Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Conventions and Bootlegs

So bootlegs, they're a bit crap then don't you think?  If you answered no to that question, then I'm afraid come the end times you will NOT be allowed to pass go and collect two hundred assorted PVC figures.



Photo comes courtesy of ebay which as most people know is the centre of the universe when it comes to appallingly bad yet readily available bootleg figures.

Now at most Cons you really do not often see bootleg dvds anymore - far less than you used to that's for sure.  That's a good thing.  Yet, you nearly always see endless amounts of fake pvc figures, plushies and charms, keychains etc.

Now I'm sorry but why is one not ok and the other seems to be acceptable?  They're both harmful to the industry.  Many conventions state that they simply do not know what's fake and what's real.  That may be so but you know something lets take plushies as an example - Japanese official plush ALWAYS have the copyright label somewhere, they ALWAYS come with a tag, they ALWAYS state the manufacturer.  So when you see a guy selling a 3ft tall Death Note plush that looks like crap you may just may want to check into that.  For a number of reasons, it hurts legitimate sellers, it hurts the customers who think they're spending good money on a decent item and maybe because that item was not put through any quality control system in any way shape or form.  I cringe every time I see a young kid with a fake plush, who can say what that thing is actually stuffed with..

There is no easy answer but a line should be drawn in the sand.  Bootlegs are not ok.  People who sell them are not ok.  They should not be allowed to profit from conventions.  I'd like to see the Japanese manufacturers take a much stronger stance on this.  It hurts them and it hurts the industry.

Bleh this is a topic that I could write about all night.  Suffice to say, bootlegs and bootleggers are one of the things I despise most in the world.

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