This was brought to my attention a few months ago as well.
I don't mean to start anything or drag anything out but I'm honestly really confused...how do you fake a MIB?
If a mod would rather PM me then that's good too
I literally spent hours thinking about it, and here are some things I concluded:
When it comes to the "fake" MIB ponies, these are more than likely only the ones who come loose inside a box and not in sealed baggies. I would not be suspicious of a sealed baggie because those bags seem like they would fall apart if one tried to heat-seal them to mock the factory seal. I could be wrong, but I do not think so.
As for loose ponies, one might want to be suspicious of a pony (especially a Baby) that has a full head of hair (is missing no plugs). This may mean she has been rehaired in part or in full.
There was little control or continuity concerning what accessories came with each Greek Pony, but I would be wary of other toy lines mixed in with Greek Ponies. I have never seen this before, and I would not personally believe it to be real. Nothing more than an error.
As for the affect on the "value" of these altered Greeks, here is my theory:
A driving part in the difference of Greek ponies, is that they are completely unlike any other Nirvana. They feel different, smell different, and are colored differently than their Hong Kong counterparts. So hair changes (such as rehairing a portion to make the pony look better overall), to me, do not comprise more than 15-20% of their value. There are exceptions to this. I would not apply this logic to these ponies:
Greek Blue Firefly (same as greek green firefly, but with different hair)
Greek Baby Minty with Green hair (same reason as above)
There may be others I have missed, but in these cases, one should check the hairline from the inside for genuineness. There is a significant difference in values (although less than ever before).
Another thing to consider - even in cases where hair has been added to fill missing plugs, etc., is it not still genuine greek pony hair?
And lastly (and I have been wanting to figure out the time and place to say this for a long time), I think collectors, especially those newer to the world of Nirvana, need to be realistic about what you are collecting. Some Nirvana ponies (like Brazil Milky Way for example) are completely different and nearly impossible to fabricate, so if it has been rehaired, or had a symbol touch up, the value should not suffer so terribly. Now, a purple-haired Italy Tootsie, the ONLY thing driving her value is that hair difference, which is very easy to recreate.
It is time we be intelligent as collectors, and intelligent about our collecting sources as well. Not everyone in this community (or the world) is honest, properly informed, or conscientious about what they are selling.
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