How to Avoid Fake Sonic Merchandise Page 18
Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Bootlegs 1 * Bootlegs 2 * Bootlegs 3 * Bootlegs 4 * Bootlegs 5 * Bootlegs 6* Bootlegs 8 * Bootlegs 9 * Bootlegs 10 * Bootlegs 11 * Bootlegs 12 * Bootlegs 13 * Bootlegs 14 * Bootlegs 16 *Bootlegs 17
Bootlegs 19 * Bootlegs 20 * Bootlegs 21 * Bootlegs 22 * Bootlegs 23 * Bootlegs 24 * Bootlegs 25 * Bootlegs 26 * HUB
Fakery and junk abounds when bootleggers think they can get away with knocking off Sonic the Hedgehog!
Fight back by educating yourself on what NEVER to buy with these pages of photos and tips!
Remember, you vote with your money...any buying of fake junk only supports and encourages them to make more. Wouldn't you rather have awesome official items? Wouldn't you rather enjoy cool good quality stuff you know you can depend on? If you want the real deal, bootlegs are never the way to go.
Remember what a 'bootleg' item is:
It is an unofficial or unlicensed product being sold to the fans- by NON FANS. These can be home-made or made in a factory. They are not approved by the company who holds the license and are NOT made to any standard. The quality is usually low, leading to items which may break or wear out. Fake items may also be unsafe. Remember, bootleg makers are only after your money. They don't care at all about Sonic the hedgehog and are only out for a quick buck. Don't waste your money! Buy official SEGA Sonic things only, look for copyrights, and demand the real deal.
Iron On Transfers Submission: CLOSED (every single art on the internet can be one of these, know that it exists & if it's a transfer of any type it IS A FAKE.
ipone phony cases Here are more fake iphone cases, this time with a variety of looks. The first imitates Sonic 1, the next uses modern art, but the 3rd has a slogan. It says "iSonic Cause running is so much easier with music", then uses the 'meme type' art theme where a character/ person is done in all black, but with white earbuds/cord/ipod to illustrate the product. Clearly thought went into these, but without copyrights or "sega" anywhere...they're not real. Discovered by MrFanOfSonic of Youtube.
Sonic 4 SNES Fake Cart Here comes a bogus Super Nintendo SNES cartridge with "Sonic 4" supposedly on there. Notice how they just rip off the Sonic 3 art (he's even holding up 3 fingers!) and blot out the 3 with a 4. Tails is all cut off too, and they've stamped "24 MG" on there for some reason. In the era of SNES it would be unthinkable that Sonic could appear on a Nintendo platform, so it was always clearly a phony. Who knows what's really on the cart, or even if it works at all. (all the more reason to not spend on these, especially at high prices on ebay...) Discovered by SurferBRG.
New & Old Fake Figures You remember the F4F fake mini figs from Bootlegs 17, well here comes a 'new' way to try and foist them onto the fans! They think that including 3 'modern' (knockoff) figures will somehow trick people into buying their horrible old set. Well, it only makes it look LESS real! Because everyone knows real lines don't mix up classic & modern figures...and then not package them!
You can see no-nose Sonic in there, but the new figures, aside from being somewhat poorly painted don't look all that fake. With distribution on the "modern F4F mini fig set" being much poorer than their classic set...beware of temptation as prices rise. Lousy fake figures are no substitute for the real thing. Discovered by: Zero the Hedgehog.
Mario Sonic & Chip Fake Hat Game This cartridge is an exercize in phony features! See how many you can spot with the mix ups here. You've got the photo background of random palm trees, drawn in sky, Mario wearing a hat with bunny ears & Sonic/Tails just standing in the air. If that wasn't enough they've thrown in Chip from "Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers" holding an apple for absolutely no reason because the title is "Super Mario & Sonic 2" which they did not even bother to write in any sort of convincing font. With all the trash going on with the label, do you wonder what's inside? You can see with this link Rescue Rangers Sonic Mario Fake
Did Mario EVER wear bunny ears? Yes...when he was "Rabbit Mario" from touching a carrot in the little known/unpopular game "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins". As you can see with the video, these fakers 'hacked' Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers game so that the chipmunks' sprites would be Sonic & Mario...but of course with none of their abilities. All the text is in Japanese, none of the other characters were changed (see Monterey Jack throwing cheeses to you) & Sonic is very mutant/all blue garbage-ey looking. Dissapointment was sure to follow as you bought a game you couldn't read most of "N Super Mario Sonik 2" , & ran tiny 'mario' around a kitchen & condiment shooting evil bunny. Rabbit info by: SupeSonicBoom, Cartridge Discovered by: CoolLuke1337, Video Discovered by: LarryInc
Sonic Adventure 8 Gameboy Color Oh look its "Sonic Adventure 8" for the Gameboy Color...THAT looks authentic, what with stolen book cover art, *classic* Sonic on something called "adventure" and a bizzarre tall purple cartridge. Who knows what's on this thing, but it's likely got zip to do with Sonic Adventure. Discovered by CoolLuke1337 Horrid Ape Sonic Ugly Stupid Pinata The uncommon "mutant bootleg" rears its ugly head! Here is an awful looking "Sonic" pinata. While it has ugly ape like proportions, completely wrong face and stupid fringe all over, what's this feeble attempt doing in an actual store?
Art Mix Up No Pupil Pillow Bootleggers...doing everyone a favor by exposing themselves via mixed up art! Here's a "heroes" pillow but with only Sonic X cell art. They even 'bothered' to go in and edit away Sonic's pupils for some reason, and then cut his feet off on the bottom of the pillow. Also, look at his wiggly eye-top. (left side) They were clearly trying to design something...but missed. Discovered by Sam
It's mega stupid, mega big, and surely something EVERYone will want to hit with a stick! Discovered by CoolLuke1337
LED Panel Lights Nobody every said all bootlegs had to look bad.
These actually look cool. They are LED acrylic panel lights. There is a metal bar at the top with blue LEDs in it. The lights shine into the edge of the plastic. The cuts in the plastic (likely laser etched) let the light out into the shape of a character: Sonic, Shadow or Silver. The linework must be carefully done (and in most cases it is) for it to look proper. They're costly, at about 30.00 for an 8.5 x 11 light, and of course are on Ebay. They may not be authentic, but the execution is good. Discovered by Ink the Echidna
Blaze the Cat Stolen Art Sign Not a whole lot is safe from art theives. Here's a Blaze the Cat fake LED sign...it's the same as the 3 above, except that it doesn't use Sega's art. It's either an Archie piece, or stolen from a fan. Look at her tiny hands & shoes, but thick leg and odd ponytail. Discovered by MauEvig
Wooly Hoofs Mini Skirt Sonic Costume This Halloween costume is 'scary' for the wrong reasons! It is scary how blah the design is. It's called "The Blue Furry", but clearly there's something Sonic failing to go on here. What are those hairy boot/shoes? Is that like hooves? Hairy fuzzy gloves? The hood is an all right idea, but 1 cone-like spike & 1 shrivelled one? Poor ms. woman may look happy but this suit is rather sad. Discovered by Taaron.
Sonic and the wrath of the Lich King? What is this, World of Warcraft? No! It's just a...really gone-awry watch box. Notice the top is that 'Rush adventure' mis-match nonsense (from a previous fake) while the side has Sonic Black Knight art, but says "Lich King" for some crazy reason. Although that might be interesting to watch. Discovered by: Sam
Lich King Watch Box
This is a yandy.com costume. They sell plenty of ordinary non-fake costumes, but it seems they don't select for official things only...
Pierced Lanyard Dolls
Charmy Blaze Lanyard Lanyard Detail Photo Clips
Here's an interesting mash-up that sophisticated fakers sometimes like to use. They'll pair up a bootleg with an official item, in hopes of being able to sell at a marked up rate. This booth at the Big Fresno Fair seems to be using that tactic. The dolls you see here are official, they're Nano Nancy plushes (see the USA Plush 9 page for more about them) however the lanyards are 99% sure to be phonies. The Blaze/ Sonic /Charmy one above has a wierd character selection (why put Blaze & Charmy, then use Sonic X Sonic art) but it's the lone half a logo without copyright anywhere/Sega branding anywhere that tives it away as bogus. The dolls are actually pierced through the top spike (see close up photo, in circle) was this modified? The lanyard for them is also likely fake, as it uses Heroes art with a filter on it, then puts a Silver portrait randomly, and also has no copyright. All photos by:
32 in 1 Bogus Bad Art Cart
Oh boy, here's a "Super 32 in 1" game cartridge...with a boast that big and art that bad, you know it's not going to live up to anything. You can see a grainy Sonic image & part of the 3D Blast logo, but that's about it. The words are likely the 'list' of games it was supposed to have, but in reality there are only 4 games. Bootlegs aren't regulated, who is there to complain to when they (of course) don't live up to what they promise? The games included are "Sonic 3D Blast 5" (no such thing) Dr. Mario (this was 8 bit), Pacman & Little Mermaid Photo & info by CoolLuke1337
Fake Mixed Lot Foolery
Scary stocking Tails Fails Uh oh, this stupid stocking is sure on the 'naughty list'. It's either a stocking with mutant art, or stolen fan art of some kind of "evil Tails". A generic red Christmas stocking is 'modified' with some lame iron-ons of the classic logo & scruffy, sneering evil version Tails who has extraneous lines drawn all over his body/legs.
The worst thing about stuff like this is that it won't fool a fan for even a second, it CAN trick well-meaning gift-givers around the holidays into buying bogus junk. The only stuffing this stocking should be getting...is when someone stuffs it into the bin! If it makes anyone sad on the holidays, then it's worse than some regular bootleg. Discovered by Shadowfoxx757
This is a photo for an Ebay auction that's actively trying to fool buyers! They've got a whole set of those stupid bogus mini-fig fakes, but they've added in real Jazwares figures in the front row to try and disguise it as a 'big lot' of actual figures. Don't fall for this! Inspect EVERY figure (yes that's non nose paint Sonic back there) Discovered by Zero the Hedgehog
Advance 3 Bogus Game Failure This is one of the crummiest kind of fakes out there. The bootleg bogus game cartridge that's presented with lies as the real deal. The front of the box sure looks ok at a glance. It's got the logos & normal art. The cartridge looks ok at a glance too...so it's easy to see how this got bought for 10 dollars. It could blend right in with anyone's used game.
However, the box turned out to be flimsy garbage paper, the sticker on the cartridge appeared PEELED and RIPPED (see photos) AND the game doesnt play, PLUS the cartridge broke because it was so cheap. This is nothing less than a horrible money wasting scam to steal from innocent fans! Remember if you buy a fake like this on ebay, you can report the seller for phony merchandise & you should complain. Help stamp out scammers before they dissapoint anyone else.
Defense:
You can usually defend yourself against loser cheats like this. Look at the box back. It has a profile for Sonic, that he's the fastest hedgehog & etc. It says nothing about the actual game. Sure there's screen shots, but 98% of bootleg pushers either can't or don't get the game-back copy correct. If you want to buy, look up the game box-back you want on fan sites who have the photo for it, or just google images...then compare it to the one you're looking to buy. The copy on fakes can be engrish, irrelevent, or just not-matched to the game. It's important to know how to defend from fakes. Photo by CrystalSonicFan
Vector's Fake Gym Shirt When it's time for a workout, you should exercise your creativity first! Or else you might end up with something like this...a cobbled together phony mascot shirt! Just what's going on here? Someone has re-colored a Vector stock art (notice the unmistakable face & shoes) then pasted on in frankenstein style some new arms & a 1-hand weight to make it look like he's working out. Add a bit of text "Bev's World Champion" & you've got yourself a bogus 'logo'. Probably an unscrupulous company did a ripoff for Bev (is that who is wearing the tee?) at BevFrancis (its a store, Gear does not link to fake stores) Photo discovered by:
Ipad Deflector Secret Rings Fake Remember the store RedBubble ? It sells lots of parody shirts & stickers with original designs. Well...it seems like they don't discriminate between real or fake items! A parody is fine because it doesn't claim to be official, and it makes fun of something/s.
This "IPad2 Deflector" however, is trying to convince you that it IS real, and it also costs a whopping 63.90! That's incredibly expensive for some lame quality phony skin. Why could it be so much money? It's got stolen Secret Rings art, complete with sepia-tone. But notice how that game is old, there's no Sega or "Secret Rings" logos or copyrights anywhere on it. It's def. a fake, & an upsetting one if anyone actually spends over 60 dollars to get it. An Ipad is an expensive thing, no one wants unknown quality items 'protecting' it. Shame on Redbubble for putting this in alongside their real parodies, in hopes of tricking people. Discovered by Shadowfoxx757
Bogus Cross-eyed Tails Suit Oh boy, another fake mascot suit, this time it's cross-eyed 1 tail Tails! It's clearly supposed to be him, with the blue eyes, bangs & orange color. However, it seems to only have 1 tail. The watermark lets you know who's responsible for this phony costume...which will never fool any fans. Discovered by Shadowfoxx757
Switch Plate Fake Distorted Art This isn't the first phony light switch cover / plate that's used art ripped off from the ancient Japanese Sonic screen saver...but it's still no good. Look how the art is distorted, they squished it to get it to fit on their plastic piece. Everything's too 'tall' and it just looks bad. Fakers dont care about the quality or how something looks when it's done. Discovered by Shadowfoxx757