darkSpyro

Quote: UncleBob

If you are so sure they're illegal, why aren't you asking Activision to speak out on the illegality of it?

The rest of your argument is half strawman, half ignorance.

You want to know how he did it, etc., etc? Go read the customs thread on this very forum. He pretty much details the process of making the figure.

So, instead of actually going to Activision yourself and defending him against those you might lost against, you'd rather have me go up to Activision, basically "tattle", and then when he's facing a lawsuit and anything else he's brought upon himself, be ousted from the group for "tattling". Right. I've dealt with bully culture, and I can see where this is going. I understand that you find this community easier to talk down to, but I don't think that's right. And I find it curious that you can say you "admittedly, are not an expert and do not purport to be" and "thus wouldn't be on here accusing people I don't know of crimes based off of a complete lack of legal understanding", yet talk like you know these things, and even accused the creater of this site on more than one occasion of illegal and/or deceptive action with regard to this site, all in order to make your point. I don't talk down to people (or at least don't intend to) unless they do so to me. I don't like people calling anyone on here nasty names to make their points either. I will call someone out on their actions.

I noticed he mentioned his process on here. I do wonder, if he finds it so good to do so, why he didn't do so on the Skylanders facebook page. Then he could show off and find out Activision's take on this. The gauntlet is still on the floor, if he chooses to pick it up. Or you could.

Even making a chase varient Boomer and resealing it in a package is wrong! It's made to look the same and can't be distinguished! In this case, he made a mold of the original chop chop figure, cast a resin fig, and then resealed it the original box for sale. Doing things with your legally purchased item for personal use is fine, but if you tried to make a mold of your xbox controller, cast a replica with it and sold it online, even as a listed "custom" it would still be illegal.

Quote: UncleBob

To once again correct some misinformation - *if* making a custom figure (to whatever extent) were to be illegal due to copyright, then no, you cannot give them as gifts to friends. That would be distribution. It doesn't matter if you do it for free or you charge for it, distribution is distribution.

I'd also like to point out that Matteomax, the moderator that keeps getting slammed in this thread is NOT a moderator on the Skylanders forum and, therefore, cannot delete or edit posts here.

Making a custom of any sort isn't the issue here. It's making "customs" that look like the real thing, whether using a mold or repainting them, then resealing them into the original box (one you'd expect the real thing to BE in) to sell. If you have an articulated Skylander from Jin, it won't look like a varient, because there isn't an official articulated varient! Most of the customs done by the person in question here are fine, it's just certain ones that are the problem! Also, customs made by fans are often commission work for personal collections and not ebay sale!

I'm not getting into the debate over which mod is responsible for what...all I know is this thread has been killed mutiple times, which shouldn't have happened. So no Matteomax bashing from me.

Quote: UncleBob

C&D means nothing if there's no legal teeth behind it.

Many folks seem to be hung up on the idea that he's repackaged the figure and that someone else could resell it as an authentic variant later. If he sold the figure outside of a package, couldn't someone buy it, buy a new one off the shelf, then swap 'em? What would the difference be?

The difference is the intent. He knew it looked like the real thing, even made it that way! He knew selling it in this manner would help him get more money, and that it could be mistaken for the original. He'd still be on the hook for the casting it from a mold made from the original Skylander. The buyer would be in trouble too for obviously scamming!

Quote: UncleBob

You're dealing with two completely separate legal issues here.

First, Copyright Infringement. This would be up to the copyright holder (Activision) to enforce. There are three possible situations here:

• Creating a custom figure of a character using parts of an existing version of that character.
  
• Creating a custom figure of a character that *looks* like another existing version of that character using parts of another existing version of that character.
  
• Resealing a modified figure into the original packaging.
  

Now, I'm not familiar with any court cases in the US based off of any of these three situations... but I'd be surprised. Personally, I don't think the courts would see much of a difference between the first and the second - it would just come down to the fact it was a custom figure in and of itself. As far as the third one, I think it's a reach to say putting a modified figure into a package would be considered illegal. To what extent would the modifications be okay? What if I opened the figure, played with it in the game, leveling it up, then resealed it? I still modified the original figure. I would be surprised if the courts would rule against someone on this (and, again, encourage anyone to cite existing US cases where this has come up).

It is my (admittedly, I am no expert and do not purport to be, thus wouldn't be on here accusing people I don't know of crimes based off of a complete lack of legal understanding) opinion that each of these three things would be okay. Many folks here, who are against this particular case, seem to agree with one or more of these same points, but seem to reach a different conclusion about this particular case.

*Now* - the thing that I question is the *process* by which the custom figure was created, as you *are* creating a second figure... although, only partially. Since it uses significant parts of the original figure in the final product, I feel that this could go either way. And, as I said, I'd be interested in seeing a court case on this.

The second legal issue would be Intent to Defraud - if the seller was trying to pass off the figure as a legitimate variant (regardless if there was an existing version of this or not), then the seller would run into issues. However, the descriptions of the auction, along with the claims that the seller is contacting bidders to make sure they're aware of what they're bidding on, I believe he is doing due diligence in communicating that the figure is a custom figure, and this is not defrauding anyone.

All this aside, there are several possible "moral" issues surrounding this. That's a whole different ball of wax.

I think it's clear that this is illegal. He made molds from the original figures in order to make replicas of rare varients for sale. He placed them into original packaging, clearly knowing they looked more authentic that way, and then sold them on ebay. Whether he said custom in the auction or not, there's nothing that indicates it is fake on the item itself or the packaging. I can see this only going bad for him. I don't think there's any legal loophole he can use to get out of a lawsuit and having to pay fines, if not actual jailtime. This is not simply a moral problem, but a very growing legal one.

Quote: TheLurk

So, instead of actually going to Activision yourself and defending him against those you might lost against, you'd rather have me go up to Activision, basically "tattle", and then when he's facing a lawsuit and anything else he's brought upon himself, be ousted from the group for "tattling".

Wow. This is amazing.

You start out telling me to go to Activision, not once, but two different times...

Quote: TheLurk

If what he's doing is legal, why are none of his supporters asking Activision to step up and support him?

Quote: TheLurk

If you wish, you can go and talk to Activision.

...and when I suggest you do the same, suddenly I'm a part of "bully culture" or some BS. Amazing. Simply amazing.

Settle down, men.

Let's cull this down to the meat so that everyone can participate without digesting too many long posts full of quotes from previous posts.

1. Counterfeiting or creating imitation goods and replicas without consent is illegal in the USA, period. If it was legal, then we wouldn't have patents, copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property rights. Hashing out the nitty-gritty details of case law involving those statutes here isn't helpful; this isn't a forum for lawyers.

2. Regardless of whatever Skylanderex claims his intent was .... regardless of how many authenticity disclaimers he put on his eBay listing ... everyone knows that his intent was to sell a replica/fake variant rare variant Skylander for cash. He did not choose to make a clear red Chop Chop or a clear purple Chop Chop or a clear blue Chop Chop. He made it the same color green as the authentic ones. He did not sell the green Chop Chop loose and un-packaged, like most "custom" Skylanders are sold on eBay. He choose to reseal his replica/fake inside an authentic original Skylanders Series 3 Twin Blade Chop Chop package.

3. Thanks to Skylanderex (and the users here that "defended" him, and the moderators here that "covered" for him), there are now more imitation/fake/replica green variants in circulation than there were a week ago. This intrinsically undermines the authenticity and decreases the value of all authentic green variants. It may also prompt other "custom" Skylanders artists to begin "funding their habits" by recouping money selling more fake/replica variants on eBay. If that happens, that would further undermine the authenticity and decrease the value of authentic variants.

4. The sale of replica merchandise is not allowed on eBay, per eBay's published policies on their website.

Haven't we seen similar things done with cars for decades?

It's not illegal to take a Mustang GT and modify/paint it to look like a Shelby GT-500 (much greater value) and re-sell it. People are able to specifically pick the exact OEM paint, rims, even mechanical parts to make it a replica of the much higher value vehicle.

There are even full kit cars made to imitate popular and rare vehicles that have been legally sold for decades.

I'm willing to bet that owners of the real deal Shelby GT-500's (for example) feel that these modified and replica cars are devaluing their originals. These cars could be used to fool unknowing buyers who don't do their homework to verify the authenticity of the vehicle, or maybe someone wants to buy a car that looks and drives just like their favourite, but costs a fraction of the price. Maybe they even want to own it to sit it in their garage and pose it as the real deal for all their friends because it makes them happy and they can afford to do so.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to do this work on cars worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars but you can't do it with a plastic toy worth $100?

Props to Loxone.

There's no argument that this is a custom figure. The questionable part is if it is a "replica" or "counterfeit" figure. As it is using parts of an original figure, *that* is what makes the "replica" stats questionable.

In the end, it doesn't matter if his customized figure happens to look like another retail release of the same figure. That, in and of itself, would be unlikely to have any bearing on the legality of the situation.

Again, if you're going to lob accusations of criminal activities, I'd love to see some existing court cases that have dealt with similar issues.

For example, when I questioned this site's failure to comply with COPPA, I brought forth several other similar situations where sites were fined for not being compliant.

When the issue of b/s/t on this site came up and someone tried to claim some BS legal reasons why we shouldn't have b/s/t on the site, I brought forth several other similar situations where it's shown that sites such as this are NOT responsible for user activities as a part of the site.

In this very thread, when I suggested that re-posting copyrighted material isn't legal just because you're a fansite or you put some kind of disclaimer on it, I brought forth several similar situations where action was taken against fansites for illegally re-posting copyrighted material.

I would love to see some court cases involving customized action figures. We had one article regarding customization in Japan - props for that - but I've yet to see anyone bother to bring actual evidence to the table here... just their individual, uneducated interpretation of the law. Same thing that happened with Pyrofer's Skylander Tool thread. "It's illegal because I have a very vague understanding of the law and I say so!"

Quote: Loxone

Haven't we seen similar things done with cars for decades?

It's not illegal to take a Mustang GT and modify/paint it to look like a Shelby GT-500 (much greater value) and re-sell it. People are able to specifically pick the exact OEM paint, rims, even mechanical parts to make it a replica of the much higher value vehicle.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to do this work on cars worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars but you can't do it with a plastic toy worth $100?

For one thing, unlike plastic toys, cars have VIN numbers that let you trace their origin and determine where they came from. You can determine their authenticity with a fairly simple search to a reasonable degree of certainty.

PS: Here is an article talking about counterfeit toys confiscated in the US due to copyright infringement, and includes links to 2 news stories. http://www.hobbyhub360.com/ind...authentic-2693/

Quote: Concept

Quote: Loxone

Haven't we seen similar things done with cars for decades?

It's not illegal to take a Mustang GT and modify/paint it to look like a Shelby GT-500 (much greater value) and re-sell it. People are able to specifically pick the exact OEM paint, rims, even mechanical parts to make it a replica of the much higher value vehicle.

Why is it perfectly acceptable to do this work on cars worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars but you can't do it with a plastic toy worth $100?

For one thing, unlike plastic toys, cars have VIN numbers that let you trace their origin and determine where they came from. You can determine their authenticity with a fairly simple search to a reasonable degree of certainty.

PS: Here is an article talking about counterfeit toys confiscated in the US due to copyright infringement, and includes links to 2 news stories. http://www.hobbyhub360.com/ind...authentic-2693/

VIN's can be swapped, as well skylanders have unique web codes. Popping it on a portal could also be used to verify it's authenticity I assume, at least for in game variants.

I think we all agree that it would be wrong to sell this AS a rare find variant BNIB. Just like it would be wrong to sell a Mustang GT dressed up like a Shelby GT-500 as a Shelby GT-500. In both cases the seller is required to disclose the true nature of the product and the buyer is responsible to read the description of the product they are purchasing. Like I said in the world of cars it's been going on for decades.

Now all we need is for people to find a way to re-program the RFID chips, replace them and tout them as originals.

I also think it's important to note - Activision doesn't really want you buying figures off of eBay. They see virtually no profit from it. So, what part of this is a down side to them? You buy a figure from eBay, find out it's fake, then know not to buy figures from eBay in the future... Win, win!

Quote: Concept

PS: Here is an article talking about counterfeit toys confiscated in the US due to copyright infringement, and includes links to 2 news stories. http://www.hobbyhub360.com/ind...authentic-2693/

The major difference here, is, that those aren't new figures created from existing parts.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Now all we need is for people to find a way to re-program the RFID chips, replace them and tout them as originals.

Well...

Quote: GhostRoaster

Now all we need is for people to find a way to re-program the RFID chips, replace them and tout them as originals.

There already is a way, but it counts as hacking and talking about it is against forum rules.

I also think it's important to note - Activision doesn't really want you buying figures off of eBay. They see virtually no profit from it. So, what part of this is a down side to them? You buy a figure from eBay, find out it's fake, then know not to buy figures from eBay in the future... Win, win!

This is a specious line of discourse, given that someone bought the figurine in the first place to resell on EBay. In fact, Activision would love this given scalpers would theoretically buy items in bulk, leaving shelves "empty". The retailer would then restock the shelves and sell items to "moms and pops". Hence, Activision ends up selling more items due to scalper stock-piling.

Quote: chaosworrier

I also think it's important to note - Activision doesn't really want you buying figures off of eBay. They see virtually no profit from it. So, what part of this is a down side to them? You buy a figure from eBay, find out it's fake, then know not to buy figures from eBay in the future... Win, win!

This is a specious line of discourse, given that someone bought the figurine in the first place to resell on EBay. In fact, Activision would love this given scalpers would theoretically buy items in bulk, leaving shelves "empty". The retailer would then restock the shelves and sell items to "moms and pops". Hence, Activision ends up selling more items due to scalper stock-piling.

They're actually very generous with the toys compared to what many companies want done for preowned games. (sad this is a thing now!)
You can use them on multiple systems with no limits to how they're used, even being able to use them in the packaging.

First sale doctrine specifies that you can resell a physical item.

There is on-going legal argument that digital copies of software should also fall under this doctrine - even though the publishing are kicking and screaming at that premise.

Wow some of the people on this site are unbelievable..

Just so all of you know I had no intentions of selling these items. I was making them for my kids.. Several people asked me to list one so I did. I was not trying to mislead or deceive anyone. I clearly listed the items as custom made and once the prices stared going up I started contacting the high bidders to make sure they understood what they were buying.

I just cant believe there is a 3 page thread on one of my Ebay listings. Well if it makes you feel any better the item did not sell. The buyer said he didn't bid on the item his Son did without permission.

I have noticed over and over several people in this forum just being plain hateful to other users for no apparent reason and I'm done with it. This is my last post and I will not be back. I will leave you guys to fight amongst yourselves.

Skylanderex, I hope you do continue to post.

I, for one, would like to delve further into your take on this matter - especially the intricacies of replica versus custom and the premise behind resealing the items.

Quote: skylanderex

Wow some of the people on this site are unbelievable..

Just so all of you know I had no intentions of selling these items. I was making them for my kids.. Several people asked me to list one so I did. I was not trying to mislead or deceive anyone. I clearly listed the items as custom made and once the prices stared going up I started contacting the high bidders to make sure they understood what they were buying.

I just cant believe there is a 3 page thread on one of my Ebay listings. Well if it makes you feel any better the item did not sell. The buyer said he didn't bid on the item his Son did without permission.

I have noticed over and over several people in this forum just being plain hateful to other users for no apparent reason and I'm done with it. This is my last post and I will not be back. I will leave you guys to fight amongst yourselves.

You've confused being "hateful" with being concerned about the willful introduction of fake/replica merchandise into the marketplace and circulation. You're also continuing to deny the crucial difference between a custom Skylander and a replica Skylander.

You brought this TOTALLY on yourself. If you're upset and/or angry, you need to look in the mirror instead of casting blame on others for your actions. You claim innocence, but you fail to recognize that you're responsible for selling replica merchandise on eBay, which is not allowed. Whether you were "trying" to mislead or deceive is irrelevant; you WERE misleading and deceiving people. This is evidenced by the number of bidders with cancelled or retracted bids, plus the fact that your winning bidder was a child. I know you'd like to think that "clearly listing it as custom" makes everything OK, but it does not. EBay has published policies that disallow such "authenticity disclaimers", too.

I must re-iterate (in case anyone had forgotten) that when I first brought this matter to the attention of the forum, I had NO idea that you (or any member of this forum) were the seller. It was Seiki and Matteomax that drew the attention to your name and your images (that you have since removed) in the "CUSTOM FIGURES" sticky thread. Once you were "caught in the act", all you had to do was acknowledge what you were doing and end the listing, with the option to re-list it, loose and un-packaged.

No one wants you to leave the forum, including me. If you want to throw a childlike temper tantrum and say, "if I can't have my way, then you all are meanies, and I'm leaving!!!", then go right ahead. But that's ridiculous, and no one here is hoping for that nor asking for that. You can run away from your problems, if you wish, but that does not solve them. Peace.

Quote: chaosworrier

I also think it's important to note - Activision doesn't really want you buying figures off of eBay. They see virtually no profit from it. So, what part of this is a down side to them? You buy a figure from eBay, find out it's fake, then know not to buy figures from eBay in the future... Win, win!

This is a specious line of discourse, given that someone bought the figurine in the first place to resell on EBay. In fact, Activision would love this given scalpers would theoretically buy items in bulk, leaving shelves "empty". The retailer would then restock the shelves and sell items to "moms and pops". Hence, Activision ends up selling more items due to scalper stock-piling.

That statement was a little tongue-in-cheek, but let me assure you, Activision is no fan of scalpers.

First, you get those who buy "in bulk", clearing the retailers' shelves and upsetting customers.

Then, you get those who return what didn't sell back to the store (sometimes, not even the store they bought it from), screwing up store's inventory/ordering processes and upsetting the retailers. Keep in mind, in the grand scheme of things, retailers don't know *why* something is returned - just that it is. "Hey, Dave? Why does this report show that we're having large amounts of Skylanders returned?"

Finally, and the thing most people just don't seem to understand... If I'm a parent with a budget of $50 to spend for my kid for Skylanders, then I'm going to spend $50. This means if I have to buy a singular Dark Light Crypt from eBay for $50, then so be it, my budget is gone. Activision sees the initial sale for the DLC and then it's gone.

Meanwhile, if I have $50 to spend on Skylanders and pick up the Dark Light Crypt in a store for $25 (or less, if it's on sale!), then I still have $25 to spend... maybe I'll pick up two more figures. Boom. Activision sees the sale of three items instead of one.

Quote: chaosworrier

Skylanderex, I hope you do continue to post.

I, for one, would like to delve further into your take on this matter - especially the intricacies of replica versus custom and the premise behind resealing the items.

Ok I will answer your questions but I am done with this forum alltogether. Yes custom as in custom made by me. My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them. And again I only listed the items on Ebay by request. Resealing? Yes with scotch tape.. I was very clear about the packages being opened. Hell my kids opened them. Part of the paper is even missing. I do appreciate the few people who stood up for me, but the constant harrasement and hateful words from one person in particular are unwarranred and unprofessional. I have a masters degree and refuse to be talked down to like a small child.

While it's totally off-topic, UncleBob, you do raise some important and semi-valid points.

However, if Activision really despised the secondary market for Skylanders as much as you're indicating, then they could *EASILY* do something about it. All they'd have to do is cease their long-standing practice of unequal distribution for Skylanders. Expanding on the example you highlighted, the Darklight Crypt ... there is NO reason why Activision couldn't stamp-out the ridiculous secondary market prices on that (or any) item. All they would have to do is increase distribution of the Darklight Crypt.

Right before Thanksgiving, Toys R Us stores stocked an absurd amount of SSA Adventure Packs. I'd never seen so many on the shelves at one time in one store all year. There were at least 100 packs. Only problem was: they were all Dragon's Peak, Empire of Ice, and Pirate Seas. If Darklight Crypts has been present in that shipment across the USA, the secondary market price for Darklight Crypt would have precipitously dropped in a matter of days.

So, while you're correct that Activision is not a "fan" of "scalpers", it's also true that Activision's distribution practices (whether intentionally or accidentally) enable "scalping" by creating artificial rarity. If Activision really wanted to bury the secondary market for Skylanders, all they'd have to do is distribute Skylanders more evenly. The reason that Series 2 Bash and Lightcore Pop Fizz are expensive on the secondary market isn't because "scalpers" are cleaning out the shelves .... it's because Bash hasn't been distributed since last December and because Lightcore Pop Fizz was hardly distributed at all.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Quote: skylanderex

Wow some of the people on this site are unbelievable..

Just so all of you know I had no intentions of selling these items. I was making them for my kids.. Several people asked me to list one so I did. I was not trying to mislead or deceive anyone. I clearly listed the items as custom made and once the prices stared going up I started contacting the high bidders to make sure they understood what they were buying.

I just cant believe there is a 3 page thread on one of my Ebay listings. Well if it makes you feel any better the item did not sell. The buyer said he didn't bid on the item his Son did without permission.

I have noticed over and over several people in this forum just being plain hateful to other users for no apparent reason and I'm done with it. This is my last post and I will not be back. I will leave you guys to fight amongst yourselves.

You've confused being "hateful" with being concerned about the willful introduction of fake/replica merchandise into the marketplace and circulation. You're also continuing to deny the crucial difference between a custom Skylander and a replica Skylander.

You brought this TOTALLY on yourself. If you're upset and/or angry, you need to look in the mirror instead of casting blame on others for your actions. You claim innocence, but you fail to recognize that you're responsible for selling replica merchandise on eBay, which is not allowed. Whether you were "trying" to mislead or deceive is irrelevant; you WERE misleading and deceiving people. This is evidenced by the number of bidders with cancelled or retracted bids, plus the fact that your winning bidder was a child. I know you'd like to think that "clearly listing it as custom" makes everything OK, but it does not. EBay has published policies that disallow such "authenticity disclaimers", too.

I must re-iterate (in case anyone had forgotten) that when I first brought this matter to the attention of the forum, I had NO idea that you (or any member of this forum) were the seller. It was Seiki and Matteomax that drew the attention to your name and your images (that you have since removed) in the "CUSTOM FIGURES" sticky thread. Once you were "caught in the act", all you had to do was acknowledge what you were doing and end the listing, with the option to re-list it, loose and un-packaged.

No one wants you to leave the forum, including me. If you want to throw a childlike temper tantrum and say, "if I can't have my way, then you all are meanies, and I'm leaving!!!", then go right ahead. But that's ridiculous, and no one here is hoping for that nor asking for that. You can run away from your problems, if you wish, but that does not solve them. Peace.

For your information I was not mistaken. I believe several users here will agree that you are mean and hateful. I have seen your posts on other threads. Plus you attacked me in 3 different forums.

I am not running away from my problems man you are full of yourself. I came to this site because my kids and I enjoy collecting and customizing Skylanders and thought it would be nice to talk with other who had similar interests. But I was here becasuse I wanted to be. Think what you will but I am leaving this forum because this is just a game with plastic figures and it isn't worth all the negativity I see everyday. And mainly because of you. Sure I can stay on here and argue all day. But I have a life. Why don't you go look for one.

Quote: skylanderex

Quote: chaosworrier

Skylanderex, I hope you do continue to post.

I, for one, would like to delve further into your take on this matter - especially the intricacies of replica versus custom and the premise behind resealing the items.

Ok I will answer your questions but I am done with this forum alltogether. Yes custom as in custom made by me. My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them. And again I only listed the items on Ebay by request. Resealing? Yes with scotch tape.. I was very clear about the packages being opened. Hell my kids opened them. Part of the paper is even missing. I do appreciate the few people who stood up for me, but the constant harrasement and hateful words from one person in particular are unwarranred and unprofessional. I have a masters degree and refuse to be talked down to like a small child.

No offense intended, Skylanderex, but you're being passive-aggressive here. If you want to address me directly, do so.
It is a little difficult to believe that you have a Master's Degree, based on the egregious spelling and grammatical errors in this post, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt; maybe you majored in art or math or something.
Regardless, being educated doesn't excuse your actions, which were strictly in violation of published eBay policy. If anything, being educated makes your "crime" worse. You really shouldn't be claiming innocence or ignorance if you're well-educated.

I am not "talking down" to you "like a child". I'm talking to you like an adult. You're the one acting in a, "you guys are meanies; I'm leaving!!" manner. That is childish.

I'm stated this many, many times now, but it still seems you're not reading or not comprehending:

• You are perfectly entitled to create your custom Skylanders. No one here, myself included, is denying that, in any way. In fact, your custom Skylanders are well-liked.
  
• You may also sell your custom Skylanders. Again, no one here, myself included, is denying that, either.
  
• You may create replica Skylanders, too, if you wish, for your own personal usage. While this borders on illegality, it's a minor offense that no one would ever know about, and no one would care.
  
• You CAN NOT SELL REPLICA Skylanders that are exact or nearly-exact imitations of the authentic Skylanders. You've admitted that you created replica green Skylanders variants ("My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them") ... and again that's fine, UNTIL you tried to SELL them.
  

I hope this isn't too hard for you to understand. It shocks me (especially if you are a college graduate) that you've failed to understand it thus far.

Edit (in response to post #120): For anyone, including Skylanderex, who believes that I am "mean and hateful", you really are sorely mistaken and/or overly-sensitive. I can be very direct, or blunt, if you prefer that term. I can be impatient when I perceive that people are reacting emotionally instead of thinking logically. I espouse honesty, and I don't "sugar coat" my words, usually. If you perceive those qualities as being "mean and hateful", then you have a skewed personal definition of "mean and hateful", in my opinion. In actuality, I am a very kind and generous person who cares a great deal about the welfare of others. Believe what you will; I am perfectly comfortable with who I am and the qualities that I represent: I am a family man, a healer, and an educator, among other things. Do I expect you to kiss my feet, or to even like me? No. I'm just letting you know that if you believe me to be "mean and hateful", then you're a poor judge of character and you may want to look inward to see if you're "judging books by their covers" too readily.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Quote: skylanderex

Quote: chaosworrier

Skylanderex, I hope you do continue to post.

I, for one, would like to delve further into your take on this matter - especially the intricacies of replica versus custom and the premise behind resealing the items.

Ok I will answer your questions but I am done with this forum alltogether. Yes custom as in custom made by me. My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them. And again I only listed the items on Ebay by request. Resealing? Yes with scotch tape.. I was very clear about the packages being opened. Hell my kids opened them. Part of the paper is even missing. I do appreciate the few people who stood up for me, but the constant harrasement and hateful words from one person in particular are unwarranred and unprofessional. I have a masters degree and refuse to be talked down to like a small child.

No offense intended, Skylanderex, but you're being passive-aggressive here. If you want to address me directly, do so.
It is a little difficult to believe that you have a Master's Degree, based on the egregious spelling and grammatical errors in this post, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt; maybe you majored in art or math or something.
Regardless, being educated doesn't excuse your actions, which were strictly in violation of published eBay policy. If anything, being educated makes your "crime" worse. You really shouldn't be claiming innocence or ignorance if you're well-educated.

I am not "talking down" to you "like a child". I'm talking to you like an adult. You're the one acting in a, "you guys are meanies; I'm leaving!!" manner. That is childish.

I'm stated this many, many times now, but it still seems you're not reading or not comprehending:

• You are perfectly entitled to create your custom Skylanders. No one here, myself included, is denying that, in any way. In fact, your custom Skylanders are well-liked.
  
• You may also sell your custom Skylanders. Again, no one here, myself included, is denying that, either.
  
• You may create replica Skylanders, too, if you wish, for your own personal usage. While this borders on illegality, it's a minor offense that no one would ever know about, and no one would care.
  
• You CAN NOT SELL REPLICA Skylanders that are exact or nearly-exact imitations of the authentic Skylanders. You've admitted that you created replica green Skylanders variants ("My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them") ... and again that's fine, UNTIL you tried to SELL them.
  

I hope this isn't too hard for you to understand. It shocks me (especially if you are a college graduate) that you've failed to understand it thus far.

Edit (in response to post #120): For anyone, including Skylanderex, who believes that I am "mean and hateful", you really are sorely mistaken and/or overly-sensitive. I can be very direct, or blunt, if you prefer that term. I can be impatient when I perceive that people are reacting emotionally instead of thinking logically. I espouse honesty, and I don't "sugar coat" my words, usually. If you perceive those qualities as being "mean and hateful", then you have a skewed personal definition of "mean and hateful", in my opinion. In actuality, I am a very kind and generous person who cares a great deal about the welfare of others. Believe what you will; I am perfectly comfortable with who I am and the qualities that I represent: I am a family man, a healer, and an educator, among other things. Do I expect you to kiss my feet, or to even like me? No. I'm just letting you know that if you believe me to be "mean and hateful", then you're a poor judge of character and you may want to look inward to see if you're "judging books by their covers" too readily.

Again personally attacking me calling me a liar. If there are misspelled words its because I'm trying to write this on my phone. It's not just my definition of you. Does anyone else here have a hate list on their page. I'm sorry what did you call it? People who suck?

Quote:

My kids wanted the green figures and I didn't want to pay $900 for them

When I was growing up, my parents had this word. Let me think, what was it? ....

Just one point without wading into the details here to which I really don't have a position, precedent must be set somewhere. Simply not having case precedent does not confirm whether it is legal or not. You simply don't want to be the person when a company decides it is going to make an example of you. The reason is big corporations can bury you in legal costs and where you might have a valid point, you simply might not be able to adequately argue it and end up being on the hook for the repercussions.

One recent (video game) example is the people that were making "bots" for World of Warcraft. There was no legal precedent for this. Activision/Blizzard decided to make their point and overwhelmed the makers with their unlimited resources. That doesn't get into the right vs. wrong (which I think bots did do harm, personally) but their standing that there was no case law that previously applied and the their view of what the law said didn't help them at all.

Replica making is a similar grey area. Customs they probably don't care about. But replicas of variants they make (particularly when packaged similar to retail) might draw their ire. You might have a very valid position, but you very likely don't have the resources to win if they get really upset about it. Heck, it would still cost you an arm and a leg to simply settle and stop making them. That's kind of how corporations use their legal teams, they use them to "shock and awe" even when they might have a questionable case. It's also why they prefer arbitration over court battles - because they heavily favor the side with the most resources.

In my perspective, it isn't worth the risk simply because there isn't a case that can be referenced.

I have no desire to get involved in the personal insults going on in this thread (which I think is ridiculous BTW). Just wanted to say that it sounds like Skylanderex did the right thing in ensuring even if the bidders failed to read the description properly that he communicated with them directly and didn't end up actually selling the item.

Whether it is legal or not, clearly it is not worth the drama of selling these items. Hope your kids continue to enjoy them Skylanderex.

Quote: TacoMakerSkys

Quote: GhostRoaster

Now all we need is for people to find a way to re-program the RFID chips, replace them and tout them as originals.

There already is a way, but it counts as hacking and talking about it is against forum rules.

Forum crier, it's relevant to the issue at hand. I'm not talking about doing it--I'm talking about the next logical step one could take to undermine the variant market.

Quote: skylanderex

Again personally attacking me calling me a liar. If there are misspelled words its because I'm trying to write this on my phone. It's not just my definition of you. Does anyone else here have a hate list on their page. I'm sorry what did you call it? People who suck?

I did not call you a liar.
I do not have a "hate list".
I have a list of users who don't get muffin baskets.

You are trying very hard to make this personal. The issue with that is that I do not consider this to be personal in any way.
If you want to feel persecuted, then keep living that fantasy.
I do not hate you. I do not want you to leave this website. I simply wanted you to stop trying to sell replica Skylanders on eBay. And I'll reiterate it, AGAIN: when I first reported the replica Skylanders to this community, I had NO idea that you were the seller ... I had never even clicked on the "show off your CUSTOM FIGURES" thread before Seiki and Matteomax suggested that you were the "artist" behind the replica green Skylanders.

I apologize for any misunderstandings, Skylanderex. I do not know how much clearer I can be than what I've tried to communicate in my last few posts to this thread today.

Quote: Loxone

I have no desire to get involved in the personal insults going on in this thread (which I think is ridiculous BTW). Just wanted to say that it sounds like Skylanderex did the right thing in ensuring even if the bidders failed to read the description properly that he communicated with them directly and didn't end up actually selling the item.

Whether it is legal or not, clearly it is not worth the drama of selling these items. Hope your kids continue to enjoy them Skylanderex.

I can guarantee you as one of the bidders on this auction, he never contacted me.

Use of Scotch tape aside, I have not read an explanation on the logic of resealing the item back in its original packaging.

Also, if several people requested you make these items, why not simply make a few commissioned ones and sell them at a reasonable price privately?

From one educated person to another, I am tempted to perceive, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." (of course using gender in the quote liberally).

Wow. It seems some folks are under the impression that Distributing large amounts of figures is as simple as snapping one's fingers. This is completely ignorant of the facts, which that it takes several months to produce and ship figures in the mass quantities needed for retail, not to mention that you need the ORDERS FROM RETAILERS to get them on the shelves.

Who remembers the first Skylander's Christmas? When Skylanders took off more than anyone's wildest dreams? Shelves were completely barren for several months... If Activision had the ability to just make more figures whenever they felt like it, don't you think they would have struck while the iron was hot?

And by the way, Bahamut... people aren't just "judging a book by its cover" when it comes to you. They're judging you by every post you make on these forums. Like posting on someone's guestbook "Eat a ****", sending rude private messages and, in general, just being a complete ***.

If a few people have a problem with you, you might be okay just writing that off. When it gets to the point where you have to keep a list of people in your profile "that suck" just so that you can keep it all straight, perhaps you should begin to look at the singular common denominator in each of those cases.

---
Quote: defpally

Just one point without wading into the details here to which I really don't have a position, precedent must be set somewhere. Simply not having case precedent does not confirm whether it is legal or not. You simply don't want to be the person when a company decides it is going to make an example of you. The reason is big corporations can bury you in legal costs and where you might have a valid point, you simply might not be able to adequately argue it and end up being on the hook for the repercussions.

One recent (video game) example is the people that were making "bots" for World of Warcraft. There was no legal precedent for this. Activision/Blizzard decided to make their point and overwhelmed the makers with their unlimited resources. That doesn't get into the right vs. wrong (which I think bots did do harm, personally) but their standing that there was no case law that previously applied and the their view of what the law said didn't help them at all.

Replica making is a similar grey area. Customs they probably don't care about. But replicas of variants they make (particularly when packaged similar to retail) might draw their ire. You might have a very valid position, but you very likely don't have the resources to win if they get really upset about it. Heck, it would still cost you an arm and a leg to simply settle and stop making them. That's kind of how corporations use their legal teams, they use them to "shock and awe" even when they might have a questionable case. It's also why they prefer arbitration over court battles - because they heavily favor the side with the most resources.

In my perspective, it isn't worth the risk simply because there isn't a case that can be referenced.

While you are correct, that a precedence must be set somewhere eventually, my point is those without any kind of legal experience or education shouldn't be the one's making accusations and such without at least showing some work.

You want to say that "I think this is illegal because of this similar case.", then sure. You want to say that "I think this is illegal because I have a vague understanding of some law somewhere.", you start to lose any kind of standing you might have had.

Question---is there ANY WAY for me to tell if the green scorp I just bought is fake?
Maybe by putting itmon portal?

Ask the expert here.

He will show up in the game with a "Special" tag. He will be pre-loaded with 2100 coins and will start at level 5.


And, lastly, he will show up differently on the Collection screen.

If it's authentic, it will register as Level 5 with some coins pre-loaded on the character, and it will also show the "special" tag on the character introduction screen when you place it on the Portal in Swap Force.

Never mind this post; I was incorrect.

Thanks guys. I feel much better! Both sides are lifting a lot. With all the talk about fakes. ...it made me nervous. I checked all the things out that were mentioned and it looks good.

Quote: Matteomax

And also, the character artwork near the health bar is very different.

How do these green guys look. Splain that a bit more.

Bah, never mind. I could've sworn that it was different on the Wii version. Sorry.