FT - Bunny Guy for Bumblebee Girl? - U.S.A.

BEEKUZZ

I am interested in finding someone to trade one of my S7 Bunny Guy CMF, for the S10 Bumblebee Girl CMF.  LEGO only - I bought a few on eBay and ended up with fakes.  NO MORE EBAY for me!  Anyone interested?

BEEKUZZ

I'm willing to trade with someone outside the US as well.

pharmjod

I think if you purchased the figure loose that is your problem. But one sealed and you should be fine. I've sold 4 or 5 but I actually pulled them out of the case myself.

BEEKUZZ

pharmjod said:

I think if you purchased the figure loose that is your problem. But one sealed and you should be fine. I've sold 4 or 5 but I actually pulled them out of the case myself.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say since it doesn't sound like a question.  The Bunny Guys came from my own sealed packages I bought.  What I'm missing is the Bumblebee Girl, which I was never able to get in a sealed package.  Instead, before I knew about BrickLink and Brickset, I turned to eBay.  Yeah, I would say it's "my problem" but that was a side note to my honest trade inquiry here.  I'm not asking anyone to undo anything.  I will never sell or trade anything that I can't verify the origins myself.

andhe

Have you got a picture of the fakes? I wasn't aware of series 10 being counterfeited and have a sort of morbid curiousity with fake brands.

EDIT: No worries, I found a review, seems to be just the animal suit guys
http://mybrickstore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/imitation-of-lego-collectible.html

Mojoest

I almost jumped at a listing on ebay for a set of these a couple of weeks ago. £25 for all of them.. bargain I thought... until i read the description. Yet more fakes to have to filter out  :(

pharmjod

Sorry, I meant to say buying loose figures on eBay is the problem / issue. Not that it's "your problem", though I realize that's how it looked now. Apologies. I was saying you will likely need to purchase one in the original sealed bag. Costs more, but would save you the headache of fakes.

BEEKUZZ

Yeah, the trade is done!!  Finally, after you don't want to know how many packs I bought.  I guess those with good feelings in their hands can figure them out and make sure not to sell you those ones or they leave the stores really fast.  

Thanks pharmjod for the follow up message.  I was hoping this was not a really pissy group and very happy to see it's not.  All is well.,

Farmer_John

This highlights that ageless dilemma: Whether or not to unseal a CMF bag prior to shipping. If it's opened, there's a chance these days it could be counterfeit. Additionally, CMFs are worth more sealed. However, there's also a high probability that an unscrupulous buyer can say the seller sent the incorrect sealed CMF...even if it was the right one. They can then pull a switch by keeping the original and returning a less valuable opened CMF.

Those of us who have been "frisking the CMFs" since 2011 (Series 1 and 2 had unique external bar codes) feel pretty good about our ability to identify CMFs from any series. But I have also received sealed CMFs from sellers who's page stated they were experts too, yet the item was incorrect. At that point I always feel like I have to convenience the seller that I'm not trying to pull a fast one and that they made a mistake.

The best way I've heard to deal with this is to sell the item as "sealed" and "as is," but give the buyer the opportunity for you to open it prior to shipping to provide a 100% guarantee it's the correct CMF. If it's the incorrect CMF, the seller keeps it and refunds the purchase. However if it's the correct item, the buyer (who has already presumably paid) has it sent to them in opened condition. All this provides the buyer with the opportunity to have a 100% guarantee they get what they ordered, but they also pay a higher price for the "sealed" CMF whether it's been opened or not.

Craziness...

CCC

Or just buy from someone trustworthy.

andhe

I'd avoid eBay for any figs. The prices are usually better on bricklink, or if you can trade on here (with someone you trust or who can be vouched for) then even better.

BEEKUZZ

Well, and truthfully, we still won't get a completely fair secret chance if the seller has good tactile skills. :(   I finally got a unicorn girl and hot dog guy from sealed packs and I was through the roof excited. - although the most expensive way to go. 

CCC

andhe said:

Have you got a picture of the fakes? I wasn't aware of series 10 being counterfeited and have a sort of morbid curiousity with fake brands.

EDIT: No worries, I found a review, seems to be just the animal suit guys
http://mybrickstore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/imitation-of-lego-collectible.html

The other ones to be careful of are some of the army builders, these are all fakes:

pharmjod

Wow. Those actually look pretty good in the photos.

CCC

I don't have those ones, but have some others. The fakes are getting pretty good. That is the problem - they are harder to detect!

iso3200

When the fakes finally get as good as the real thing, then what? They seem to be steadily increasing in quality - and in range.

CCC

If they did good quality roman shields and helmets (whether direct copies or not), I'd probably buy them - if they sold them as packs rather than with figures. They often sell the packs of 8 minifigs together, costing £8-10 for the lot which is too expensive for the few parts I'd use. It's not like you can sell on the minifigs (well, some people do, but I don't think I would want to). If they copied the minifigs exactly and sold them singly (or in packs of 8 the same figure) I would probably be tempted for army building. It would feel wrong, but for my own use and if I wasn't displaying them in public, then I'd probably do it.

BEEKUZZ

Sorry, I didn't think of keeping a photo of them.  I was so disgusted that this happened. But, someone who doesn't know, like me new, could actually pass them on and not even know.  The looks were great, but where they failed was in buildability.  Things just didn't connect properly or securely enough.  Unfortunately, you have to have them in hand first.  Or they can even use a photo already around of the official Lego minifig. Sounds like I'll be one of those looking for full sealed cases in the future and sell off the duplicates or ones that don't appeal to me.

andhe

One thing it does do is give me a greater admiration for Lego's manufacturing processes... When you see how shoddy some of these fakes are in terms of printing or clutch etc, you realise how incredibly accurate lego is to be able to produce millions of minifigure parts that (on the whole) fit with every other part perfectly.