deceive the customer using the fame of LEGO models

[Bluehose]

I don't know if this content is suitable for this subforum of Eurobricks, but look at this scandalous attempt to make people buy the wrong thing for christmas in a Carrefour supermarket in France :

https://ibb.co/FnngDmM

[nerdsforprez]

Not sure it needs its own post, but yes, these counterfeit sets are all over the place.  I do not see them in the states, at least in our brick and mortar stores often, but they are all over online.  

[Toastie]

9 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

these counterfeit sets are all over the place

Well - real "places" is one thing - all over the internet is another. Since the age of Amazon and the like, there are so unbelievable many virtual places that actually "work".

Yes, I recently did a very bad thing: Just to test waters, I ordered the architecture set "Berlin" from AliExpress, because I loved to see my Crocodile moving past London, Paris, well, and Berlin.

eBay (new): Anywhere from $199 to you dream it + S&H. Used: starting at $150, and you dream it + S&H. AE: $14.46, no box, no S&H, 14 days delivery, with tracking. It arrived 4 days earlier. To be honest: This is totally crazy. But when you look at the tiny little bag (I never anticipated that this one was containing all the tiny bricks of Berlin), ... $150 used. I know, designers, collectors, value, and all that. I could have ordered >some< of the pieces at PAB, just to miss almost 1/2 of what is needed.

The thing is: I now have Berlin here, in perfect condition. I thought: $15 will not hurt TLG - and more importantly: As they don't make the set anymore: It cannot hurt them at all. $200 vs $15. No LEGO imprint on the tiny, non-patent protected pieces ...

I'll never do that with current TLG sets. Never. But when it comes to people selling things for insane amounts - they should just do it. And I take the other route.

I know, give me shit ...

Best,
Thorsten

[Aurorasaurus]

2 hours ago, Toastie said:

I'll never do that with current TLG sets. Never. But when it comes to people selling things for insane amounts - they should just do it. And I take the other route.

I know, give me shit ...

Best,
Thorsten

I actually agree with supporting non TLG companies, since they have been increasing their quality recently, and Lego actually having competition would be and has proven a good thing - look at the space sets.

[Peppermint_M]

They are not exactly counterfeit, just competing brands. All the major supermarkets here in the UK have both LEGO and at least one other, sometimes more, competing brands. 

Science Museum branded technic-like sets, a generic BlockTech brand has several packaging types depending on the stockists. B&M Bargains has a more "mature" black coloured box for some of the kits, while the exact same product has cheerful primary colours for the box in Morrisons supermarket. 

Mega sets are either with companion brands (So Hot Wheels sets with the diecast cars, Pokémon sets with other Pokémon merch, Barbie building sets with the fashion dolls, etc). Or in the construction bricks section.

100% market domination would be damaging for everyone.

[SpacePolice89]

On 1/7/2024 at 11:25 AM, Bluehose said:

I don't know if this content is suitable for this subforum of Eurobricks, but look at this scandalous attempt to make people buy the wrong thing for christmas in a Carrefour supermarket in France :

https://ibb.co/FnngDmM

Lego should demand that fake sets should not be placed next to the real ones.

[Gkaiser100]

I once bought a set off ebay that claimed to be Pirates of Barracuda Bay, but when it came was a knockoff. They then changed the description after I bought it.

Thankfully Ebay saw the edit history and refunded me. Now I only buy at Lego.com or BL for Lego. Non-Lego is purchased at its respective site.

I wish some places had a better method for hunting fake Lego.

[MWERA24]

I see these kinds of counterfeits all the time as well. Some of those sets are quite cheap so could be more affordable for those just looking for some fun.