Today, we’re telling you exactly why people could - and should not - buy bootleg items.
We’re primarily looking at magical girl wands from series like Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon, but the below also applies to a variety of figures and props from across all kinds of fandoms and collectibles.
One of the biggest arguments people put forward about buying bootlegs is the price - but that isn’t as strong an argument as people seem to think.
Pretty Cure’s Flower Echo Wand retailed for just 1,300 JPY - that’s roughly 13 USD. Meanwhile, the most common bootleg of this wand retails for also 20 USD, and is primarily sold on Chinese exclusive websites. Yes, you read those prices correctly, it was originally more expensive to get the fake!
Now, this has been out of production for years, which does push up the market value a bit. But it is still significantly easier and cheaper to purchase secondhand versions of the real thing, going for as little as 15 USD new in box on secondhand sites like Mandarake, which ships globally, or Mecari JP.
And this isn’t exclusive to less well known franchises.
Bootleg versions of Sailor Moon Live’s clear Moon Rod go up to 30 USD. On the other hand, the real thing goes for as little as, you guessed it, 30 USD when in used but working condition, with new in box ones going for 50 USD. You can’t even buy two bootlegs for that!
That doesn’t mean all of the “real” items are always cheaper or easily obtained - perhaps ironically, series like China’s Balala are difficult to obtain official merchandising for when outside of China, but bootlegs of it are remarkably rampant.
Plus, any high-quality replicas such as Proplica items will typically cost anywhere from 10 to 100 times as much as their fake counterparts, and have the higher quality structure, screen accuracy, and gimmicks, that the fakes will lack.
We’ve already covered above that these can easily be bough used on Mandarake - check out THIS POST listing tons of globally shipping anime merch stores - so this argument already feels flat for us.
But, there is some merit to it. Simple chibi style bootlegs can often be bought in local dollars stores for very little, while larger versions are easily found on underregulated conglomerate giants like Amazon and Aliexpress.
On the other hand, the real thing takes a lot more patience for preorders and secondhand shop scouring, knowledge of stores - which again can be found in the link above - or even the use of proxies to purchase off sites like Taobao and Mecari. And, as mentioned above, some official items may be exclusive to their respective countries, which can require extra skills and resources.
While none of these things are truly difficult to learn, they can seem daunting and confusing to new collectors, and will put off people who prefer instant gratification.
This, to us, is the most sensible and excusable reason to buy bootlegs. When it can be difficult, expensive, and time consuming to get your hands on the real thing, especially those that are vintage or limited edition, the last thing you want is for a child or cosplay pose to destroy it!
The same thing goes for wanting to paint it to make an OC weapon, especially given many bootlegs are already incorrect colour schemes that may work perfectly for your design without the need to deface and devalue the real item.
Sometimes, the real thing just isn’t realistic, at the end of the day.
#4: Sometimes They’re Just Cool(er)
We’d love to own that ridiculous spider-man crossover wand, and this blog’s owner couldn’t resist this telescoping Cardcaptor Clow wand made of metal. So many bootlegs, especially the crossovers, feature strange and cool new combinations of characters, art styles, colours, and even product materials.
The vast majority of official items also have very standardized gimmicks, especially when buying from within a franchise. This can feel boring very quickly! Many bootlegs have additional or unique tricks, such as all these different bubble blowers, or the ones that work as remotes to control a spinning doll, that make them feel more interactive and fresh.
That doesn’t mean the real thing can’t be fun or innovative, but they are often limited to what is depicted on screen on order to make sales.
At the end of the day, bootlegs are art theft. When you choose to support theft over artists, them and the companies producing their work miss out on money. And without money, shows end.
Sailor Moon's sales were credited with providing the necessary funds for new seasons, not the actual viewership or manga sales. If that money had been spent on bootlegs instead of the real thing, the reality is, the Sailor Moon anime may have ceased to exist. So it is essential, especially for smaller ventures, for fans to purchase the real thing and not the fake in order for the series to thrive.
You may be surprised to learn that bootlegs, in and of themselves, have a surprisingly active market and fanbase that’s separate from the real wands.
As we mention on the post about this Korean Sailor Moon bootleg, all the good factors above, along with the virality, age and location of the item - which adds to scarcity - can lead to a bootleg being just as, or even more valuable that, the real thing. Banned items like the Evil Stick, which find notoriety outside of magical girl spheres, can often be worth far more than their original dollar store tag.
However, all value is relative, and as trends come and go, the price of bootlegs tend to fluctuate far more than the real thing.
Would you buy a bootleg item? Let us know below, and share this with your friends for their thoughts!
