Fake, Counterfeit, Knockoff, Illegal, Garbage, Crap Set & Minifigure Thread: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING!

[Ed Mack]

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/fbEScfkxqM31NDjg1PX77A?fbclid=IwAR0TXzfLADVuGeTyF97611Q6wsbeQ4LAJsMuOf-U3btGLcInqBBNNl7OMGI

 

 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

blows my mind the lack of sophistication...so make shift and DIRTY!

I can't believe all that crap can result in such polished looking end products...

[Ed Mack]

6 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

blows my mind the lack of sophistication...so make shift and DIRTY!

I can't believe all that crap can result in such polished looking end products...

These very, very smart people warned everyone years ago and nobody listened!

https://bogusbricks.wordpress.com/

[$20 on joe vs dan]

Just now, Ed Mack said:

These very, very smart people warned everyone years ago and nobody listened!

https://bogusbricks.wordpress.com/

my field is toxicology and if those were the molds and tools actually used...I shudder at what actual chemicals and dyes went into the bricks themsleves...and if we're talking babies putting bricks in their mouths...that's a real danger (beyond the physical risk of choking)...doesn't take much...a little bit of arsenic and little bit of Lead paint...lots of actual truth in that link 

[Ed Mack]

2 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said:

my field is toxicology and if those were the molds and tools actually used...I shudder at what actual chemicals and dyes went into the bricks themsleves...and if we're talking babies putting bricks in their mouths...that's a real danger (beyond the physical risk of choking)...doesn't take much...a little bit of arsenic and little bit of Lead paint...lots of actual truth in that link 

Yes.  All kidding aside, there is truth to that.  I have read articles which talk about asbestos in cheap plastics.  There is no quality control.  Once people see these pictures get out, many will move on from these knockoffs.  

[$20 on joe vs dan]

5 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Yes.  All kidding aside, there is truth to that.  I have read articles which talk about asbestos in cheap plastics.  There is no quality control.  Once people see these pictures get out, many will move on from these knockoffs.  

asbestos is mostly dangerous if inhaled (the bricks would need to be crushed and then the dust containing asbestos would need to be inhaled...and even then it's a certain type of asbestos fiber that actually dangerous..to put it into context...there's naturally occuring asbestos in the air at many public parks.

The lead in the paint is the real danger because it only takes trace amounts of lead to have a lasting detrimental effect on the nervous system of children...literally drop IQ points

[eliminator]

Wasn't there a guy a while back that took a bunch of sample bricks from various clone brands and had them tested in a laboratory?...results found nothing notable or dangerous...?

[$20 on joe vs dan]

19 minutes ago, eliminator said:

Wasn't there a guy a while back that took a bunch of sample bricks from various clone brands and had them tested in a laboratory?...results found nothing notable or dangerous...?

but that's the whole point...QA/QC is completely lacking and not monitored

for instance the company that certify bottle water in US (NSF INternational) test maybe 1 bottle for every 100,000 CASES produced, but this is representative since the manufacturing and bottling process is completely automated.

a bunch of folks making millions of bricks in a make-shift crack house kind of way as sugggested by the photos means you'll have to test every batch to get some semblance of QA.

Also the M&Ms effect...although the concern was misplaced...only a certain color may have toxicity concerns when it comes to paints and dyes...so any form of testing would need to select every color brick to test. Anything less does more harm than good since incomplete testing is worse that no testing since it yields false confidence in a product.

[DadsAFOL]

bogus bricks Boss Arrested, Factories Closed by Shanghai Police

Shangai Police through its Weibo posting announced a successful operation in cracking down a organization that responsible for producing counterfeits LEGO products. The leader with surname Li had been arrested. Based on the photos posted the brand in question was bogus bricks. And bogus bricks was own by Meizhi whose boss is 李海鹏 （Li HaiPeng).

A day that LEGO fans had waited to happen for 3 years. This would be the third time Shanghai Police laid their hands on counterfeit toy makers in located in Shantou. Previously DragonMomoko and Daban who made clones of Bandai Gundam fallen in the hands of Shanghai Police force. Despite Shantou was in Guangzhou, a different jurisdiction, that didn’t stop Shanghai Police to take action.

Based on updated weibo post, 4 individuals arrested, 630,000 boxes of bogus bricks confiscated. The amount involved was RMB 200 million (USD 29 million). Below are links to the weibo and Weixin:
https://www.weibo.com/2493592183/HrnZl5s3A 
https://www.weibo.com/2493592183/Hro8Z9Tu4
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/fbEScfkxqM31NDjg1PX77A?fbclid=IwAR0TXzfLADVuGeTyF97611Q6wsbeQ4LAJsMuOf-U3btGLcInqBBNNl7OMGI

A translation on the Weibo post: 
“This morning, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau held a news briefing. The police spokesperson of the Municipal Bureau of the State Council spokesperson Zhuang Liqiang told the media about the first case in the country that the Shanghai police cracked down on the copyright of the “Lego” toy brand, involving more than 200 million yuan! In October 2018, the Shanghai police found that the “bogus bricks” building blocks assembled in the market were extremely similar to the “Lego” toys, allegedly infringing the “Lego” brand works.
The suspect, Li, registered the “bogus bricks” trademark in the name of “Longjun Toy Factory”, and made the mold into the injection molding machine according to the “Lego” toy design drawings to carry out mass production! On April 23, the police successfully destroyed the gang suspected of infringing the copyright of the “Lego” brand, arrested four suspects headed by Li, smashed 3 production, packaging, warehousing and other dens, more than 10 assembly lines, and seized production molds. More than 90 molding tools, nearly 200,000 manuals, more than 200,000 pieces of packaging boxes, more than 630,000 pieces of finished products of “bogus bricks” toys, involving more than 200 million yuan.

A check on Taobao and we found most bogus bricks retailers had withdrew their listings. Some retailers said the warehouses had been raided and goods confiscated by authority. An online seller affiliated to bogus bricks posted this statement:

• 

Shanghai Dragon TV reported the raid and interviewed Robin Smith, LEGO VP general counsel for China and Asia Pacific. Robin thanked the police for their raid and appreciated their efforts in protecting intellectual property in China.

bogus bricks future is uncertain because the owner and key personals from parent company Meizhi had been detained and production facilities closed. Its sister brand Xingbao which focus on own design could be affected as some production lines were shared. Other clone brands such as Sheng Yuan, BELA and Lele had withdrawn their goods on Taobao and other online channels as temporary measures.

 

 

[Mark Twain]

bogus bricks and the other bogus brick brands have been playing with fire for years. Building bricks that are lego like are one thing, taking branded products and reproducing them is just plan dirty.

I think as a whole China is getting greener in terms of manufacturing. It’s taken them decades to realize that short term gains are worth long term lawsuits and massive health issues plaguing the country. We likely won’t have recycling as we’ve known it in the US because China is no longer accepting our plastic, glass, or paper if it isn’t cleaned. A lot of folks need to adjust their consumption habits, or at least commit to cleaning stuff before dumping them into the recycle bin.


Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Forum

[Ed Mack]

17 hours ago, eliminator said:

Wasn't there a guy a while back that took a bunch of sample bricks from various clone brands and had them tested in a laboratory?...results found nothing notable or dangerous...?

Yeah, he was one of the gang members ripping off LEGO and all of us.

[tyclin]

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/涉嫌山寨樂高-上海公安掃蕩積木商-樂拼-9億元生產線-230100220.html

So they can continue selling the remaining stock? Isn't it absurd?

[Guest TabbyBoy]

What's to stop them starting up again with a new company name, especially with a crooked sales outlet like Alibaba to help them? Let's hope that that book is thrown at them very hard this time to discourage a resurgence. Closing sales outlets is the main way to hurt these crooks.

Will eBay stop sales on L***N? Not on your Nelly as they are too driven by greed!

[KvHulk]

http://www.brickfinder.net/2019/04/29/bogus bricks-not-gone/

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 hour ago, KvHulk said:

http://www.brickfinder.net/2019/04/29/bogus bricks-not-gone/

Countries that fail to crack down on corruption and counterfeiting and "doing-what-they-do-best", this will be a never ending battle IMHO. Perhaps LEGO should concentrate on dodgy resellers and perhaps put a statement on their website saying why these knock-offs should be avoided?

[Miami Bomb Squad]

Remember a few years back when Chinese toy manufacturing companies were shut down due to the lead in the paint?
In this case, prove the plastic are toxic to children which incriminates them on another level and seek the death penalty.
Otherwise, it'll just continue with another name...........maybe.......... LEPINGA!

[BricksBrotha]

50 minutes ago, Miami Bomb Squad said:

it'll just continue with another name...........maybe.......... LEPINGA!

They have already rebranded as   NUOGAO, keeping Lego's similar brand style and color.  So essentially, they raised the hurdle by a foot and said jump higher.

Edited April 30, 2019 by BricksBrotha
Typo

[Darth_Raichu]

18 minutes ago, BricksBrotha said:

They have already rebranded as   NUOGAO, keeping Lego's similar brand style and color.  So essentially, they raised the hurdle by a foot and said jump higher.

LEGO just need to keep pulling the weeds wherever they pop up.  This is a problem with manufacturing in China

[Ed Mack]

49 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

LEGO just need to keep pulling the weeds wherever they pop up.  This is a problem with manufacturing in China

True.  Maybe if "so-called LEGO fans" who buy these sets realize they are made in dirty and contaminated conditions, they will think twice about buying a toy that is possibly toxic.  

[Alpinemaps]

True.  Maybe if "so-called LEGO fans" who buy these sets realize they are made in dirty and contaminated conditions, they will think twice about buying a toy that is possibly toxic.  

They won’t. You can get a good gauge on their feelings on Reddit.

They blame LEGO for artificially high prices (in their opinion). They blame resellers for high prices on retired sets. They blame LEGO for not keeping sets evergreen. They even blame LEGO for “not allowing IP holders to work with multiple brick companies.”

It’s truly a socialist point of view - everyone should be allowed to have everything at a low cost, and IP should belong to all, not just the innovators/creators. That’s why they have no problem with MOC creators having their creations sold with no compensation either.

[mudcatsfan]

I'm surprised i haven't seen it posted yet, but if LEPER brand bogus bricks just got retired....... I see investment opportunity!

[Ed Mack]

15 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

They won’t. You can get a good gauge on their feelings on Reddit.

They blame LEGO for artificially high prices (in their opinion). They blame resellers for high prices on retired sets. They blame LEGO for not keeping sets evergreen. They even blame LEGO for “not allowing IP holders to work with multiple brick companies.”

It’s truly a socialist point of view - everyone should be allowed to have everything at a low cost, and IP should belong to all, not just the innovators/creators. That’s why they have no problem with MOC creators having their creations sold with no compensation either.

 

Very well stated and very true.  

[brickvoyeur]

52 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

They won’t. You can get a good gauge on their feelings on Reddit.

They blame LEGO for artificially high prices (in their opinion). They blame resellers for high prices on retired sets. They blame LEGO for not keeping sets evergreen. They even blame LEGO for “not allowing IP holders to work with multiple brick companies.”

It’s truly a socialist point of view - everyone should be allowed to have everything at a low cost, and IP should belong to all, not just the innovators/creators. That’s why they have no problem with MOC creators having their creations sold with no compensation either.

I've been having fun trolling reddit. Nothing like getting a bunch of cheapskates all worked up.

The thought of having to pay for a quality product is terrifying to them.

Update: The personal insults have started. The indication that the trolling his hit its mark.

Edited April 30, 2019 by brickvoyeur

[Ed Mack]

20 minutes ago, brickvoyeur said:

I've been having fun trolling reddit. Nothing like getting a bunch of cheapskates all worked up.

The thought of having to pay for a quality product is terrifying to them.

Do you have the link? I'm the best troll.

 

[exciter1]

6 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Do you have the link? I'm the best troll.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/lepin/