Fake, Counterfeit, Knockoff, Illegal, Garbage, Crap Set & Minifigure Thread: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING!

[Ed Mack]

Hello LEGO fans...

After months of discussion about fake, counterfeit, knockoff, illegal, garbage, and crap sets and companies, the BrickPicker administration and moderator team have decided to remove this discussion completely from the BrickPicker forums.  I had hoped that people could discuss these topics in a mature manner, without promoting them, but that failed miserably.  It is unfortunate that there is a small, but vocal, group of people who support these illegal products and will try to push these products at any given chance.  For whatever reason, they consider these products legitimate.  

BrickPicker does not...

THIS IS A LEGO FAN SITE and will remain so.

While we approve of discussions about compatible and legitimate brands like Mega Bloks for example, any discussions about intellectual property stealing companies like Lepin or others will be removed and members might face suspension or permanent ban from this site.  We are not alone in this type of topic restriction.

Eurobricks implemented a similar policy and I quote (from their site)...

Remember: Eurobricks is a LEGO fan site, thus we want most topics here to be LEGO related. If you find you are posting mostly non-LEGO topics then maybe you have picked the wrong site. 

Clone and Competitor Brands: A Clone brand or competitor brand, is a product manufactured by a legitimate company. For Example Oxford,Mega Blocks. Kreo or Character Building. These are companies that do not infringe copyrights and provide a competitor product, such as licenses and themes LEGO do not produce. It is fair to discuss, compare and share these brands and their products in the Community section of the Forum. 

Bootlegs, Rip-Offs and Fakes: These manufacturers copy designs and minifigures from LEGO, other companies and even fans, to produce their own infringing products which they then sell, often at knock down prices. There are hundreds of names attached to these products and varied quality between them. We will no longer accept discussion and sharing of these products on Eurobricks. Most of these "brands" are facing legal cases and we have no interest in supporting them by providing a place for their criminal products to be seen.

I applaud the administration of Eurobricks for installing such a policy and I ask other major LEGO fan sites to follow suit.  We are all here for the love of LEGO sets and bricks and these knockoff products not only endanger the LEGO secondary markets, but the primary one as well.  

On a personal note, I am sorry it took so long for me to realize that discussing these illegal products was bad for our site and LEGO fans in general. The supporters of these counterfeit and knockoff products will have to discuss them on some other site, hiding in the shadows.  

Thank you for your time...

Ed Mack

[Furious_george]

Well said mate. 

[Val-E]

Yes but respectfully no. The caveat is that this site is mainly about investing in Lego. Recent and not so recent events relating to fakes have a very real impact on Lego investment and should not be buried under the sand.

How to spot fake pieces and minifigs, which sets have been copied, calling out fake sellers and the line TLG take on this all have their place here as much as daily deals, retirement , new release or bubble speculation, in my view.

[brickvoyeur]

So in a community dedicated to making a profit off of a product... not sharing information about possible threats that could harm the bottom line seems to be a little counterintuitive to what one of the greatest strategists of all time preached:

 

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

 

I'm not saying people should promote it... but it seems important to know what is being copied as sales will certainly be impacted. Some folks are by nature cheap, and not willing to buy a premium product. But Grandma buying their grandkids gifts is easier to fool. Will Grandma buy the more expensive LEGO, or grab a box online that looks the same for 75% off? I think it would be good to know which sets are being cloned, which are still safe, and the frequency of sales versus the legitimate brand.

Edited October 14, 2016 by brickvoyeur

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

Don't like the new policy? Make a Lepin fan site and post there. easy peasy 

[HandyHand]

1 hour ago, Ed Mack said:

I applaud the administration of Eurobricks for installing such a policy and I ask other major LEGO fan sites to follow suit.  We are all here for the love of LEGO sets and bricks and these knockoff products not only endanger the LEGO secondary markets, but the primary one as well.  

A Dutch Forum which has a Lego subforum has the topic-warning: This is for the real thing only. Trespassers will be bricked. 

And the moderators are thankfully really strict in upholding that rule.  

[Fenix_2k1]

18 minutes ago, brickcrazyhouse said:

Don't like the new policy? Make a Lepin fan site and post there. easy peasy 

Sorry but the vast majority of people who have posted in this thread have not been promoting other brands and would have no interest in counterfeit goods fan site. I think this thread was a useful tool in coordinating efforts against those trying to sell these sets on ebay and other sales outlets. I know there have been some morons who seem to think these sets have some merit because they are cheaper, but those people are few and far between. 

What I'm bothered about is working out the best strategies that brickpickers can employ to block people selling these in countries that respect copyright, trademarks and ip infringement.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Fenix_2k1

[Ed Mack]

While I understand there will be pushback on this, it was a toxic thread. Even though there was some valuable information to be gained, it was overshadowed by constant promoters of the illegal product. I have neither the time nor the inclination to constantly monitor fools who want to make up reasons why these ripoff bricks should be considered legitimate.

After months of discussion and thought on this matter, we feel it is best not to give these companies free publicity, good or bad. I of all people do not want to restrict or hinder intelligent conversation, but there is a growing number of Lepin supporters that I do not want to give voice to.

If you would like, Jeff and I could come up with a private group chat that only approved members will be apart of. This way, you can still share ways to combat this scourge. Let us know if this interests anyone.

[Val-E]

I think that a private group within this forum would be a good idea. Can´t beat cancer by running from it.

[Fenix_2k1]

Yeah that could work. 

[gregpj]

Unless something dramatically changes, I don't see a reason to continue the conversation...

Person A: Someone posted a fake set on eBay! Gasp!
Person B: Reported that listing!
Person A: Thanks for helping!
Person C: Me too!
Person D: I can't believe LEGO is letting this happen!
Person E: Get your head out of the sand, the sky is falling!
Person F: I love me some Fakes!
Person D: You're unbelievable!
Person B: Don't buy that junk!

Etc... we know the score, we see what LEGO, eBay, Amazon are and aren't doing.

Le sigh...

[c_rpg]

Yes, I also think a private group would be beneficial. Most people here have a vested interest in keeping the knockoffs at bay. But alas some people have no scruples about promoting/selling illegal products. A warning could be issued that the group is solely used to combat knockoffs and not to go in to endless discussion about these products.

[Phil B]

So will this group be purely a listing of sellers to go and report, or will there be discussion? And if discussion, what sort of discussion do we think will happen (See @gregpj's post 2 above mine) ..... not rehashing the same arguments over and over again I hope.

 

[Fenix_2k1]

How to report correctly using ebay drop downs.

Wording that is successful in shutting listings down

New fraudulent listing styles noticed.

New sets being copied.

Coordinating reports by seller or model.

[Ed Mack]

Jeff will come up with a private forum to discuss these matters and can make it accessible to members with a certain amount of posts in order to weed out scammers and trolls.  Otherwise, members would have to be approved by a mod or admin.  

[Ed Mack]

I just want members to realize that this will not be a "free-for-all."   There will be strict rules and limitations in the thread.  It is about sharing information that can help combat these criminal resellers and illegal products.  The way I look at it is that you are either "for LEGO" or "for Lepin(or similar crap)."  There is no "grey" area.

[Val-E]

No chit chat, just facts works fine for me. E.G. posts of newly released clones, dubious sellers, experiences of being cheated, changes in policy and updates on legal proceedings. Anything we can use to stay informed and not fall behind game.

[Ed Mack]

The NEW LEGO Knockoff thread is here...It is a private group.  You must ask to join.  The admins and mods will approve the requests.  

[Val-E]

I have been approved but access denied....

[mezzaluna]

i cant read it even though i am a member

[Locutus001]

2 hours ago, Val-E said:

No chit chat, just facts works fine for me. E.G. posts of newly released clones, dubious sellers, experiences of being cheated, changes in policy and updates on legal proceedings. Anything we can use to stay informed and not fall behind game.

To be frank, I found the quality review about the products very interesting. Would be interesting to know what's in the bricks and if there are any chemicals that shouldn't be in there (in that amount).

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I think I'll butt out of this subject now and leave the "experts" to it. Thanks guys, and I hope you win the battle!

[Jeff Mack]

25 minutes ago, Val-E said:

I have been approved but access denied....

Try again

[Ed Mack]

46 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I think I'll butt out of this subject now and leave the "experts" to it. Thanks guys, and I hope you win the battle!

There are no experts that I know of.  Only a bunch of people working together to fight a common foe. 

 

An interesting tidbit...We already had a request from a member from the Far East with no posts asking to be let into the group.  Nice try.   

[Ed Mack]

The NEW LEGO Knockoff thread is here...It is a private group.  You must ask to join.  The admins and mods will approve the requests.  Members with few or no posts will have to explain why they want to join.  We have already had multiple people ask to join with zero posts and IP addresses from countries from which counterfeits and knockoffs originate.