looking at some of the MLP's for sale on ebay got me to thinking.......

[lukkylizzy]

I was browsing through the MLP's for sale on ebay, and noticed one particular seller had a bunch of "hybrids" and factory errors, etc, but all seemed to have odd flaws, like glue on the hair seam, rips in the hair seam, scratches, etc. I find it highly unlikely that one person would have such great luck finding such rare ponies. Here is my guess: the person is taking the body of one pony and switching heads with the other pony to get the "rare hybrids", and for the ones with the different color hair, somehow taking out the original hair plugs and re-weaving new colored hair in them. And people are paying a fortune for these little ponies. The person does describe the flaws, but still sells them as rare ponies. I think they are rare in that they are one of a kind because the person has made them that way. I'm relatively new to collecting MLP's as a collector, is this standard practice or are people just getting taken by a con if what I suspect is true?

[MaronaPossessed]

My common sense says that what you're saying is true. Rips, glue, scratches CANNOT BE factory errors. Factory error is like ones where they get an order wrong. For example, a Zecora pony with no stripes and a Pink Glitter Twilight Sparkle (which is normally purple).

[lukkylizzy]

Well, she's calling the factory errors the different hair color, different this different that, etc, which can be factory errors, but calling the rips, glue, etc, flaws. Which they are flaws, but how on earth does she have so many "rare" my little ponies with that many abnormal flaws, like glue? I have MLP's that are 30 years old and have never been near glue! lol. Not saying it's impossible, but I just think she's creating the "factory hybrids/erros" on these ponies (like plugging new hair in, switching bodies/heads etc). Just a heads up to everyone who buys off ebay to be very careful if your pony isn't in a box and brand new that your not getting ripped off. I'd say 95%+ of people are honest, but that just didn't look real to me.

[NoPonySpecial]

Can we ask who the seller is?

[Lorelei Redfern]

yeah i'd like to know who this seller is as well.. 

i also  havr a cumpet who has a favtory error.  on her right eye  sh has a little spot of  yellow in her eye.

[kissthethunder]

It's hard to say for certain without linking to live auctions and slandering a possibly harmless seller in the process. It's possible that they do have a way to get the factory varients but the other is still possible. I'd say just use common sense. If it doesn't feel right, don't buy.

[Shenanigans]

If it's G4s perhaps they buy a lot of the variants from Taobao. I know people have bought like "Trixieshy" and "Lyra Rays" from Taobao Perhaps they buy them from Taobao in bulk in order to sell them?

[hathorcat]

I think we need to be careful with topics like this - as mentioned the seller could be perfectly legitimate.

For a start the only generation which experiences a large number of "variant" or "flawed" or "factory error" ponies on ebay is G4 - so is it a seller with this generation of pony you are referring to? This is about the only generation where ponies with these issues have an inflated value. Most people collecting earlier generations are looking for minty or near mint ponies - factory flaws tend to not be desirable therefore someone could have a tough time selling them on ebay. However, "test" or "prototype" or "factory flawed" G4s do seem to be popular little creatures. And there are a couple of ebay sellers who seem to be picking up large numbers of these ponies - presumably from Chinese suppliers/sources such as Taobao and then reselling them on ebay.

You cant link to a live auction on here but if its all G4 I would guess this is merely what you are spotting - the ponies are "legitimate" in as much as we can tell - if they are flawed or test or frankenstein ponies they have been created that way at factory level rather than at the level of the ebay seller.

[lukkylizzy]

I guess it's possible. That's why I'm hesitant to post the seller name on there, the person has good feedback so they may be legit and I'd hate to call them out specifically if I'm wrong about it. I don't understand the glue on them, but I don't know enough about how they're manufactured to know whether or not glue can get on them so I can't really say one way or the other. Good message though about if it doesn't feel right, don't buy it. I think that's about the best a person can do in this day and age of electronics and internet shopping. 

Post Merge: August 17, 2012, 02:47:10 AM

I got taken by a seller one time selling a "natural" yellow sapphire that turned out to be created, so I guess I'm just a little overly supsicious with anything and everything I buy now. No harm intended- I didn't know there are a lot of G4's with factory errors/flaws! That probably explains it. 

[hathorcat]

Thats the best plan if you are not sure dont buy...and you can check out the Trader Support forum where you can see if anyone has purchased from a particular seller before or even have a nosy at the Bad Trader List - you should find a link there to see if your ebay seller is listed as being untrustworthy.

[Taxel]

If these are G4 ponies, errors/flaws like glue on their bodies/hair, scratches, scuffs, smeared paint, dirt, messed up hair, misaligned cutie marks/eyes, etc are ALL common errors you'll find on brand new ponies from the store. Those flaws are also present on the prototypes/errors/hybrids bought on Taobao. Wrong heads, wrong cutie marks, wrong eyes, wrong hair, etc have all been spotted on Taobao as well. So if they're G4s, they're most likely truly factory.

But if you don't like the errors, all you can do is not buy them and only purchase other G4s already opened from collectors.

[Desert Rose]

In all honesty I've seen loads of G4 ponies in the stores that does have glue running over their boddy, bad paintjobs etc. And having gone through all my G3's who I bought at the store at the time aswell, I've spotted that some them do have abit of glue from their neck and onto their boddies.

Hasbro is sloppy, that's just a fact. So I wouldn't say this seller is faking factory error ponies just based on that.

With that beeing said I do have a small concern personally against all those so called factory error ponies. At least the ones with alternate haricolour or with no symbol. Since it's so easy for people to remove symbols or re-hair ponies I don't feel comfortable buying those types of factory error ponies with the risk of them beeing a fake factory error pony.
However I have bought TrixieShy and PinkieBerry of taobao because I feel comfortable enough with knowing those are factory error ponies Yes, people could just make customs that look like that and sell, but having them in my hand I can almost safely say they're not

As the others have said, just go with your instincts and don't buy them if you are suspicious. I know I don't.

[popyduggan]

They've got to be stolen merchandise from the factories.

Over at the wrestling forum I frequent, they ban people for even bringing them up because they're partners with Mattel. Their point is that they're being stolen from, I don't think Hasbro is as smart about the sellers, they just send lawyers after the people who blog about them. 

Anyways, the range of "variants" are the same on ebay; paint smeared factory rejects, prototypes, running changes, and frankenfigures, so it's likely that it's an employee leaving their workplace everyday with their britches bustling with banished brushables.

I mean I think they're neat like a freakshow, but keep in mind they're stolen, so please don't be taken with fancy words like "rare" or "unreleased", These ones aren't official, are essentially worthless, and anyone who pays for these is foolish, even if it's a Rainbow Dash with two butts.

Just my two cents, also these guys can sometimes not send you stuff and try to make you wait past the resolution period, which I don't see as much lately. 

[natevansate]

I would have to agree that they are more likely to be factory errors as I feel Hasbro have been going downhill on their QC procedure and then they are slipping out somewhere along the line.

[Desert Rose]

They've got to be stolen merchandise from the factories.

Over at the wrestling forum I frequent, they ban people for even bringing them up because they're partners with Mattel. Their point is that they're being stolen from, I don't think Hasbro is as smart about the sellers, they just send lawyers after the people who blog about them. 

Anyways, the range of "variants" are the same on ebay; paint smeared factory rejects, prototypes, running changes, and frankenfigures, so it's likely that it's an employee leaving their workplace everyday with their britches bustling with banished brushables.

I mean I think they're neat like a freakshow, but keep in mind they're stolen, so please don't be taken with fancy words like "rare" or "unreleased", These ones aren't official, are essentially worthless, and anyone who pays for these is foolish, even if it's a Rainbow Dash with two butts.

Just my two cents, also these guys can sometimes not send you stuff and try to make you wait past the resolution period, which I don't see as much lately.

Well that does depend on the company and their policies if it's concidered stealing or not. I worked for a company for some years, and at the end of every campain they had when they cleared out all the decorating material etc. they usually asked us the employees if we wanted any of it for free or else it would go in the trash. This is how I ended up with a plush dog that's bigger than me >.< I'm not even close to joking on that lol. He lives in my basement now cuz' he's way to big to have inside the flat.
So it's not nesseccarily stealing if the compay consider it trash and do not care if it's taken home by employees or not.