Counterfeit LEGO

[notorious_guf]

So, I've noticed lately that there has been an increase in the amount of Counterfeit LEGO. A brand called Decool has popped up using LEGO in the listing title & also Ninjago, which is another Trademark. I've reported plenty of times & know other people who have done so too, but eBay have still done Nothing!

The listings also use Official LEGO images & are often difficult to find the information that they are not genuine LEGO minifigures or sets.

How can we stop rubbish like this getting onto eBay? One seller even has multiple identical BIN listings, which has again been reported, but with no action from eBay!

For those buying LEGO, especially in the lead up to Christmas, please read the listings carefully, otherwise your childs LEGO collection will get diluted with inferior product!

[lyndal1838]

There are a lot of buyers who think LEGO is a generic term for all interlocking blocks.  It is much the same as people who say they are going to hoover the floor...doesn't matter that they have some other brand of vacuum cleaner.

If it is OK to put it in the description, why is it not OK to make it easy for buyers by putting it in the title?

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

Wishuponastar.... you make a very valid point about Parents who cannot afford LEGO, I tend to agree with this, however it does not make it right that Counterfeit LEGO, blatant copies of the Genuine product, should be allowed to be sold, it is illegal! There are plenty of similar brick/building block products to LEGO that are legitimate & are cheap, essentially they have their own ideas & designs & offer the Parent, who may not be able to afford LEGO, an alternative, without buying illegal product.

Take for example a person who can afford a BMW, not everyone can afford this, so the alternative is a different brand with their own marketing etc, perhaps a Holden, or Hyundai. If there were Fake BMW's for sale, first of all they would unlikely have the same safety standards & actual quality, they would just look the same and be of cheaper standard, they would still be illegal!

I am not arguing with you, as I agree with you, I just wanted to clarify the fact that it does not make Counterfeits right!

It appears I have missed your point; my apologies. Counterfeit products are another matter altogether. I was refering to other known brand names that manufacture plastic blocks that are not copies of Lego sets. Many will state they are compatible with Lego which is reasonable if they make it clear that what they are selling is NOT Lego.

Counterfeits are rife. I sell a well known international brand of favours, that are not permitted to be sold on ebay so I only sell the discontinued items on ebay. The images are beautifully presented by the supplier, who encourages retailers to use them to sell their products (they have a downloadable image library on their ordering website).

There are numerous non branded items that are essentially passed off as the brand name item using the identical image. In many cases the packaging, which is an important factor in presenting the items at weddings etc, is remarkably different in the non branded items and nothing like what is shown in the images.

It is unfortunate that more is not done to stop the sale of counterfeits and goods that "fell off the back of a truck" and so forth. Lego, and other brand owners, should be taking action against these businesses. I wonder how many of them are fly by night businesses?

[ryazex7]

Do you have star wars lego?

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

The posters on this thread are unlikely to answer your question as the thread is old. Julia Gillard was Prime Miinister when this thread started.

[splayer01-3]

I know this is an older post, but I was doing some research on Lego complaints. This thread showed up... You honestly think a child cares if they are, "NAME BRAND LEGO's"? Seriously? lol These things are perfect replacements. They are not garbage. They are as rigid as the Lego brand bricks. You honestly can't tell the difference in the brick itself unless you're looking for the tiny letters, "L E G O". 

I make loads of money selling these on eBay, Etsy, Amazon and Bonanza. I buy them at about .35-.55 (sometimes up to .75) a minifigure and sell them anywhere from $4.99-$9.99, depending on how popular it is (i.e. Star Wars, Marvel, DC, etc..) I charge more on Amazon because people trust Amazon more than eBay.

They work 100% with ALL Lego brand sets and accessories. Perfect fit. 

So while you spend $100+ for your Star Wars Millennium Falcon "LEGO brand", I sell the same exact thing at $60 (buy for $30 in bulk). and guess what, 100% positive feedback and people are honestly amazed at the quality. Kind of makes me think that Lego uses the SAME company. LOL

Ever think about what Lego could make if they weren't so greedy and since eBay is making a fortune off these sales, don't see it stopping any time soon. Also has its own category really, "other building blocks". "Lego compatible" is NOT keyword spamming. It's a compatible item to their counterparts. I fortunately don't have to use "compatible" in the title, I just use Lego and in the description, state it's NOT Lego, but generic custom figures and sets to fill roles.

Yeah, didn't use my real accounts as why risk anything? 😉 Have fun, I know I am.

[go_figure_website]

I was doing a search for info on this matter and this thread popped up. First off other building brick companys that fit with Lego are NOT countereit! Counterfeit is an ilegal copy. Bricks such as Enlighten are a legal copy by law as the Lego brick patent expired a long time ago. Lego will try to convince you otherwise. I read on this thread that some of you people have an issue with using the term Lego compatible in the title, i say do an ebay search for a cell phone case for your cell phone. What are you going to type in? Phone case? Samsung? Apple? How many of these thousands of listing are actually a Apple or Samsung brand case? 

My point is using the words Lego compatible in the title does not confuse the buyer. What is there to be confused with?? If it's fair for cell phone cases sellers it should be fair for all brands. 

[lyndal1838]

The problem is not that buyers will be confused but what ebay will allow on THEIR site.

Common sense has very little to do with it....if ebay says they are fakes or that buyers will be confused then that is the end of the discussion.

[go_figure_website]

I have spoken to ebay and they dont claim them to be fake just a different brand. My biggest issue is why does ebay have a category just for Lego if Lego is a brand? By definition shouldnt all Lego listings go into the toys-building bricks category? Did you know that Lego is THE ONLY BRAND that has its own ebay category even though Lego themselves dont allow business' to sell on ebay. Think about it, not even the biggest brands in the world like Apple and Samsung get their own category. When i asked ebay about this, well they honestly had no answer.....

[cpalleman]

I just buy whatever looks good, if it shows up and is fake Lego I request my money back, I always win because they used the words Lego and have the Lego pictures. So the items were not as described