darkSpyro

Alex Ness just wrote me a third time. He said Dark Spyro WAS released in singapore in a single pack. So the one I bought off ebay is legit. These do exist. The guy was telling the truth. Alex Ness works for toys for bob for those who dont know. He originally wrote me and said he didnt believe they existed two days ago. However he just emailed me out of the blue and confirmed that they are REAL!
P.S. He said they were released in Singapore only!

Excellent find for you then. If you dont mind saying, what did you end up paying?

Any chance you could copy and paste that email in here? You can obscure part of his email address to keep it from getting out.

Someone's a baller! Congrats, DrillSarge!

About 54$. Not bad for the only one in the states to pop up lol. Extremely rare unless you live or can get to singapore. Im sure now that this post will cause scalpers to go and buy them in bulk to sell on ebay. I just bought it to investigate and see if it was real. I dont really need it. At this point Im so desperate for wave 4 Id gice it away if someone found me wave 4. Id be willing to pull a gamemaster and buy wave 4 from someone and send them this dark spyro for free lol.

**What I'm worried about though is the one I'm getting may still be a fake. Singapore has a huge black market and this could be the correct figure but in a box made by some guy on the street. Similar to oakley sunglasses sold on the corner of a street in New York City for 10$*** lol

Good Job Drill! I bet you could fetch a pretty penny for that thing as it's probably more valuable than even the Custom paint Cynder still in box. Dang...that's crazy. I was so tempted to buy it. The person who sold it was an idiot selling it that cheap. Wonder what the print run on that thing was. Probably 5-10K units? Maybe less? How many TRU can be in Singapore ya think? Hmmm. Congrats bro!

Here is a copy of our email conversationStart reading at the bottom to see the order of messages exchanged) I deleted my last name and email addresses just for security purposes.

From: Ness, Alex
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 09:09 PM
To: 'John XXXX'
Subject: RE: Skylander Fake.


Actually, I just found out that this could be legit. There were single pack Dark Spyros released in Singapore.


From: Ness, Alex
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 10:55 AM
To: 'John XXXX'
Subject: RE: Skylander Fake.


Not to my knowledge, no.


From: John [mailto:XXX@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 10:38 AM
To: Ness, Alex
Subject: Re: Skylander Fake.


Was Dark Spyro made in a SINGLE PACK though? I know it comes with the nintendo DS game but have u made any sold seperatrly in singapore or other countries?

Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From: Ness, Alex <XXXXXXX@toysforbob.com>;
To: John <XXXXXX@yahoo.com>;
Subject: Re: Skylander Fake.
Sent: Tue, Mar 13, 2012 2:42:17 PM


Hi John,

Thanks for writing in. Yes, we did make Dark Spyro so hopefully the one you are looking at is not a fake. If you discover otherwise, let
us know.

- Alex at TFB

On Mar 12, 2012, at 5:45 PM, "John" <XXXXXX@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Just curious who should I email to ask if Dark Spyro was ever made by your company in a single pack or if it was just made for the nintendo DS packs? There is one on ebay and I am trying to decide if it is fake or not. Thanks!

Well, that's interesting. I can understand country exclusives but why Singapore?

It will be curious to watch the next few days to see if another Dark Spyro from this guy appears for a flat price of $50. They cant be too abundant or we would see more of them on ebay... But then again, if they released them in singapore, then its not like they just made one....

Let us know Dillsarge when you get it, gives us a review of the box...

Sure will. As soon as I receive it I am still going to do a review and see how legit it is.

It's good to finally get confirmation. I wasn't all to satisfied with the prior responses from TFB employees that just thought they may be fake. It was really great for Alex to actually go and double check, and then write you back. Great customer service on their part.

D-Rex, who knows. It could be a number of things. If I had to guess, then I'd assume complications popped up, because the 3DS is region exclusive, or Skylanders doesn't have a big market in Singapore, and releasing Dark Spyro separate was the best way to drum up attention. I lean more towards the latter, as the former seems like an easy fix/something they would have seen coming.

Quote: xerokills

Good Job Drill! I bet you could fetch a pretty penny for that thing as it's probably more valuable than even the Custom paint Cynder still in box. Dang...that's crazy. I was so tempted to buy it. The person who sold it was an idiot selling it that cheap. Wonder what the print run on that thing was. Probably 5-10K units? Maybe less? How many TRU can be in Singapore ya think? Hmmm. Congrats bro!

I am sorry but I don't agree; the metallic Cynder and pearl Hex were very limited runs whereas Dark Spyros will be made for the foreseeable future.

It is very easy for most people to order items from Singapore - either via ExpenseBay or more "legit" means. Heck, just make a friend and get them to send it if you don't have a convenient relative there.

Let's put it this way, as it is a standard fig and I already have it, I would not buy one if it was in the shop down the road from me. Then again, the true "collectors" like all items MIB so it would be a incentivised for them?

I expect it to be released in North America, when Giants releases. With Giants on 3DS and home consoles, they will probably include different starter characters. So I fully expect to see, when Giants releases -

Single -

- Dark Spyro
- Spyro
- Gill Grunt
- Trigger Happy

Triple -

- Spyro/Gill Grunt/Trigger Happy

Grats on the single pack DS. Good to know it might be legit. I just wonder why one person who works for TFB says it may be legit, while another says it looks suspicious? I mean, anyone can pick the side that favors their theory more, but it begs the question. Is Nat right, or Alex?

EDIT: Oh, and the other day, I checked Ebay Singapore. There has never been a listing for a single pack Dark Spyro that sold or was being sold. They were all open Dark Spyros. That's another reason I found it hard to believe.

Quote: D-Rex

Well, that's interesting. I can understand country exclusives but why Singapore?

Singapore is exceptionally regulated, to put it politely.

It could be a govt intervention against unfair trading or any sort of thing?

For example, here in Oz DVD players had to be multi-region as a govt dept stipulated that forcing ppl to buy Oceanic region discs was anti-competitive.

Quote: GameMaster78

I expect it to be released in North America, when Giants releases. With Giants on 3DS and home consoles, they will probably include different starter characters. So I fully expect to see, when Giants releases -

Single -

- Dark Spyro
- Spyro
- Gill Grunt
- Trigger Happy

Triple -

- Spyro/Gill Grunt/Trigger Happy

Grats on the single pack DS. Good to know it might be legit. I just wonder why one person who works for TFB says it may be legit, while another says it looks suspicious? I mean, anyone can pick the side that favors their theory more, but it begs the question. Is Nat right, or Alex?

EDIT: Oh, and the other day, I checked Ebay Singapore. There has never been a listing for a single pack Dark Spyro that sold or was being sold. They were all open Dark Spyros. That's another reason I found it hard to believe.

Nat's message implied he didn't know, and thus that made it suspicious. Alex seems to have double checked, and confirmed they made singles of Dark Spyro for Singapoe, but can't give a confirmation on whether the one which DrillSarge bought is legit. So we can conclude they exist, but we have no way of knowing if the ones in the US were brought in from Singapore or if someone recreated them to cash in.

As for the Ebay thing, you have to consider the online auction model and eBay are not popular in all countries like in the U.S. Skylanders may also not be very popular in Singapore.

Okay, then next question. Why does this seller say he has three of them? Why only buy 3? Why would they sell it single, when the 3DS game did go to Singapore?

If I were the kind of person going on the hunt for Skylanders to resell, I would BUY THEM ALL! I wouldn't buy a mere three and sell them.

Another thing. Why is this seller the only seller in the world selling this single pack on Ebay? This guy lives in Kentucky. Who goes on a business trip, or any trip, to Singapore of all places?

I just don't believe in coincidence. Okay, check this -

- Guy coincidentally goes to the only place in the world selling Dark Spyro singles
- Guy coincidentally goes to a TRU in Singapore where said Dark Spyro was found

Now, this is where this question comes in. "But, Gamemaster? Did you ever stop to think maybe TRU only had 3 in stock?" Already on top of that. So, let's say this guy went to Singapore, went to TRU, and bought all 3, knowing they're collector's items or not sold anywhere else in the world (odd). What does a smart person do? They go to every store in Singapore to find more. But, wait. TRU is the only store that had them? At the same time, this guy who goes to Singapore, but lives in Kentucky is the only one selling them, whereas Singapore citizens haven't sold one in the history of the game's availability?

Look, I swear I'm not trying to **** in anyone's Cherios. However, people need to examine all facts. I am not trying to make anyone mad, but I examine all possibilities. There is too much that says this may still be fake.

However, just because something is fake, doesn't mean it can't be worth something in the eyes of the buyer of said fake. Sarge could like it, just because of the way it looks. That's all that matters in the end. However, when it comes to being legit, I am still on the side of it not being real, because too much falls into place, but leaves too many questions at the same time.

My take, is that only 3 means he made only 3 to test the waters on this custom packaged Skylander.

EDIT: One more thing. If he had three to begin with, why is he only selling one at a time? In other words, he obviously sold one to the kid who opened it and made a video (assumption). The second he sold to Sarge. The third is up there now with a higher price. If the issue is price, then he could have sold two at first then the third for higher. However, looking at his name, it doesn't state that he had sold more than one, meaning he sold each seperately. I have 7 L-Triggs I bought for a total of 350 bucks (kicks self in butt). I tried selling them on Ebay for exactly what I paid for them (would actually be taking a loss due to fees). I listed 7, because I had 7. Why would I list one after the other, until all 7 were sold?

For the record, there are 5 TRU's in Singapore and trust me when I say that it is not a really big city in terms of area.

What I was saying about hounding other stores, if one only had three, was to go to stores like Walmart, Target, or whatever Singapore's equivalent is.

Just find it funny that some guy from the US, miraculously goes to Singapore and finds them, but Singapore's citizens are only selling opened Dark Spyros. The guy has what seems to be the only 3 single packs in the world. All based on going to Singapore at the right time? I'm sure others visit TRU, but this guy was in the right place (across the globe) at the right time?

My point was not to negate you but to merely point out that even TRU exclusive means a lot of potential in Singapore.

The packaging will be the deciding factor for me. The only reason I believe this guy after Alex checked it out is bc I went to high school with numerous kids whose parents worked in singapore. I live in TN a few miles from KY. This area has ties to that part of the world. Not every country has the money to buy these at scalped prices in the popularity over there may not be as hot as it is here in the states. We are americans so we just assume that everyone else is greedy as we are. Besides locals only people in singapore are business men. We know these exist there but we will soon find out if these specific ones are real. Ill mail it to TFB if I have to if i believe once i rcv it that its a well made counterfeit.

Well, real or fake, if you felt it was worth it, that's all that matters. I'm always the curious type, so I was do a lot of digging, so any skepticism, is just me playing private detective. I hope it is real, because who wouldn't want it to be real? However, if not, that doesn't mean it's not still cool.

I've been playing around on the Singapore TRU site and have not been able to find a single Skylander to prove or bust this story. I've tried searching "Skylanders", "Skylanders:" and "Spyro" but have gotten no hits. Perhaps it might be worth contacting TRU SG by email just to verify the product? Just pretend you live in Singapore

You make a good point. The UPC for this Dark Spyro is listed on the bottom of the package. If one were to give them that UPC, they can see if it was ever in their system.

or if you wanted, one could scan the barcode with google goggles and see what it brings up. I have a feeling nothing will show, but possibly something could pop up. Worth a try, right?

Yes! I have a friend in singapore, so I'll ask if he can get it for me

A barcode scanner from a smart phone would work, yes. I say try it and see what's up.

I agree if its not real its still cool. We know they exist but thar doesny mean thid one is real. Ill scan the barcode on the one he sends me and post all this in the review I do. Thanks guys.

In a way, i hope it is true. But that would be bad for people that have the 3DS Starter, becuase Dark Spyro is meant to be an exclusive-to-that-starter-pack character.

Quote: reventon777

In a way, i hope it is true. But that would be bad for people that have the 3DS Starter, becuase Dark Spyro is meant to be an exclusive-to-that-starter-pack character.

We have the 3DS starter pack. It doesn't bother me one bit.

Gamemaster78, I'd be willing to bet he didn't go to Singapore with the intention of buying Skylanders to sell. He probably went on business, or vacation with family, saw them, and bought what he could manage to take back with him in his luggage. Lots of people have business in Singapore. It's quite like a "miniature" Hong Kong. There are also U.S. military bases in Singapore, so he could have been stationed there, or visiting/living with someone that was. Also, Singapore is an area where some flights stop, before then continuing to other Asian countries, so maybe he got off and did some shopping while waiting for his next flight.

As mentioned, there are apparently only 5 TRU in Singapore. I believe this single pack is a TRU exclusive. That would make it difficult to find, especially with how bad shortages are. He probably got lucky and happened to stop in when they were stocked, or maybe no one else wanted to pay what they were asking(the seller mentioned they were priced higher than regular figures). I already addressed the eBay thing. eBay is not popular in a lot of countries, particularly Asian countries. Yahoo Auctions used to be the most popular a few years back, but I guess they just weren't pulling in enough profit globally, so they shut most of their auction sites down(I believe the Japan site is still up). Just because you haven't seen them through eBay, doesn't mean they haven't been sold on other websites or in forums. I've not done business with anyone from Singapore, but I have ordered plenty of things from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which, from what I'm told, have similar market systems. They prefer to actually talk to who they are selling to, so they can negotiate the best deals for everyone. Online auctions are too impersonal, and the stereotype in those countries is that most people who sell stuff online are scammers. This is also a good reason why a guy from the U.S. is the only one who we've seen selling them, because Americans don't hold that stereotype. If you want to get your hands on one of these singles the most popular method I know for doing business in Asian countries is to hire a shopper. I suppose that you could just hire them to go check for you, but they might think you were trying to rip them off somehow.

I think being skeptical is healthy, but there are times where skepticism turns into just plain stubbornness. I believed these to be fake at first, just like most people on this forum, but there are now way more things leaning towards these being real, than being fake. No one from TFB ever used the word "fake" from my knowledge. All we got was a "suspicious" and "not to my knowledge" but I guess it raised enough flags for Alex to actually go check, and he confirmed they made and distributed single dark spyros in Singapore. We know for a fact they are real. Can you really say it's just a coincidence that someone decided to fake a toy, make up a story it came from Singapore, and get lucky enough to find out that TFB actually did release(without announcing to the whole world) a real version, and only in Singapore? Or are you implying he saw them in Singapore, and decided to return to the sates to make them in his basement? Wouldn't it just be easier to buy them when he saw them?

Everyone one does business differently. Maybe he doesn't like selling more than one thing at a time? I never like to list more than 3 items at a time, even if I have more to sell. I'm just a casual eBay user, not a business. I imagine he is also testing to see what he can get for them. If he was unsure of what he could get for them, guessed $20, and listed them all at the same time, then he'd loose a lot of potential profit.

Quote: DrillSarge

The packaging will be the deciding factor for me. The only reason I believe this guy after Alex checked it out is bc I went to high school with numerous kids whose parents worked in singapore. I live in TN a few miles from KY. This area has ties to that part of the world. Not every country has the money to buy these at scalped prices in the popularity over there may not be as hot as it is here in the states. We are americans so we just assume that everyone else is greedy as we are. Besides locals only people in singapore are business men. We know these exist there but we will soon find out if these specific ones are real. Ill mail it to TFB if I have to if i believe once i rcv it that its a well made counterfeit.

I agree. It's the packaging that will tell all. I'm eagerly awaiting your review. I also agree that Singapore is not like America. Singapore is not as rich as America is, even in the most devloped cities, and thus they have very different ways of doing things. You really can't think like an American when doing business in Asian countries. I use to import fish, and getting to a point where I understood how business was done in the countries I imported from took time to get use to. They didn't do business like any of the American breeders I dealt with.

Quote: reventon777

In a way, i hope it is true. But that would be bad for people that have the 3DS Starter, becuase Dark Spyro is meant to be an exclusive-to-that-starter-pack character.

It's not bad for them at all. They got what they paid for, and no one ever said they were always going to be exclusive to the 3DS. A lot of video games release exclusives for certain versions/variants depending on the system it's for or the place you bought it, but then later on release everything for a price. The only unfair thing about it is that we don't have singles of regular spyro, regular trigger happy, or gill grunt. I imagine they will eventually be released though, just like Dark Spyro. It just takes time.

Whilst I agree with most of your sentiment, I think it pertinent to clarify a couple of points:

1/. Singapore is a city state so it is misleading to say "even in the most developed cities". Singapore is actually a very advanced city, for the most part.

2/. The official statement always was that Dark Spyro would remain 3DS excclusive; that was the incentive to buy it.

I'm not saying the Dark Spyro is not available in Singapore in a single pack, just that Activision will have PO'd quite a few people in the process.

Quote: DrillSarge

Alex Ness just wrote me a third time. He said Dark Spyro WAS released in singapore in a single pack. So the one I bought off ebay is legit. These do exist. The guy was telling the truth. Alex Ness works for toys for bob for those who dont know. He originally wrote me and said he didnt believe they existed two days ago. However he just emailed me out of the blue and confirmed that they are REAL!
P.S. He said they were released in Singapore only!

cant you put up some pictures of it inbox unopened(big pic), so we that never get one can see it....

We are overthinking this folks. Skylanders wasn't expected to blow up like this. Average people make decisions about what is released. My guess is every single character was designed to be in single pack...including Dark Spyro. It is very easy to create art for a Dark Spyro box. So when they realized that Singapore was a place that had a special need for singles. They sold it there. It definitely adds some value to the completionists out there. And it definitely has a great value later when/if it catches on further. Who exactly is gonna be pissed? 5-10 year old kids and a few adults?

soon we are gonna find out that gold/silver stump smash was real to.....

It can be a bootleg. Their are common in some asian country

Quote: xerokills

We are overthinking this folks. Skylanders wasn't expected to blow up like this. Average people make decisions about what is released. My guess is every single character was designed to be in single pack...including Dark Spyro. It is very easy to create art for a Dark Spyro box. So when they realized that Singapore was a place that had a special need for singles. They sold it there. It definitely adds some value to the completionists out there. And it definitely has a great value later when/if it catches on further. Who exactly is gonna be pissed? 5-10 year old kids and a few adults?

if you examine any relevant press release from Activision, they state categorically that Dark Spyro is a 3DS exclusive.

I'm closing this thread. There is nothing we can do until I get the figure and examine it myself. I am speaking with TFB to see if I can ship it to them to get it authenticated. Some people will believe it is real, others are just being "haters" because they are not able to obtain one right now and others truly believe it does not exist. The first few posters I appreciate your kind words wether you agree it is real or not but some of these posts make me laugh. I created this post to start a discussion not to rub anything in anyone's face so there is no need to get angry or ignore the facts. If steve jobs emailed me and said an ipad 4 was out would you guys believe him? Or just say "oh well all the press releases for the united states (bc thats the only ones you can read) say it isn't out". This came from the so called horse's mouth. Wether the one I get is real or not these things do and will exist. Eventually everyone will be able to buy one. Until I receive my item I can not confirm it is the real deal or not but to say these things do not exist is just plain ignorant. I will post my review once I receive the item and put this all to rest. Thanks.