Youāve discovered that perfect Pop! figure for sale online and at a price that fits your wallet. But something in the back of your mind is telling you that this deal is too good to be true.
In the world of collecting, the unfortunate truth is that you can never have too much information when it comes to determining an itemās authenticity.
Dr. Applesauce has a keen eye for spotting fakes.
Now the man behind the hit YouTube channel āCollecting with Dr. Applesauceā has asked to join the Pop Price Guide community, in a partnership to help raise awareness of fake items and other Funko-related issues.
The Doc is well-known for his role in the collecting community via his YouTube channel, which boasts 13.6K followers.
In some of his videos, he meticulously breaks the tell-tale signs of spotting scams and fake items — delving into the hidden nuances of fakes, from stamps to differing fonts and much more.
Says Dr. Applesauce:
āIn any type of collectible hobby, fakes are a huge, huge issue. That counts for Funko Pop!s. That counts for Hot Toys. That counts for baseball cards. That counts for Hot Wheels. Pretty much anything that has value or that people are going to want to buy and collect and that somebody can make a quick buck off of it, there are going to be fakes.ā
As we know, this issue is super important to our PPGāers. We wanted to bring this content to you, directly within PPG. Thus, the PPG Anti-Fake Coalition was born.
The Coalitionās goal is to disseminate this information within the PPG database to help you make a more-informed decision when it comes to making a safe purchase.
As weāre now able to add an unlimited amount of images to our galleries, we can add specific images from the Docās videos on how to spot fake items. Thus, helping you avoid buying a bad Pop! You will also find a link to the complete videos located on specific items in the PPG database.
Added images
Weāre looking to add images of fake items on the pages of Pop! figures that are often replicated. An example can be found in the images of Freddy Funko (Pennywise).
https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/catalog_items/freddy-funko-pennywise
External videos
If youāre still unsure about authenticity from looking at its images, scroll to the bottom of its item listing page (below the Related Items and recent eBay/hobbyDB sales) to the External Links option. Here you will find helpful and relevant videos pertaining to that item. To demonstrate, here is Freddy Funko (Pennywise), once again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oI9W4spJEY
Join the PPG Anti-Fake Coalition
Weāre looking for Funko enthusiasts with YouTube channels and other related media to join the PPG Anti-Fake Coalition and help us limit fakes while improving buyer protections.
Also, have a good eye or experience when it comes to spotting fakes? Weāre always searching for volunteers to join the PPG team to help ensure the accuracy of the site. If interested, reach out to us via the green Contact hobbyDB button located on the right side of every page.
This is absolutely amazing news, thanks guys for all the new details this site is rolling out. Drapplesauce is the man and if he can save me some headaches, heck yeah sign me up.
Hello, my nickname is TIO DA BARBA BRANCA, which in English means Uncle with a white beard.
I am a person known to collectors in Brazil and I have a channel where I deal, ONLY, with Funko Pop.
I have a playlist that today, 08/13, has more than 750 short videos, of 2 minutes, that show, in detail, the box of Pops, Pops and their respective numbers.
I created this playlist to help collectors at the time of purchase, and of course, to know if they are real.
I donāt speak English well, so sorry for my bad text.
I would like to help the community.
See the playslist and anything, call me on Instagram. @tiodabarbabranca
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcS41oINrrVcjpasEsOs6Fht2PnN3bD1_
Big hug.
Reply
Sounds great, I will be in touch!
What I have been doing lately is reporting fakes on EBay. There is a link at the bottom of each listing to report it. If we could get everyone to start doing that and report them it would help with keeping them off of EBay. We need to overwhelm EBay with reports and they will start kicking them off. I do a few every night.
So I basically look for the grails and when I see the ones that are $30 Buy it Now , and the price should be $300 you kinda figure it out
Hello …
You need to know the TIO DA BARBA BRANCA channel.
He does this work in Brazil with two-minute videos, showing all the details of the box, POP and box codes. It’s worth looking at! A hug! Follow the link for the videos.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcS41oINrrVcjpasEsOs6Fht2PnN3bD1_
Hey guys! Here in Brazil we have a great channel made by a great guy called Tio da Barba Branca (White Bearded Uncle). He makes two minutes videos of every funko pop he can, showing them off to clear any doubts about it when purchasing. It is a great tool we have to make good decisions. Please, take a look at the videos, I am sure you will love it! It is an awesome tool for the antifake war!
Cheers!
Hereās his channel link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcS41oINrrVcjpasEsOs6Fht2PnN3bD1_
Hi!
I honestly believe one of the best assets you could possibly have with this project would be reaching Tio da Barba Branca and checking his channel for the 2 min review videos: the videos are a quick, useful and awesome tool to check every detail possible on each figure.
Check the example below, for instance:
https://youtu.be/9yxjFCIlgpI
Hello,
Look at the videos of Tio da Barba Branca chnnel, they are a beautiful to complement your great work.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8lbqoUGuMRbWCb59q6ESw
#JustOnePopShowcase
Hey guys you should check Tio da Barba Branca, he had more than 750 Pops reviews with super direct and great videos. Here’s an example https://youtu.be/9yxjFCIlgpI.
Keep the great work!
Wow did this all of a sudden become a platform to promote this uncle white beard guy? Does he pay by the hour? Cuz I could use the extra money
This guy for us in Brasil is like Top Pops, DisFunko, BoxAttack as many others for you in US. Lots of people in Brazil can’t afford some rare Pops and buy it from sites from China. So we, collectors who seek only original Pops many times use his videos to certify the authenticity. And yes, he pay us well enough …. with knowledge!
The Uncle did a live stream on the initiative and is joining it.
i report a few fake china sellers every day on ebay… along with plenty of american resellers who try to scam us collectors. if we all do this maybe we can stop it or at least put a few dents in their businesses.
I watched a 2 minute video of the bearded uncle and he didnāt say a word. What the point? I can do that.
The videos are intended for people in South America where there are many fewer retailers and many more fakes on the shelves (in fact I have never seen a fake in a normal retailer).
I shop on Mercari. They do not have any anti fake protection.
You should tell them to join us… š
is this hellraiser #134 real? I’m not good with old 2015 funkos , please help š
It might be better to post that on the PPG FB Group (https://www.facebook.com/poppriceguide).