After eBay’s recent investment in Funko, we (and others) thought that the spate of fake Pop! figures would change on the e-commerce site.
So when we checked earlier today for more Price Points for the 1950’s Elvis, eBay showed 24. Of them, 20 featured the King in his original packaging.
And all of them (ALL 20 OF THEM!) were fake. And of the four out-of-box figures, only one was genuine. Someone even paid $400 for a fake out-of-box Elvis!
That is fake percentage of 96 percent! New collectors would never even know, as it seems they all come from China and sell for about $30-40.
eBay is really doing the community a disservice. And I did not even mention all the Fake Stickers eBay earns money on.
This is a problem for all honest collectors, Funko and elsewhere, and needs to be stopped.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever fallen victim to an eBay scam? Let us know in the comments below!
First of all, I am not intending for this to sound negative towards e-Bay or Funko Pop. And I am an enormous fan of Funko. I love them!
To me, and in my opinion, it is sad news that e-Bay is moving in on the Funko Pop market. I have a large collection of Funko Pops, and honestly a good deal of them I have purchased through e-Bay. And I do know I have at least one “fake” Pop.
I have lost faith in e-Bay. For one reason their skyrocketing fees for selling items. But I realize that is business. Another reason is their customer service, or lack thereof. I feel that e-Bay could care less weather they are selling fake Funko Pops. As long as they are making a profit, that’s their bottom line.
As far the Funko Corporation goes, I feel they could do more in helping to Identify fake “Pops”. I have sent several e-mails to their headquarters in London asking, and even offering to help educate people about what to look for in fake Pops. And I have yet to hear a thing from the company. Again, I think as long as they are making a profit that is all that matters.
It sounds like elementary advice, but until Funko or e-Bay step up…Just be careful of what you buy…If it seems too good to be true…It probably is.
So people are either dumb enough to believe they’re getting a $400 pop for $35 without researching, or merely just want a “replica” without paying the full price (as I would do for Indiana Jones if I wanted one). I doubt it’s just eBay though as I’m sure there are fake pops on the PPG marketplace as well (as with any marketplace). Hard to call eBay out for this as they have no way of checking the actual pop. Most of the “from China” listings I’ve seen usually say it’s a replica anyways.
As long as ebay is making money, they really don’t care. The 1st 2 posters hit the nail on the head but as long as you pay your 12.9 percent on your auction and an extra 30 cents they could care less. And if your a seller, you already started on the wrong side of the ball. So, yes i can definetly see why ebay bought a piece of funko. The money , plain and simple.
At the bottom of the fake funko sellers page is a link that says “report an item”
Click on it and hit “counterfeit or copyright enfringement” there are 2 other clicks that say counterfeit, click those as well.
I’ve been doing it for the last 2 weeks on every counterfeit Pop I see on eBay. 🤙
And? Any luck? I did this on both FB and Ebay for a while and it has never worked for me. I have now given up and just moved on.
I bought a Heath Ledger Dark Knight Joker on eBay a few years back that when I received it, was obviously fake, and I called the seller out on it and they refused to admit they sold me a fake Pop claiming it and everything they sell is 100% authentic. Luckily it’s not that expensive because they refused to except it returns and would not issue a refund.
I also found out people are opening higher end Soda cans, not getting a Chase then re-shrink wrapping the can and selling it as sealed.
I have always filtered out searches that ship from outside the US and especially China. Removes most of the fakes. You’d hate to think someone who bought a fake would resell it knowing it’s a fake.
I buy a lot on eBay as well. Unfortunately funko lacks in shipping. They don’t do replacements if damaged. Even if it is just the box. They don’t send stickers when missing or damaged. I got a shipment today and of course the box is smashed and the funko inside could have been saved had bubble wrap been on the end of the jumbo, it was vulnerable with zero padding….
At least on eBay and PayPal you have some sort of support. 🤷🏻♀️ funko… you’re at a complete loss.
I’ve seen, waaaay hidden in the bottom of the description ” this is the China version” both on eBay, and in mercari. I wish all were required to. So this is a question: Vietnam funkos, are they legit? Were there ever funkos made in China, legit?
“China Version’ is just meant to say not Original and I guess used as some kind of “get out of jail” language. You can see it on lots of other counterfeit products on eBay.
No investigation, no say
It is irresponsible to point out that the seller sells fakes just by looking for a few pictures on the Internet.You should point out which is fake by purchasing a real one and a fake one，then provide comparative pictures.
There is no punishment for irresponsible comments on the Internet, but as a PPG, all comments on the website should provide evidence.
Now let me provide evidence.
USA has spider man and iron man, but you have become keyboard man.
I absolutely love when people do this. Not all of is have dupes, especially spendy ones, to find real and fake. Or the skills to tell. Keep these types of posts coming, you tube is starting to load vids, very helpful. Thank you, for your post!
I believe this is just showing a very bad fake next to a fake, so is anything else than helpful. Always remember that there are different fakes of the same POP out there.
At least 9 places are different.
By comparing the pictures, you can know that the second-hand sellers on eBay sell real second-hand POPs
Comparison picture 4
Comparison picture 3
Comparison picture 5 last one
It is hard to have this discussion about items that were listed on eBay some time ago as the ones that are there now might be different (and there are also many different fakes out there, some better some worse).
All that being said you are obviously selling this item (I found your photo on eBay), can you explain how you got these? And also those Prototypes?
I really hadn’t ever considered that there would be fakes floating around. I guess Im glad I’ve hopefully avoided them by buying at retail and conventions.
1. Trendy toys should be suitable for all levels of people.
2. Not everyone can buy pops at retail and conventions, and not everyone has enough money to buy new ones.
3. Funkopop needs private communication / trading / circulation to enhance Funko’s popularity and further develop Funko.
4. EBay is a good second-hand trading platform, which is open to the world. This means that second-hand dealers can help Funko spread its popularity to the world. EBay should eliminate those shops that obviously sell fake goods, but it should protect those genuine second-hand dealers.
I think before talking a big game here you should first answer how you get the quantities of valuable rare POPs you are offering for sale.
Since Funko began to seek factories in China to produce pops, I have been doing second-hand stuffs recycling and resale. You can count how many years I spent accumulating these stuffs.
Every funko enthusiast can try to promote Funko in addition to buying Funko products. Only when Funko develops better, will your collection behavior be more valuable / meaningful / fun
Boy one guy sure has a lot of comments. We don’t need equity in pops lol. People can afford pops just fine. Most start out around $9.
But when it comes to counterfeit pops, I have been fooled a couple of times. I Now understand the release date stickers on the bottom of the box mean a lot. And also the pump itself being tagged properly.
You all seem to be forgetting that these are “toys”. They was never meant to sell for the values some of them sell for. They are plastic toys in flimsy cardboard boxes. Funko has no interest now and will never care that you bought a 5000$ fake pop. They sell all their pops for 9.95$, 14,95$, 19,95$ and so on. Or they are given away to attendees. It’s the collectors that skyrocket these prices. Emailing Funko will never work. They don’t care. These are toys, bottom line.
Fakes vary, some are easy to spot and some are not so easy.
If you don’t know what you’re looking at, you shouldn’t be buying.
The Funko world is mostly flippers. Resellers trying to make money. There’s not many hardcore collectors. A lot of dreamers and greedy people.
If collecting Funko annoys you. Give up. It’s the same with anything that has some high values. Fakes will come out of China for it.
Never forget these are meant to be cheap toys. Things like ink color on codes is never something to go by. The employees select colors. A cheap plastic toy in a cheap cardboard box being shipped all over the world, reseller to reseller to reseller… they get damaged.
If Funko started charging 5000$ for a 24 piece for example they would improve the quality and care about the fakes. But they get their money from retail prices. They make nothing on your 10,000$ eBay buy. So why would they care ? 🤷♂️
That they were $10 has nothing to do with the fact that selling fakes is unethical and criminal Some Dimestore Items sold at the turn on the century are now worth $10,000s. I think you are also very wrong and there are a very large number or real collectors (otherwise there would be no flippers). And clever brands care about their collectors, they keep them in business (and clever, long-term thinking marketplaces do the same).