Fake Rare Vinylmation Now Circulating

[Ale8414]

We r so focused on these fakes being chasers or uncommon vinyls that we are forgetting its very possible that they have created fake common vinyls that people will be less inclined to fully investigate and examine. I pray that none of these have filtered to park trading like we have seen with pin situation.

[Phylers]

Can't you get banned by IP address?

Yes, you can.

We're waiting with (and in support of) those who have been victimized before making any official moves.

[rogpalmeruk]

Just throwing my 2 cents in on the witch hunt... It's got to be best to get all the details together first before making any decisions, this person could have been scammed themselves and this could seriously damage them by this almost becoming trolling which is just as serious. And maybe should be given a chance to explain their side of the story be it on here or "anonymously" through one of the admins. I'm not saying they are innocent but we should get all the facts right before we just cut off, that doesn't solve anything because there is still other forums/groups/ebay that this information could be useful for. Banning is a dark road that while it might work for a ip address, simply going behind a firewall or someone else computer is going to get around that, also its very easy to create a new account with somebody else's name/address, so I do think we should try and deal with this situation rather than jumping with pitch forks.
Obviously I hope everybody gets back their traded vinyls and this fake situation is awful. I hate the idea of fakes and think this issue is a huge threat to our hobby...We simply need more information..

[Samjive]

You know I'm stating to think the mystery man is Keyser Söze

Thank goodness for Phos to lighten the mood! Thank you!

[modnar24]

I guess I should take down my Kermit that I have for sale on my thread...... LOL.

This person probably isn't trading anything at the moment with all the craziness going in so I think everyone is safe.

You've never really been able to tell if anything is real or not unless you bought it from Disney.

We r so focused on these fakes being chasers or uncommon vinyls that we are forgetting its very possible that they have created fake common vinyls that people will be less inclined to fully investigate and examine.

Most counterfeit money is $5 and $20, not $100 bills.

[mariemb]

I think the thing that stinks the most about this whole situation is the feeling of betrayl. I consider this forum kind of like a group of long distance friends, we all share a common interest and goals (to get _____ vinyls) and to find out one of our own is acting in a dishonest way is difficult. Not to mention that it takes all the fun out of the hobby and even lessens the value of something we all treasure. Just sad!

[SirScott99]

And so far all we know is that they're P1 ketmit/Balloon and U1 Gold chaser right? No one has reported this being with any other figure?

[Cliffd64]

I think the thing that stinks the most about this whole situation is the feeling of betrayl. I consider this forum kind of like a group of long distance friends, we all share a common interest and goals (to get _____ vinyls) and to find out one of our own is acting in a dishonest way is difficult. Not to mention that it takes all the fun out of the hobby and even lessens the value of something we all treasure. Just sad!

With any group of collectors, there will always be those who seek to profit from them, and in more extreme cases those who will seek to exploit them.

Flippers, scrappers, counterfeiters... the more popular the community, the more likely these types will be around...

It's a fact of life in any collector community. Not happy about it, but little anyone can do that is in our control.

[modnar24]

I think the thing that stinks the most about this whole situation is the feeling of betrayl. I consider this forum kind of like a group of long distance friends, we all share a common interest and goals (to get _____ vinyls) and to find out one of our own is acting in a dishonest way is difficult. Not to mention that it takes all the fun out of the hobby and even lessens the value of something we all treasure. Just sad!

You want to talk about betrayal? The person accused of doing this has been silently reading this thread and saying nothing. It's a shame that the community has to go through this, but hopefully it is all resolved soon. It looks like everyone is getting there vinyls and money back. It just means that in the future you have to be more aware of who your trading with. It's gonna make the world a lot more difficult for us newer traders.

[magic61983]

I find this very discouraging and disheartening. I noticed looking at the pictures I think the fake vinyl's were made from a custom mold at least the head. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but I noticed that on the fake vinyl that the indent on the face is much deeper and/or more pronounced on the fake one. Did anyone else notice this?

Making a mold isn't hard if you have a CYO vinyl laying around you can make a mold fairly easily. You just have to look at the craftsmanship on the figure because when you make a mold it should never have the exact markings and would need to be touched up.

My condolences go out to everyone that's been scammed and hasn't received the vinyl's they traded for these back.

[SirScott99]

You want to talk about betrayal? The person accused of doing this has been silently reading this thread and saying nothing.

I think that's one of the most disturbing things about this whole debacle

[lianaishere]

You want to talk about betrayal? The person accused of doing this has been silently reading this thread and saying nothing.

Before we start throwing pitchforks... the member might not have known it was a fake. If I was in her/his shoes, I wouldn't say it was me, guys! I'd like to give the member the benefit of the doubt before making accusations of counterfeiting or committing felonious crimes. On the other hand, if the member is in fact behind this scheme, I think they will have a very angry mob after them!

[Crazy4Vinyls]

There are too many factors for this to point to a " I didn't know". I think it has now turned into a "we got caught, now we better give out refunds and return vinyls before this goes a step further" When using the USPS to send fake goods across state lines is mail fraud, which I believe is a federal offense. When the identity of the person(s) responsible for this was released on FB groups yesterday, MANY MANY more people have found out the they were taken too.

[lianaishere]

There are too many factors for this to point to a " I didn't know". I think it has now turned into a "we got caught, now we better give out refunds and return vinyls before this goes a step further" When using the USPS to send fake goods across state lines is mail fraud, which I believe is a federal offense. When the identity of the person(s) responsible for this was released on FB groups yesterday, MANY MANY more people have found out the they were taken too.

Dang, that is so crappy I still can't believe people would stoop so low and risk so much to make some money off of innocent people. It is really, really, really disturbing. I hope this person (people?) is caught and reprimanded. Has anyone gotten the authorities involved yet?

[kara-bo-bara]

We should just let the Staff deal with the member, it's not really any of our business how they handle it. They're in charge and we're not. The Staff here is great and we should just trust that they'll handle this. Angry mob need not apply.

[redtop]

There are too many factors for this to point to a " I didn't know". I think it has now turned into a "we got caught, now we better give out refunds and return vinyls before this goes a step further" When using the USPS to send fake goods across state lines is mail fraud, which I believe is a federal offense. When the identity of the person(s) responsible for this was released on FB groups yesterday, MANY MANY more people have found out the they were taken too.

Also lets not forget copyright infringement. If Disney wanted to do something they probably could. I highly doubt they would.

[mshalloween]

Again, we'd like to encourage anyone who has dealt with a less-than-honest member in trading to leave negative feedback. It is an excellent way to prevent this situation from happening to others.

[Ale8414]

i popped off my ghost obi one's head just in case we were going to start a list or inventory of letters/numbers associated with "authentic" high value vinylmations. but that got me thinking that in the end, these people are so determined that most likely they would eventually figure out a way to put the letters/ numbers on their own molds.

anyway, mine had an f on the stump of its body plug but no letter or number on its head. ( most likely a 2nd generation obi )

[psu4glory]

depressing...discouraging...discomforting...man, i knew that thesaurus would come in handy one day

i suppose, as many have already said, that it was just a matter of time. and although i wasn't in the immediate market to fill out a P1 set, due to the exhorbitant secondary market prices, i did have grand dreams of someday owning a P1 kermit, figment, balloon chaser, etc. now, that dream isn't quite so strong...

so sad.

[kickingbird]

What's going on with this picture?

[Joy_C]

What's going on with this picture?

Is that a 1 I see on the peg? Looks fine to me.

[Chris 101009]

I was wondering if the name of the person/s was ever released?

[ragdoll246]

And so far all we know is that they're P1 ketmit/Balloon and U1 Gold chaser right? No one has reported this being with any other figure?

I was wondering the same thing. Makes me want to check ALL my figures no matter what series they are from.

[NJparttimer]

I have collected pins forever and pretty much get what makes a scrapper or fake. Vinylamations, not so much. I have a question and a commentary.

Question:

I just bought two Star Wars Vinylmations from ebay and found that they have the same serial number (which I though meant they were fakes because I thought the serial numbers were unique like dollar bills). Still, one is Han Solo and the painting of the artist name/disney logo is a completely different (more subdued) ink color than on the park-bought Vader that I have (both have black feet). How can I tell if these are fake?

Commentary:

I would not put it past a manager or supervisor in China to sneak an extra production run in and stash the excess figures. That would result in the same (or nearly the same) product being produced and the surplus stash could be moved off to the black market. Disney could combat this by switching production stateside or by producing an authentication mark (which I would say, perhaps for trust issues, would have to be done stateside). For example, Hard Rock Cafe had problems with pin counterfeiting and they started producing pins with holographic embossed rubber bumps on the back. Became very hard or economically unsound to produce counterfeit pins at that point. Disney should do the same for pins AND vinyls. The traders and collectors drive the success of these profitable products. The same traders and collectors need to create a unified offensive in communicating the importance of authenticity to Disney.

[Phylers]

I just bought two Star Wars Vinylmations from ebay and found that they have the same serial number (which I though meant they were fakes because I thought the serial numbers were unique like dollar bills). Still, one is Han Solo and the painting of the artist name/disney logo is a completely different (more subdued) ink color than on the park-bought Vader that I have (both have black feet). How can I tell if these are fake?

At this point, just post some pictures. We'll be able to identify them photographically. For what it's worth, though, my Han and Vader have the same serial number, too, and I opened both from a tray on release night.

... Disney could combat this by switching production stateside ....

AMEN! I've been trying to plant that seed for two years! You, new member, get applause: So many issues with Vinylmation would be easily solved by moving production stateside.