anything but I'd feel very guilty and very scared of getting into some kind of legal trouble.

[Taxel]

I bought a wingless FS Rainbow Dash through a group order here on the Arena.
I do NOT feel guilty at all, and if I could afford it I would buy from Taobao again. Not to resell, not after this, but for myself. Previously I would have bought to resell if I could afford it.

Now, with that out of the way, why I don't feel guilty. Wingless FS RD will never be in stores, not unless there's a packaging error, and the G4 FS wings are hideous (I cannot cut off the outermost feathers myself). Taobao was truly the only way I would get a wingless FS RD, as eBay etc prices were insane for her, and I couldn't stand having a winged one. And my AJ needed her RD (I ship them, lol).

If I had felt guilty previously, Hasbro's insane treatment of that person would have wiped that guilt away instantly. If Hasbro's lawyers are too stupid to do a little research (I still do not believe for a second they haven't heard about Taobao, especially with people contacting them asking if FS Pony is "legit"), that's their own damn problem. And I agree fully with the points made in the other thread about them having to suffer the consequences (different laws) of having factories in China to save money.

I've also heard how horrendous the conditions are for factory workers in China, and it makes me sick. If they're smarter than Hasbro (as in giving us what we want) and making some money on the side, more power to them! I like to hope at least some Taobao purchases are from factory workers so the money can help them. This cannot be proven of course, but hey, I like to hope that happens so I will damnit. XP

[lemontwist]

I wouldn't feel very bad if it's something that will never make it to stores anyway, but something like the wedding castle I would just wait for. Hasbro wouldn't make a profit off of mixed up prototypes and never-to-be ponies anyway, but I'd rather give them my money when it comes to items that will be in stores. Hasbro is a relatively nice company, so even though it's not like they need an extra $40 from me, I still would feel bad shelling out money to someone else just to get it a little earlier.

That being said, I don't blame the people who sell on taobao, I don't know why they do it but I'm sure they have their reasons. Besides as we've seen with Pony it's given some people a chance to own something they never could have dreamed of and that they'll treasure for a long time. I think that's pretty cool.

[saply]

I feel a little guilty, and honestly after reading these threads I probably wouldn't buy pre-releases from TaoBao or others again. Like, I get that Chinese factory conditions are horrible, but does that justify stealing from them? It's almost unfair to the other workers who are being treated just as poorly, but don't resort to making money on the side via grey-market merchandise. Two wrongs do not make a right.


I wonder though, how do opponents of TaoBao feel about factory rejects and variants? I mean ponies that were obviously test runs (Twilight with Rarity's symbols and the like) or errors? To me, that's no worse than a burger restaurant giving away its "expired" burgers instead of wasting them, and those ponies would likely just end up in the trash anyways. Buying them would not discourage anyone from spending money on official Hasbro products, I don't think.

[teresat]

Grr....I can't take it....I've been trying to keep quiet but I can't!

How does anyone know that items from Taobao are stolen? Has that actually been proven? Most of the pony items available on TaoBao have already been released. The prototypes/unreleased items just pop periodically and then disappear. I'll admit those could be questionable.

These discussions remind me of other controversies about product sources or manufacturing in countries overseas (from the US.) Apple in China, Blood Diamonds, Nike, Martha Stewart, counterfeiting, etc.... Some are obtained and produced in horrendous conditions. Big companies are trying do something about bad conditions but as another post pointed out, when companies move overseas to developing countries, they encounter new laws and new rules. American countries are learning they cannot control everything.

I live in the middle of an area (Silicon Valley) where IP is very crucial to many businesses here. The companies will protect the IP pretty harshly. I'm not surprised that Hasbro as done what they have but as other companies, some much bigger than Hasbro, have found out, proving guilt and enforcing the rules is very difficult.

End of Rant....Bottom line, guilt is all relative....Diamond rings, cheap electronics, brand name knock-offs, etc. I'm sure something questionable can be found in every household. Do I feel guilty? No. I don't know enough about many things in my house. I'm trying to learn but I cannot prove anything. And anyways, there are so many shades of gray!


ETA: I do my best but I'm not perfect so I'm guilt free!

[moonflower]

I have never bought anything from TaoBao but if I had I would not feel guilty about it.

These ponies are only lumps of rejected plastic at the end of the day.

[teresat]

@Moonflower: You summarized the situation so much better than I did!

[Malicieuse]

I wouldn't feel guilty when it comes to toys that will never hit the shelves. But i would never buy toys on taobao that will be released here sooner or later. Not only because they are possibly stolen but also because i rather make sure i support Hasbro, rather check myself if there are any flaws on the toys and because i actually have some patience.

[BerryMouse]

The thing is that you never know what will be released for sure (some ponies are obviously prototypes)

I would feel guilty if I would buy them and resell them for a huge amount but buy them and keep them in my own lil room just for me that would be okay.

On the other hand - how hard is it to get just the ponies without the large playsets - it's almost impossible or you have to wait years till they'll pop up on ebay.
So taobao is an option getting just the single ponies. I would luve to purchase them from Hasbro directly but that's not Hasbro - they produce playsets with 10000 Pinkie Pie's or Applejack's or Rainbow Dash's and add an extra (bonus) Pony on every second set.... so in that case it's hard to resist buying just the single ponies they offer on taobao ... =)

just my 2 cents

[tinrobo]

I don't feel bad - if I knew for sure that goods were stolen and not just rejects to be trashed anyway then I wouldn't buy them but I give Hasbro tons of cash through buying the ponies that are released over here so why should I beat myself up over the couple I've ordered from taobao?

I think they're more concerned about their exclusivity deals and being able to announce the toys when they're ready rather than losing money, at least that's the impression I got from the nerf gun thing.

[ristvak]

I've only made one post-taobao purchase and... I don't really feel bad lol.

I got some of the metallic blind bags from a member here. I knew they came from taobao, but the 'damage' was already done and frankly I wanted them as meet prizes and had no faith (or indication) that they'd be released even internationally in time for that.
(Now when they ARE released in the real world? TOTALLY buying myself a set, they're amazing and I can't wait to add them to my collection)

So... I don't think I'd ever buy directly from Taobao (more due to the headaches I've heard about than any 'guilt') but I also make sure and keep my reseller purchases to pony sites. For some reason it's less guilt inducing to purchase from a member here than some faceless power seller on eBay.

Honestly, I feel more guilty about purchasing the later wave bling bags from international people (eBay or no). Every time I do I'm think "The economy is in the toilet and here's $60 that I could spend in the US that's being flittered away to Germany. Ah well *pony squee*"