Ebay can be a wonderful place to get the figure you've been eyeballin for super cheap. But, ebay is also known as a cesspool for stores to sell you bootlegs. How can you avoid the misfortune of buying a crappy unauthentic figure??? How can you buy legit figures at ridiculously low prices??? Follow these simple rules:1. ASK THE BUYER. Finding out if the item you are interested in is real or not can be as simple as just asking the seller. Seriously, ask them. Most of the time sellers do not want to taint their stores good name with bad ratings, so they will tell you the truth. Speaking to the buyer can open up opportunities to make offers as well. Start with the lowest (reasonable) offer and allow them to make counteroffers and find out how low they are willing to go. Dont be afraid to ask lots of questions, figures aint cheap and money doesnt grow on trees, so be a smart shopper.
2. AVOID SELLERS FROM CHINA (WHEN BUYING FIGURES). 99.9% of the time, bootlegs come from sellers located in China. So just avoid heartbreak by disregarding those sellers. If the item says CHN. VERSION, 100% guaranteed bootleg. "NO BOX" will usually indicate bootlegs as well.
3. STOCK PHOTOS. If the seller only uses stock images of the figure, thats a red flag, just read the description carefully. If the seller then refuses to send you pictures of the actual product they are selling (which they will do believe it or not.) just move on.
4. DONT BID UNLESS YOU HAVE ALL YOUR ANSWERS AND ARE READY TO PURCHASE. Some of you ebay n00bs may not be aware that bidding on ebay is a contract. If you bid and win, you are obligated to pay for the item you have won.／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ (The only way to retract the purchase is to ask the seller.)
5. DO SOME RESEARCH. MFC has some clubs dedicated to finding bootleg sellers, check those out. Look at what the figure looks like, what the box should look like, and what items they are suppose to come with. There is always a way to tell what the real thing looks like opposed to the fake.
Now you know some rules of thumb to get the real deal. So how do you make the purchase and not get outbid? GET THE EBAY PHONE APP available on both iphone and android. Put potential purchases in your watch list, if your settings allow, you will get notifications sent straight to your phone when the bidding time is about to end and when someone has outbid you. Most bids happen the last 2 hours of bidding time, so watch out during that time.
If you arent sure, then dont risk it. Buy the figure from a place you know will sell you the real thing. Best advice for ebay is to communicate with the seller. Not only will it get you answers but also amazing deals! Happy Bidding!
What was the best deal you have ever gotten on a figure(s)? (From ebay or elsewhere.) What figure(s) and for how much? Brag about it in the comments below!
(OR)
Have you ever been scammed or had an awful experience buying a figure? Depress everyone by talking about it in the comments below.
[EDIT] As with everything, there are exceptions to everything. With experience comes more knowledge, i wrote this thinking about my experiences new to the ebay scene. Also many people have different ways of obtaining figures and shopping. This is my personal way of shopping on ebay. c: Many comments mention Mandarake, i have yet to purchase anything from that site, but will in the near future since all ive heard are great experiences!
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