How to Avoid Fake Sonic Merchandise Page 9
Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Bootlegs 1 * Bootlegs 2 * Bootlegs 3 * Bootlegs 4 * Bootlegs 5 * Bootlegs 6
* Bootlegs 8 * Bootlegs 10 * Bootlegs 11 *
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
Ogorki Poland Pickle Prickle Art Ripoff
It's another case of stolen Sonic stock art modification!
This time, insted of melding him with Tails or making him into a cat they...turned him green so they could creep out people who want to try to buy pickles. Ogorki Pickles has added several prickly top spikes to a stock  Sonic, colored him green and given him huuuge rather creepy black eyes. They didn't bother to change anything else though, so it's a really obvious rip off. This is another one of the cases where they're not trying to sell you a vaguely Sonic related item, but something totally different, and couldn't be bothered to make up their own mascot or art, so they took Sega's. And while it regards you suspiciously from a shelf in Poland...you can avoid this food too! Discovered by SonicToast & SonicStadium
Ipod Fake Skins
No trendy electronic device seems safe from the tackiness of bootleg skins. In this...case...it's ipod and ipod touch that get the problem. As you can see, bootleggers clearly don't care about quality or recognizability of anything. The hole for the screen is RIGHT IN Sonic's face almost the whole time! They don't bother to position anything which totally wrecks any 'art' value of the art they stole in the first place. Who would buy these stupid things just to have random Sonic parts plastered all over their iwhatever. (they're expensive too! Running up around 20 dollars on ebay--without any bids of course as real fans know to buy legit items and also to at least try and get something that doesn't resemble a black square with Sonic's shoe sticking out of it) Discovered by Trogdorbad
Harry Potter Obama Sonic Bogus Bag
Wackyness ensues!
This bag is a blend of multiple zany wrong ideas! It's like they just combined everything they could think of that's popular and threw it at this unfortunate school bag. It has 'Harry Potter' at the top (incase you're a fan!) and says "Obama" down the side (well who wasn't excited over him? Might as well throw him on there too!) and then you've got the barf-ily mis-colored Sonic to deal with. Yellow eyes, ears, and socks, with his nose-shadow also in yellow because the colorist couldn't pay any attention. Same with his back spike. They missed it when using the most simple of coloring tools. His brown/orange glove isn't helping anything either. For good measure: random tulips and a green shadow. Also they have added the number "10" to Sonic's middle. This is possibly the most combined craziness bootleg of them all! Discovered by mAtt and SonicStadium
Noodle Ravioli Cat Bootleg
What's up with all this phony food? Here you can see Schlemmerli has copped a Sonic stock art and tried to turn him into some kind of ugly chef cat thing. They made the spikes tiny to look like hair, made it fat, and got rid of the belly dot, while adding a tail. You can see that they just re-colored his shoes, there's even evidence left over from the stripe because they did a bad job! Changing his pupil to a sort of melty shape and throwing whiskers on him is no disguise. This is a package of mini maultaschen, which must be some other country's version of ravioli. This nasty knock off chef cat is probably not helping anyone's appetite either. Photo discovered by Berzerker.
Terrible Ugly Fake Party Stands
Just look at these horrible party stands! These are usually sold as centerpieces and feature nothing but stolen Sega art. However, some 'creative' faker has decided to try and fake up their own stands. However, they did a terrible job! The art is so wiggly and awful, they couldn't figure out how to shade Sonic, and also his socks are mis-colored red. It's clear they tried to trace official art (but missed a finger or two!) but were so bad at it, these messy mutants were all they could get. It's not like anyone would actually be fooled into buying these monstrosities, but since they're trying to make a buck off unsuspecting people...here they are. Discovered by Berzerker.
Sonic Adventure 5 Fake Portable
This seems to be some kind of bogus game boy cartridge (notice they left that off, and it's just 'game') but it's titled Sonic Adventure 5. Not only was SA never on a portable, but the number makes no sense at all. With a re-colored logo, stolen stock art and a random '5' planted in the middle, you know this thing is up to no good. Photo discovered by Berzerker
Sonic & Knuckles with Shadow bogus cart
Clearly this is supposed to be a megadrive game, but the off-placed
sticker, mixed up art-work (it's SA style but the game says it's Sonic & Knuckles) and then they added in Shadow just to mess it up more. Everything about it seems ready to tell you it's bogus. Discovered by Berzerker
Fake Congrats TRU Ad
Here's an odd thing, a bogus ad using Sonic merchandise to try to lure people into clicking. See the small red arrow? It's pointing to a picture of Sonic Chronicles, which is supposed to lure you into using this totally un-related-to Toys R Us ad. The ad rips off the TRU logo, Geoffry Giraffe, and appears on sites that aren't TRU related, claiming you're a winner, when all they really want is to spam you. Discovered by MilesPrower22
Dool Fake Ugly Sonic
This is a fake and a mutant all at once! You can easily see all the terrible ugly details of this nasty doll. 1 spike? Folded over super wide ears with no border? Horrible wiggly fork-like hands with only 3 fingers? No glove cuffs, uneven eyes, fat ankles, buckles on TOP of the shoes, no neck-area, and 1 wiggly spike on top of the head? ALL check! Plus, given that they're trying to sell this as "Sonic the Nintendo Plush Dool" and every single sign is pointing to bootleg. Yes, that's a not-sense-making mis-spelling of 'doll', which is for some reason common, on things coming out of China. Also notice the total lack of any tags, that it IS coming out of China, and no mention of Sega at all. These things are polluting ebay in 2010...but they shouldn't last long, looking like this. Discovered by JeffNov
Adventure fake watch
2 sure signs of a fake: art that's cut off randomly (where's his other hand and his shoe?) and art that's clearly 'planted' on the object. Notice how it looks like it's 'glowing' here? That's because it's not even a part of the watch. They just stole a graphic, put numbers on it and dropped it into a generic watch photo. They're too lazy to even make a product before trying to fleece people!
Cake wreck disk stolen art
This is either a cake topper or a circular invitation. But no matter which it is, it's terrible. The cake IS official art (so they just stole it) but it USED to say Happy Birthday Sonic! (on the banner) Notice how it is blurred? We can't have one of these ugly personalized things actually HELPING Sonic now can we? Of course not, this is only for profit...that's why they wrote 'sample' right on top of their stolen art...so YOU can't steal it too. So not only can these fakers make bogus goods, but they can blot out Sonic's name, lay claim to something Sega worked hard to make, and then try to trick people into buying the result.
Imprint bogus baloons
Having a special printer that can print on items (like party balloons) does NOT give people a license to steal art and try to make a buck off it...but you can't seem to tell that to these fake item makers. Since they couldn't be bothered to load blue ink, their phony Sonic is gray.
photos discovered by Jake the Hedgehog
Here's a collection of easy enough to spot fake skins for the DS Lite and even the Wii! Each one is pretty obviously bogus because they all make the same
mistake of landing holes RIGHT in character's faces. This is just a side-effect of un-educated and un-careful design. The dangers of un-licensed skins still include nasty glue, peeling, fading, staining of the shell of the console (due to bad inks) console damage if you try to remove them, and, of course looking bad because Rouge has a giant "+" sign out of her eye!
photos discovered by Jake the Hedgehog
Fake light switch plate Sonic
This unusual fake item is a light-switch-plate. No one usually goes to the trouble to fake up one of these...but here it is. The art, you'll likely recognize as being one of the pieces commissioned by Sega in the early 1990s for the Japanese Screen Saver. However, there wasn't quite enough of it to fill up the whole plate (note the white top, and the jungle scene being cut off. The original may have been framed this way, but it's not the best choice for the switch plate. photos discovered by Jake the Hedgehog
Dool Bag fake ugly plush
Remember the terrible looking Sonic 'dool'? Well now someone's thought to staple it to a lame boring school bag to create...the Doolbag! The doll is still terribly made, and sticking it to a random school bag doesn't help it. Don't buy this nonsense from 'cute sense' Discovered by Spanishpuzzle
Deal Extreme Screen Cleaner
Without its back-card, this Sonic themed screen cleaner could look official! They've used an official art, placed it well, and made it look good. It's also useful, as the back of the medallion is fuzzy, for wiping your portable screens. The give-aways are small...first, the mis-matched Sonic & Secret Rings style logo and then...who do you see at the bottom? It's like a mixture of Archie Comics Scourge & Manik of Sonic Underground! Is it some kind of mash up or stolen fan art? Likely. Bootleggers are never afraid to rob the fans. The package saying City Wolf (and nothing about Sega) is the largest give away. These were available at DealXtreme, which operates out of China. Photo by BlueSonikku
Pimp hat fake stolen games site
This obviously bootleg website has seen fit to give Sonic a pimp hat, sunglasses and 'bling' necklace in an attempt to make him as lowbrow as the site itself! As you can see here, it's packed with ads & keyword-stuffed to try & out-rank normal Sonic things in the search engines. All the games on it are ripped off from other sources, including the fans. (yes, they steal & take credit for fans' games) If they're not afraid to rob Sega, they're not afraid to rob you too. Even websites can be bootlegs...Discovered by Trogdorbad
Fat lame fake costume
This costume is as expensive as it is terrible! They're trying to charge over 200 dollars for this awful, dumpy, fake Sonic suit. Where are his spikes? Why is his body so long, fat and dumb looking? Because they don't care about Sonic! Also, the bottom of the face appears clearly stolen from a Mickey Mouse mascot head. All around terrible, and not worth a dollar!
Ripped off art pinatas
Step 1: steal art. Step 2: add ugly fringe. Step 3: say that it is 'party piñatas' and try to fleece the fans! These lame tubes use chopped up Heroes art.
Classic ipod fake skin
This is a fake skin for a classic ipod. Though the device is modern, it uses old Sonic R art for the skin. They tried to make it 'wrap around' but he's still missing the toe of his shoe.
Print out sheet fake stickers
no-badge bogus pins
Rip off candy labels
Gameboy micro mix up skin
Mighty fake armadillo sticker
Popcorn Bag Fakes
Sonic 6 Speedy Gonzales Game Hack
Here are 3 sheets of fake stickers. These bootleggers went through the internet, swiping all the art they could find, and laying it out on a page. Then, they print 1 solid sheet...and tell you to cut them out yourself! Not only is it phony, but lazy too. Those full page sticky sheets are available anywhere...ANYone can make a sticker sheet such as this, but they want your money. Plus, they've even stolen a Archie's Scourge character too (note the green guy)
These are faked up candy bar wrappers. They're meant to be used as party favors, but they're sure to be party poopers with the mixed up stolen art and ugly personalization.
This "Sonic 6" game is actually a hack of Speedy Gonzales for the gameboy. All they did was replace the Speedy sprite with Sonic...and left everything else the same. You even still get cheese! Bootleggers are always as lazy as they can be, ripping off art and other games.
This mixed up muck is a Gameboy Micro skin. With Sonic R all hacked up on the back, and Sonic X style Sonic on the front...getting buttons to put holes right through him...it doesn't look good at all. No official goods will ever mix up the art from different eras! Photo disc. by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
A 'Mighty fake' car window sticker! If this looks familiar, it should, the same bootleggers made the Knuckles sticker...but now they're churning out Mighty by stealing fan art! Sega never made a "post SA" art style for Mighty, so this thing gives itself away right away. Photo disc. by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
What are these dubious fringed things? "Popcorn bags" apparently. These bootleggers think you need lame bags with stolen art and fringe...plus popcorn for your party. Buying bootleg is one thing, but buying bootleg FOOD is another! How gross are the conditions that they keep this 'corn' in, and how much do they care about your health? (answer: once they have your money, not at all!) Never buy food from un-trusted sources. Photo disc. by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
Bootleg pin button collection
Try to guess what the items are to the left! Balls? Cake toppers? If you can't guess...it's because the items don't even exist! These lame sellers stole a bunch of art, then used a Photoshop filter on it to try and trick people into thinking they're pins. That's right, they're so lame, they couldn't even be bothered to MAKE a set for their own product photo
The round buttons to the right are by BestPins Ever but they're the worst, because they stole classic art, screen saver art, SA1 art, other bootlegers' compiled up art, t-shirt art, AoStH title screen art and even an old poster. It's the theiving-est collection you can buy! Always read the description for things like 'we use the best materials' or 'other characters available, just ask' as it's a dead give-away that they're unlicensed and making up anything they can turn out. Photo disc. by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
Triple mix up GBA skin
It's a triple mix-up! This is a fake skin for the GBA that uses art from 3 eras
and still can't look good. With holes taking up most of Sonic on the inside, and the seller offering tons of other characters (they don't own) it's a glaring example of fakery to avoid. Photo disc. by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
All 6 photos above discovered by JumpSonic Girls: StoryMaker, RBW & Chocolate Dog.
stolen art Super Sonic Watch
Mis-color Sonic knock off yam chips
Yet another phony watch, but instead of stealing easy to get Sega stock art, they've clearly robbed a fan for this image of Super Sonic. Bootleggers are certainly never afraid to rob anything to make a quick buck, but this watch is here to illustrate that they'll even steal right from the fans whom they hope to make a buck off of! How low & rotten! The real art is by Mri of Deviantart Discovered by Creatureofthedepths3, info by FueledByChaos
Here is a box of yam chips. Since whatever Chinese company this is, couldn't think up their own yam chip mascot, they stole Sonic, colored him black, & then added a ridge inside his eye that is orange. Very odd, & very phony! Discovered by Sonichedgehog11
Fake Amazon Sonic Watch
This is yet another phony Sonic watch, but it can be found at Amazon.com which means: Fakes can appear almost ANYWHERE so ALWAYS look for copyright, and the hallmarks of fakery. Just because a store is famous, doesn't mean everything the sellers there post is for real. Photo discovered by Techno1252
With a caricature logo, inset graphic and title, these fakers are trying to convince you these shirts are the real deal, but they give themselves away instantly. Why is it Black Knight Sonic with 'Sonic Unleashed' written under it? Mixing and matching once again gives these losers away. Discovered by Connernator