Watch out, people selling Ponies as 'Factory Defects' They're Not.

[PrincessShadowRose 6]

I don't know why it bothers me so much, but the people on ebay selling ponies as "factory defects/mistakes" etc irks me a tad.  Mostly because all they're doing is taking the head off of one pony and putting it on the other.  

For example 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-MISTAKE-Cherry-Berry-PINKIE-PIE-My-Little-Pony-MLP-FIM-G4-Error-Prototype-/330909575778

this is not a mistake and if it's not still in the box and factory sealed, don't buy it.  It's not hard to pop off the head of one pony and place it on another...especially when the defects are always from ponies of the same color.  Even changing out the tail is not hard once the head is off.  

 

 it's always  the same 3 people selling the "factory defects" too.  Exactly where did you find 12 different factory defects that just so happen to be out of the box?  And people are buying them and getting suckered into paying 15.99+ for a fake factory mistake that's a custom.  Why don't they just be honest and label them as customs?

 

*end rant*

[Planty 1,053]

Wow this is really weird, I don't understand where the market really is for these things? Do they sell them cheaper then buying the regular ponies or something?

 

In the link it says:

RARE MISTAKE Cherry Berry PINKIE PIE My Little Pony MLP FIM G4 Error Prototype?

 

I can see what you mean, hyping it up as a prototype? yeah why would they ship prototypes out of the factory? and why would you have more then 1 haha

[PrincessShadowRose 6]

I've seen people bid them up to 30+ dollars...I think it was dew drops head on snowcatchers body.  They litterally bid up a fake factory defect and paid 30 bucks plus shipping.  I don't get it.  And NONE of them are in the box.  And no, they don't sell them any cheaper if anything they're 3x more expensive.

[Leafeon 2,702]

And to think... I thought it was an error that they gave Twiliot Speckle wings. Both I'd say are about equally bizarre. Correct? :3

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Even if they were real factory defects, toys that are factory defects hold no real value, so I don't understand the market.

 

One of the only things that gain value for being defective are coins.

[PrincessShadowRose 6]

They hold value because people give them value.  A true factory defect is rare and any toy that's rare increases the value.  For example, a case of ponies arrive at a store there are 4 pinkie pies, 4 twilight sparkles, 3 Applejacks, 2 Rainbow Dashes, and 1 Fluttershy.  That one Fluttershy then becomes more valuable than the other ponies by default.  Next Rainbow Dash and so on.  It's the collector market, not necessarily the toy market.

[Lady Leopardess 393]

That Rarity Celestia does look pretty though XD

[Lunia 332]

I really wonder why they would be selling these because lets face it no one would really buy any of these toys because they're just a rip off and a waste of money.

[Aczom2 15]

I think I would buy some of these mixed up ones, not because I think they're real errors (I mean, come on) but you have to admit that the Rarity-Celestia mix up looks pretty! I would probably just go to the store down the road and buy the two of 'em and make it myself before paying over 70 dollars for it.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Yeah, these may be fake, but this guy does a good job making these look good, lol.

 

There was some effort in putting these together. The Pinkie Pie/Cherry Pie one was easy, but the Rarity/Celestia looked like the person had to do some legit rehairing. And how did they make Rarity's horn long like Celestia's?

[Magpie 623]

Even if they were real factory defects, toys that are factory defects hold no real value, so I don't understand the market.

 

One of the only things that gain value for being defective are coins.

I think the reason they do this is because they want to make it seem more "Rare." It would be hard to find, since they aren't normally sold, and so the price would be higher because people value it higher. 

[Mr Dash 1,820]

For one, people aren't exactly too bright when purchasing stuff on eBay. Which is why things like these pop up on eBay, to exploit those who believe this kind of stuff is real. Another thing is they might have another account, or someone else who will upbid to raise the price to get others to bid higher. Makes it look like it's actually the real deal since someone keeps bidding higher. If any of the items show back up for auction, then most likely the account that was just there to upbid won. You have to be careful on eBay. I am always very careful about what I buy when looking for things to collect. I collect coins, and I often buy off eBay. I usually go through several, and I mean several auctions, before I find one auction that is not a scam, or someone scalping or selling at the redbook price.

 

People get scammed on eBay all the time and are usually none the wiser. Just keep an open eye for anything that sounds or looks suspicious, and do your research on it first.

[Black Star 62]

That's kind of scummy. Is there really a market for things like this though? Really they're just scamming people out of their money. There is nothing special about these.