How To Spot Fake My Little Pony Blind Bags GUIDE

Fake Blind Bag figures. Is that what the child of Applejack and Big Mac would look like?

Next to new blind bag figures, an explosion of fake blind bag figures is spreading around eBay, TaoBao and various other market places. But how do you spot fake blind bags? Read our tutorial and avoid scams!

Colors

Fake blind bags usually have very strange scrambled color combinations. What is strange, you might ask? Well, take a look at the following blind bags:


Why is Rarity colored as Nightmare moon (and no, this is no Nightmareity)? And Pinkie as Big Mac?
These colors simple don't match with the body style and even though some fakies might feature normal color schemes: Look at the set! 9 out of 10 times these fakies come in lots (they are probably easier to sell or produce in sets) and if one or more are fake, they usually all are.
Take a look, there are even more sets with this color scheme:

Fake Blind Bag figures with swapped color schemes. NightMac and Big Sparkle.

Cutie Marks

There are some known factory error blind bags that are legitimate Hasbro blind bags, but without cutie marks. So not all blank flanks are fake by default, but you should be alarmed when you see a set with tons of 'em.

Fake Blind Bag figures without cutie marks. A whole lot of blank flanks.

Paint

Hasbro usually paint the figures 'acceptable'. Blind bags tend to have some paint flaws, drops or scratches, which is normal for mass produced items. However, when the paint is extremely bad, they might be counterfeit. Take a look at these horrors (mostly the Rarity ones):

Fake Blind Bag figures with bad paint. Did Rarity bath in paint?

Packaging

If you shop for pony merch regularly, you probably know how pony stuff is packaged. A regular shopper should be able to spot minor defects and fishy stuff on packages (spelling errors, weird logos). Sadly for them, fake blind bag sellers usually don't even bother and use the most horrific design elements, renders and fonts. Sometimes they even mix up generations!

(Gotta love those awkward small eyes on all the ponies)

Do research

There are tons of websites online that offer information about (un)released blind bags. Be sure to inform them before you buy a doubtful item. However, some blind bags are simply new to the scene, like leaked blind bags from new waves or prototypes. So if you're unsure about an item, wait a while until more information is available.

Advert / bidding page

Selling counterfeit items and claiming they are genuine is illegal (in most countries). However, some sellers simply don't care. If you see blind bags online which you have never seen before of which the seller claims they are real, don't trust them right away. Check the color, paint, cutie marks and do a bit of research before you buy them. If you are convinced that the seller is offering fake items while claiming they are real you can always report that seller for illegal activities.

Custom or fakie?

Fake blind bags are not to be confused with customs. Custom blind bags are usually show accurate, professional and decorated, where fakies are usually of poor quality and bare. Fakies are reproductions or copies of MLP products which are produced cheaper that real figures, and customs are handcrafted modifications of actual MLP products. Custom blind bags are commonly sold by their original artist and profesionally offered for a premium price (not "new hot hasbro toy figure real").