Bootlegs in the dealer's room

Sailorhell · Post by **Sailorhell** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:10 pm

Hello. Anime Boston's policy for vendors in the dealer's room states:

Bootleg and unlicensed merchandise are not permitted to be sold in the Dealers' Room.

Despite this, my friends and I were very disappointed and dismayed to see numerous bootleg items being sold in the dealer's room last year. What can I do this year to help stop this practice?

Thank you.

Post by **Faceman** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:45 pm

Our Dealers' Room staff is very dedicated to inspecting merchandise to ensure its authenticity. Unfortunately, sometimes things are missed during the sweeps of the Dealers' Room.

If you find or suspect there is bootleg merchandise being sold in the Dealers' Room, please bring it to our Dealers' Room staffs' attention immediately. You can find them at the set of tables by the entrance to the Dealers' Room, by the main hallway into the Hynes. If you're having trouble finding it, ask anyone in an Orange, Red, or Blue Anime Boston staff shirt where the Dealers' Room table is.

The Dealers' Room staff will investigate any reports of bootlegged, unlicensed, or otherwise prohibited merchandise and decide which actions, if any, to take.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:16 pm

Yeah, to tag onto that, there are straight up a lot of things to potentially inspect, so if you happen to notice something, I'm happy to bring the hammer down.

Also, there are definitely things that I'm not aware of, so dedicated fans of some specific things can actually be super helpful to identify problematic items. I knew zero about LeSportsac bags, for example, and now I know a little bit about them after someone else on staff pointed out how some bags were problematic and I was able to look up the difference.

Sailorhell · Post by **Sailorhell** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:26 pm

Thanks for the response. I will be sure to report any bootleg merchandise I come across this year.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 9:53 am

I actually spotted some bootlegs myself last year, but it was during the final hours of the dealer's room on Sunday so I didn't bother doing anything. However, I will definitely bring something up if I see it myself this year.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 8:23 pm

I have to bump this, cause I want you guys to know, that I spotted lots of bootleg stuff again in here this year. I actually did tell a couple of people about it, but nothing was done about it.

The really sad thing about it though is that, I noticed that a couple of vendors were setting up merchandise on Friday, and there were a couple of bins that they had that had nothing but bootlegs in it, mainly posters and plushies. However, the next day, I noticed that these items were not on display and that they were probably put away. I'm tending to notice that bootleg posters now have a certain type of laminate on them that gives them sort of a glitter effect.

Did anyone else notice bootlegs at the Dealer's Room?

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 8:38 pm

What did you notice in particular? I was able to get through most of the joint on Friday, but there's a lot of stuff in there. There was one exhibitor I told to put away probably 60-75% of all the stuff they had. They had posters that had to go, which is what I think you might have seen.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 8:47 pm

I know there was one vendor that has been in the same place the last couple of years, that was right across from glitch gaming. They sold a lot of apparel, but I also noticed they were still selling those laminated glitter bootleg posters too.

On top of that, now that I think about it, I'm almost positive I've seen them at Portcon as well.

Post by **Sayoria** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 9:19 pm

My friend is an alpaca freak, and she told me she saw a few stands selling bootlegged alpaca plushies in the dealers room. Of course, not being crazed like her, I couldn't ID who, but I told her to contact the staff, and she didn't want to cause trouble.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:31 am

Greg Ayres said at his bootleg panel that anyone that feels like they need to question a vendor should do so, regardless of how big or little the scenario is. I can understand that some people don't want to cause trouble, but in my opinion, if no one says anything, that poses an even bigger problem as a whole for the con.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 11:28 am

I think I know which spot you're talking about and I didn't even see posters at all. It was basically 'oh, clothing' and my eyes move on. I'll have to keep a closer eye on that in the future. Thanks!

I know just about zero regarding plush alpaca, so any help would have been greatly appreciated. It is super not trouble to hear about this stuff - that's basically all I've got to do after the room opens on Friday!

chaobunny · Post by **chaobunny** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:26 pm

I didn't even know that there was such thing as a bootleg alpaca plush. People do that?

Post by **Sayoria** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 1:00 pm

Not sure. Like I said, I am not an alpaca person, but she sure loves them. I dunno how accurate she is, but she said some were labeled as "llama" something or other. I am not sure if she's just in denial of a certain brand or if they were actually bootleg, but she was really upset about it.

RingoDeathStarr · Post by **RingoDeathStarr** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 2:25 pm

Yukito Kunisaki wrote:Not sure. Like I said, I am not an alpaca person, but she sure loves them. I dunno how accurate she is, but she said some were labeled as "llama" something or other. I am not sure if she's just in denial of a certain brand or if they were actually bootleg, but she was really upset about it.

http://www.yesanime.com/productDetail.php?show=15501

I bought this one from a dealer in the dealer's room. The tag says "Llama Prime Plush" from Yes Anime, INC.
The tag on the plush itself also has the Yes Anime info as well as "made in Taiwan"

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:35 pm

With stuff like this, it's a bit harder to identify if something's a counterfeit or not. It's not like it's a stinky ol' Naruto and there's some way to tell who it's licensed from. You'd basically have to be familiar with the original product and then look for signs (typically seams that don't match up) that it's a counterfeit of the same exact toy.

Now, if the design is a bit different, it could easily be someone else just capitalizing on a popular thing that isn't based on a licensed property. If there was a specific alpaca cartoon or something, for example, and there was like officially licensed 'My Alpaca is Behaving Strangely' merchandise, that would be a lot easier to identify counterfeits.

Something like a Hello Kitty or Rilakkuma or whatever is a specific Sanrio thing, for example. If someone was making a copy of the Sanrio version of a thing, even a 'generic' thing like 'cute alpaca', that's when we'd have to look at stuff like stitching quality and seams matching up and stuff like that.

If it's like when you go to, say, CVS and go to buy some jelly beans, you'll find different manufacturers of jelly beans but the only time Jelly Belly brand jelly beans would get on someone's case is if they're trying to fool you into thinking their stuff is Jelly Belly brand when it's not. Or, I guess, if they trademarked a specific 'flavor' name like Citadel did with their goofy Warhammer paint colors. If someone's just got 'cute alpaca' that's not really exactly like whatever someone else was making, they're not actually trying to pass their product off as the one you want. There should be an obvious difference and that's largely then up to the manufacturer of the thing you really wanted to press some kind of 'look and feel' case and go after the other manufacturer.

What I'm concerned about is stuff like when someone goes and copies a small Naruto doll and makes a bigger one, or if they just didn't license Naruto in the first place. That's the kind of thing that affects the people and companies that make the shows we like to watch and their ability to make more shows. If someone makes 'generic frog plush' and someone else has a different 'generic frog plush', that's not something I care about unless one of them is trying to mislead you into buying their counterfeit that they made with potentially toxic materials. If two people have basically unrelated generic stuff that isn't actually copying each other, that's not something I'm going to worry about. If the manufacturing quality of one person's generic garbage is actually just complete garbage, that's something they'd need to be concerned about improving.

Angel ♥︎ · Post by **Angel ♥︎** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:15 pm

Regarding Arpakasso bootleg in the Dealers' Room, I'd like to put in my 2 cents:

There were lots, lots, LOTS of knock offs, ones that were questionable as to whether or not they were Amuse brand and even many that were just definitely not. (And overpriced, too, but that's a whole different story)

The most notable example was the Megane Arpakasso; the originals have plastic glasses and do not sit crushed to the face, while the knockoffs, 99% of which were the Megane series at AB this year, had fabric glasses that sat crushed onto the face in a funny angle. Sure, cheaper to get, but crappy for the buyer. Baaaaad quality.
I think, Arpakasso are the worst of the problems with bootlegs, mainly because of how expensive it is to go again and again to UFO machines to get them.

If anyone or the staff themselves want more info regarding alpaca bootlegs, I'd love to put in a bit more info, because buyers far too often fall into buying fake overpriced ones. Difficult to see the difference if not knowing specifically on the topic.

In any case... other than that, not many bootlegs seen, thankfully.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:27 pm

If you could send me a link or something that has some definitive indications of things to look for, that would be super helpful! PM me or hit up Exhibits on the contact form. Thanks!

RingoDeathStarr · Post by **RingoDeathStarr** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 5:42 pm

The Llama's from Yes Anime are very nice quality and do not claim to be Alpacasso. I'm not super into name brands so I'm happy with my purchase.
It wasn't much more expensive than an Alpacasso I ordered from a wholesaler. I can't be positive the one I ordered online wasn't a bootleg, it never got here, which is the whole reason I was super excited and willing to drop the $30 on the llama plushie that I'd get immediately.

Maydog · Post by **Maydog** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:23 am

coolforever wrote:I have to bump this, cause I want you guys to know, that I spotted lots of bootleg stuff again in here this year. I actually did tell a couple of people about it, but nothing was done about it.

The really sad thing about it though is that, I noticed that a couple of vendors were setting up merchandise on Friday, and there were a couple of bins that they had that had nothing but bootlegs in it, mainly posters and plushies. However, the next day, I noticed that these items were not on display and that they were probably put away. I'm tending to notice that bootleg posters now have a certain type of laminate on them that gives them sort of a glitter effect.

Did anyone else notice bootlegs at the Dealer's Room?

I also observed bootleg items but like you I saw nothing being done about it

Post by **Aidan2** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:28 am

Maydog wrote:
I also observed bootleg items but like you I saw nothing being done about it

Did you tell the Anime Boston staff (Blue or Orange shirts) in the dealers room about it?

We as Anime Boston have a hard line "No Bootleg" policy however we are not able to be completely fluent on all types of merchandise and licensing deals world wide. We catch a good amount, however if you see something you suspect of being bootleg please come to and Anime Boston staffer and let them know and then we WILL investigate. In some (limited) cases the vendor may not know they dont have authorized items. Gone are the days of easily identified SunMay CD's and "Region 0" Dvd sets.

So if you see something please say something!

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 1:23 am

I think what should happen in the future is that AB should have a staff member just randomly walk around the dealer's room at times just to randomly check on how a vendor is handling their booth/table. That way the vendors can't pull anything sneaky if you ask me.

I think the biggest problem is that while people want to say stuff to staff members or vendors, I'm sure that they also don't want to cause trouble as well, even though sometimes it's unfortunate that personal feelings can outweigh the integrity of the overall scenario.

President Aria · Post by **President Aria** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:34 am

coolforever wrote:I think what should happen in the future is that AB should have a staff member just randomly walk around the dealer's room at times just to randomly check on how a vendor is handling their booth/table. That way the vendors can't pull anything sneaky if you ask me.

The problem with that is, you'd have to have some all knowing staff member that knows every single bootleg product ever. Sure, some people can spot bootleg plushies, but if you're not a plushie collector, chances are good you wouldn't know. Same with various other products like posters or wallscrolls. If a table has been reported to be selling bootlegs and the staff confirms this and tells them to remove them from sale, then it sounds like they do in fact check back randomly to make sure said seller is in compliance. But the only way they're really going to know in most cases is if people report it to them. If no one reports it, then it's pretty stupid to complain after the fact about how many bootlegs there were.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:09 pm

We do walk around in the halls periodically, but as the President mentioned, there isn't going to be one person that knows it all. There was someone, for example that pointed out some problem Le Sportsac bags in the past and we actually had legit examples to compare against in the room. I don't generally know anything about counterfeit bags, so now I know a little bit.

RunningInThe90s · Post by **RunningInThe90s** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:12 am

I've been attending AB for, well a long while. And I have to say, the prevalence and persistence of counterfeit merch has tumbled a good deal over the years as AB staff has stepped up their vigilance (and expanded their knowledge base). But I think people have got tor realize that, like counterfeiting currency, it's always a battle. Bootlegs get better, more detailed, and harder to tell apart from officially licensed merchandise. That's their aim. Fans are a lot more knowledgeable now (and have way more incentive now to not buy them, as back in the day, a bootleg might have been the only game in town, so to speak). I'm not the most horribly discerning shopper when at a con (my attention is usually elsewhere), but I've thankfully never had a moment of 'oh hey, I've accidentally purchased fake junk' at AB. I think that's less a testament to my shopping skills than a greater reflection at the overall quality of vendors selected to have room space as well as staff efforts at curbing bootleg merch sales.

Regardless, it's going to slip through sometimes. They [staff] aren't omniscient. By all means, keep pushing for more awareness, and we should all report anything we see, but I wouldn't ever be too surprised. As someone else mentioned, sometimes even a vendor is taken in. It happens. Ask for receipts. Pay by debit or credit when you can. Take the usual steps.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:58 pm

I'm gonna bump this yet again because everyone should be aware of what to look out for when the con comes around in just about a month. Hopefully no one's money goes to waste this year

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:27 pm

The natural problem is that every year brings new magical items. And as always, please don't hesitate to point something out if I've missed it! I only look mean. I won't actually be mean unless you're a prick!

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 10:09 pm

Pulsedemon, where will you be located during the con? I'll come to you first thing if I see something fishy in the Dealer's room.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:17 am

Staff will be at the tables near the door closest to the Nurse's station in Hall A. Like where the food vending area is in the hallway outside. If I'm not there at any given moment, another staff member can take a note and we'll check it out.

Post by **fuzzypeachykeen** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:49 am

We do inspections as well (I do them in plainclothes anyway) but we can only see so much and we only have a handful of staff members on our team. Echoing Christian's answer, if you see something suspicious or bootleg, please tell a staff member or come to us directly. We're the booth next to the Anime Boston Merchandise table. You, as attendees, are our eyes and ears.

Aurabolt · Post by **Aurabolt** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:51 pm

I have a couple of things:

* A common thread I've seen from a few folks who've posted so far is to the effect of "I saw X, which I'm sure was bootleg at X's both but didn't report it for X reason". Fill in "X" what whatever you like. As the Greens and Blues say, the fastest way to get rid of the bootlegs--more so if they're a repeat offender--is to report them ASAP.

* Don't feel like you have to call out the vendor on the spot if you don't want to. Simply take a picture of the merch and the vendor's signage and forward that to AB Staff. They'll take care of the rest.

* At AB2013, I took about 2 hours worth of video footage with my Nintendo 3DS. Within a few days of my posting the video, two people came forward on the forums saying one of the vendors shown in one of my vids I uploaded sold bootlegs. I wasn't even aware of this but some attentive congoers knew something fishy was going on.

* It sounds like there is some interest and some knowledge from a few folks here on the subject. I'm wondering if Staff and knowledgable congoers could form a task force this year to form a united front. Basically, volunteers canvass the Dealers' Room. If they find something they suspect is bootleg, they snap a picture and bring it to AB Staff to check to see if it's legit or fraudulent merchandise. You want to be absolutely sure the goods are counterfeit before you confront the vendor(s). Some might get defensive, some might demand proof and some honestly wouldn't know the difference so...yeah.

* I Don't know what, if any conversation(s) happen between AB and the Vendors who come in but I think a written or verbal warning about Counterfeit/Bootleg Goods might be helpful for this year. Maybe even make it a requirement that in order to get a table, they have to sign a document promising not to knowingly sell counterfeit/bootleg goods. If they're caught selling said goods, there's a 3-strikes policy:

1st: Identified bootleg goods are confiscated by AB Staff; Vendor fined $1,200 by AB.
2nd: Vendor ejected without refund; Vendor's name shared with other Cons; Vendor fined $5,000.
3rd: Vendor served lifetime ban from AB or until ownership changes; Vendor's name shared with other Cons and Official Suppliers; Vendor fined $10,000.

...I figure the fine alone would be a sufficient deterrent for most who would even consider selling knockoff goods. For those that go to several cons a year, they wouldn't want to risk other cons finding out they were caught selling bootleg stuff. Suppliers finding out would kill their business so...yeah XD

YouTube · Post by **basharoftheages** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 1:35 pm

That would be a great way to make sure you have nobody in your dealers room. Why not go full-scrappy doo and replace the plainclothes staffers with ICE agents to arrest offenders in addition to confiscating their entire booth for the investigation?

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 4:14 pm

Typically, ejection and a permanent disinvitation to any future event is more than enough of a deterrent. An outrageous fine would basically require legal action and some demonstration of injury to 'the business'. That's a situation where you pick your battles. There's a contract that both parties sign before the show and everything is spelled out there.

coolforever · Post by **coolforever** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:03 pm

I agree with Pulse, I'd rather see someone not be allowed back to AB rather than fines being added in addition to a ban. It would require a lot more work on the staff to implement fines, and it would probably end up costing the con a lot of money too with legal stuff.

Hey, at least this topic is getting the message out there for the fans that will be buying stuff at the con.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:41 pm

It's also a message that's in the program guide, but who ever looks at that?

Old_School_Anime_Lover02 · Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:45 pm

you could usually tell bootlegers by the price. pick something up in bulk and try to haggle them. I can guarantee you you can find them that way. Most of them won't cut you a deal.

Aurabolt · Post by **Aurabolt** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:33 am

coolforever wrote:
Hey, at least this topic is getting the message out there for the fans that will be buying stuff at the con.

And that is the point ^_^

I don't think there is a person here who doesn't want to buy stuff in the dealers' room. Knowing there is a concerted effort to make sure folks buy legit good should put alot of minds at ease as well.

xXmisamarasanXx · Post by **xXmisamarasanXx** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:02 pm

if anyone is curious about how to spot bootleg figures here are a few links that will help you: https://animizzi.wordpress.com/2012/02/ ... e-figures/ and https://tsunshun.wordpress.com/2013/09/ ... l-or-fake/

luckily its easier to spot bootlegs in the dealers room than it is buying online. some might be easier to spot than others so you really need to pay attention to details.

pulsedemon · Post by **pulsedemon** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:41 pm

Good Smile Company also maintained a good guide for a while, but it hasn't been updated in a while.

Old_School_Anime_Lover02 · Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:45 am

also if it's to good to be true then you should know it's a fake. Like really hard to find anime....keep an eye out for those and google it before you go and make sure you check what the box cover looks like. if it's different in any way shape or form, then you'll know.

also I have a dvd player that can pick up on what's fake or not, but at that point it's rather to late. I can't ask to open a box and watch it right there....so that was kind of a moot point to bring up, but it's good to know (some dvd players can tell weather it's fake or not even if you can't)