How to Avoid Fake Sonic Merchandise Page 20
Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Bootlegs 1 * Bootlegs 2 * Bootlegs 3 * Bootlegs 4 * Bootlegs 5 * Bootlegs 6* Bootlegs 8 * Bootlegs 9 * Bootlegs 10 * Bootlegs 11 * Bootlegs 12 * Bootlegs 13 * Bootlegs 14 * Bootlegs 16 *Bootlegs 17
Bootlegs 18 * Bootlegs 19 * Bootlegs 21 * Bootlegs 22 * Bootlegs 23 * Bootlegs 24 * Bootlegs 25 * Bootlegs 26 *
How To Avoid Sonic Bootleg Merchandise Hub Page
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, look for copyrights, and demand the real deal.
Iron On Transfers Submission: CLOSED (every single art on the internet can be one of these, know that it exists & if it's a transfer of any type it IS A FAKE.
Small Face Spikeless Suit Stupid Bootleg Oh no, this costume will really scare people at halloween--with it's frightfully bad quality, that is! Another bootleg monstrosity from Ebay, this bogus costume looks like amature-sewing hour gone awry. Look at the tiny lower face area and super pointy nose...probably stolen from a mouse pattern or something. The front of the head looks ok, but then look at the side view! They've got no concept at all that Sonic actually has spikes. The super wrinkly arms show that the 'sleeves' were made way, way too long, but why? The buckle is just a yellow rectangle because bootleggers don't actually look at details most of the time. The only upside here is that this thing will never sell because it barely resembles Sonic. Photo discovered by KarateKid1717
Papryka Scary Lizard Fake Sonic Food Oh no, it's the revenge of that scary terrible Ogorki lizard/dino Sonic fake mascot, and this time he's crudding up a different frightful food! Galileo 2000 foods (apparently who's responsible for this thing) is now pasting this ripoff mascot onto "Papryka Konserwowa" which could be a sliced thing, a pickled pepper, or some random brown stuff. Looks unappealing from here. They apparently change the color of thier bogus mascot to fit the thing it's "advertising", so here, he's brownish rather than green. It still looks no good. Do you know what a Konserwowa is?
8 inch Fake Figure Sonic Not all fakes look bad! It's important to remember that not every phony thing is some goofy monstrosity or ill-made garbage pile. Just look at this large size 8 inch fake figure. It doesn't look un-quality or particularly bad. It even has a feature! Look at the replaceable fist/hand. You can change it to a "thumbs up" hand. It even comes with a stand. (But why? Clearly, it stands on its own and does not seem to have an accessory to come with) The only thing that's really off about him, is the black oval pupil area of the eye is QUITE off center. It's printed off to one side, so it doesn't look right. So what do you do when you see something like this?
Sellers on ebay are trying to pass this off for 25 bucks, so if someone spent that amount on a phony figure, they'd be dissapointed. It says "New with box" but then DOESNT show the box. Why? Boxes are too much added expense for fakers, so if it really does have one, it's likely to be plain cardboard. Also, they won't list a brand name / licensed company that made the item, because there isn't one, if it's really a fake. This is likely an upscaled version of the Nendoroid figure, that's why it has the spare hand. When something looks like it could be real, it's down to the fans to investigate the details & make sure. Photo discovered by: BritsBoy122 & info by DrEggplantman
Kid Galaxy fake Knuckles plush
Do you have a fast enough eye to spot the fake going on here?
This is a fake version of the "Sega Toys Sonic X Knuckles Plush". At first glance, he looks pretty real here, doesn't he? That's just the way these fakers want it to be. A parent cruising around ebay could easily buy this by mistake. But look closely and you will learn more about fakes:
First off, look at his shoes. They're missing the colored toe & heel section. Then the hands...he has FINGERS. Sega wouldn't skip Knuckles' iconic....knuckles would they? The eyes are a little off...but you could dismiss that as an error or they plastic piece got twisted in the mail. Those are the flaws on the doll itself.
Next, take a look at the tag. You'll need an eye for detail to spot the problems with his tags. Both the paper & cloth tag have differences.
Kid Galaxy Compare Tags The Tails here is real, with a real tag so you can compare. The left tag has no "Sega Toys" logo, & no Sega copyright anywhere (spot both on the front) The back is fairly different too but since it's mostly Japanese
there's not much you can do ESPECIALLY if you did not have an authentic tag to compare it to. There's no Sega website on the back of the fake one. Also the barcode is applied to the fake as a sticker. The cloth tag says "Kid Galaxy" instead of Sega Toys , and the back of it does an ok job of copying the original. Fake Cloth tag compare photo
Use this as a lesson to know what to ask when you see a suspicious doll for sale. Authentic sellers won't mind showing you the tags. This is also why SonicGear tries to show photos of real tags whenever possible, so if you're at all suspicious of something, you can come here to check it out. Photos by: SegaSuperStar
This is a "135 in 1" cartridge for "DS Light". This is for people who know they want bootlegs from the very start. People who don't care about game companies and just want to maximize stolen stuff market bootlegs like this. It has the usual bonkers mix of games like Bratz Forever Diamondz & some shirtless dude shooting game (the audience for each thing likely isn't remotely similar) plus the "New Super Mario Brothers" but somehow for Gameboy Advance. It also has (but doesn't advertise) SMB1 , but with a Sonic sprite put in place of the Mario. That particular bootleg actually plays well, if you want SMB1 action.
The list in the bottom right is all the games it's supposed to contain in both English & Chinese. The top graphic is Charmander & Torchic from Pokemon Rescue. Want to see this cartridge AND others in action? See the Sonic Mario Bootleg Video on youtube for a real look at how it plays! Photo & owned by Crystal SonicFan.
The strange case of the...bootleg box? The game inside the box was the real deal, but probably because games with boxes sell for a bit more money, someone has faked up a box. The text on the back is rather strange with quotes like "It's like all the pinball machines from Casino Night hooked up to eachother". The front is fake too, with random Amy Rose wedged in near the logo. Photo & owned by Crystal SonicFan.
Mixed up DSI XL Stickers Mixed up madness ensues when bootleggers try to create some stupid stickers for the DSI XL system, this time. No portable system seems safe from sucky stickers. This time, they mix together Sonic Black Knight & Unleashed (most obviously) but 1 of the interior graphics looks like a Heroes item. If the exterior wasn't enough of a fake indicator, you have the usual instance of "horribly placed hole" for the button inside. The cross is DIRECTLY in his eye/on his face/you can't even tell what's going on. It just looks a mess. Discovered by Josef the Hedgehog
Terribe fake fox costumes Scary suits! More mangey mascots appear on ebay to bother everyone. The "fox" there is probably supposed to be "Tails like" but it fails. Even the white tip feet/sneakers (they forgot the socks...) & bit of bangs are a sort of washed up attempt. (where's the tail/s, at all?) It's pretty wierd looking...so what if it doesn't work? Well then just put a dress on it & say it's a girl! (bootleg logic!) That pink one is clearly the same pattern, they just added some 'girly' details to try and sell it. It's sold as labeled for "kids parties" but why? Maybe so it can scare away the kids.....These were by DHGate. (Keep in mind these are expensive to make! Big foam heads & lots of fabric make these phonies over $200 dollars each) Discovered by Autumn Mallory
Sonic 4 SNES Cartridge w/Box This is an interesting sort of bootleg. It would actually trick people if they didn't know that Sonic 4 was never released for the SNES. All the right elements are in place, like the logos, the rating, the "nintendo" branded black edge to the box & the fact that the cartridge matches the box art (and isn't just something wierd)
They went to the trouble to make this thing look authentic. It uses what looks like it's probably a 3D blast render of Sonic, but they've isolated it down (and possibly done something with the background) so that it looks like it could be a new or original art--especially to someone unfamiliar with all the boxes & manufactuerers. What's actually on here if it really works? Who knows...because it sure isn't Sonic 4. Discovered by
Creepy Cream Side-eye This Cream plush has certainly gone wrong. The super strange sideways eyes, shrivelled 'tie', long legs & no-mouth face all add up to a suspicious doll. However, it DOES have tags (See on the leg) which likely means some company did it (not a fan or a home-produced work) making it 99% sure to be a phony. Photo discovered by: SonicFan09 Ecuador Bootleg Sonic Tee This is most likely a collection of bootleg items found in Ecuador. The Sonic shirt here is based on
someone tracing Sonic X artwork. Notice how he has no teeth, the eye is blue & the pupil is very off-center. Other things include "Pinky and Cerebro" (why not translate the word "pinky" if you're translating "the brain"?) Iron Man & The Red Guy from Cow & Chicken show. Photo by Crystal SonicFan.
Lost World DSI XL Fake Case
Here is a fake DSI XL hard plastic case. New game? New fakes. This has a Lost World theme, & manages to look fairly decent, so it's a good opportunity for a fake spotting lesson.
Lesson: a REAL item will NEVER put a hole in a character face or logo. It ruins the brand and looks bad. These guys, of course, put the hole in the logo because they had to squeeze it in while not actually using a professional designer. The back of the case has Zazz and his evil ball in a scene from the game. Notice how the packaging isn't branded at all, it's just a generic label so these bootleggers can insert any fake theme in there that they want. Photos by UltimateHedgehog
Sonic 8 & Sonic Eraser A typical & un-typical bootleg appear here. Obviously Sonic Adventure 8 for the Gameboy Color isn't something that could exist...but "Sonic Eraser" is only SORT OF a bootleg. Eraser itself was also 'sort of' a game. The bootleg part of it is that the game never had a physical copy/manifestation. It was a wierd old puzzler from the Genesis era that had a Sonic sprite
as pretty much the only Sonic content. It was released as a digital download for an ancient modem, & then, only in Japan. The cover shows the 'head to head' portion where you could 'fight' somebody else, but probably because the game was lazy, both people were "Sonic". The cover here may be a somewhat-fan-like item, or not. The ROM of the game apparently got onto the internet a while back too. You can learn about it at Wikipedia Sonic Eraser. Discovered by The Ultimate Hedgehog
Various mixed-up nintendo cartridges More cartridge fakery for SNES & Genesis here. There's "Sonic Adventure 4" with GBA art, Sonic 4 by Dream House Games & what looks like a Chinese version of Sonic 3D Blast.
What is on these cartridges, who actually knows. Bootlegs are always a gamble. The 3D blast one uses the actual art (sort of) on the cover, but it may contain something like Somari or even a couple levels of just Sonic 1. Discovered by The Ultimate Hedgehog
Sonic 4 Super Nintendo cartridge Oh boy, it's Sonic 4 for the Super Nintendo 24 MG cartridge! Maybe. They took the perfectly fine Sonic 3 art and cut it up (they pasted Sonic over Eggman there & cut off Tails to put some odd red line) to make the sticker for the game. What might be on it? The over-saturated odd pixel party going on to the right here, is an example. Super saturated pixel party
of what you could see when you get a bootleg running. It's "Sonic & Knuckles 5", which looks like they just kind of degraded the original title screen and slapped a number on it. Bootleggers want to sell the same thing over & over without doing any work. Discovered by The Ultimate Hedgehog