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Just wanted to share my eBay experience this last month. After a really lucky eBay find on a squad of Krieg troops I went and bought bought a bunch of Forge World models off of eBay. Most of them appeared to be the real deal, all of which arrived with FW bags and all of which came with bases. Then there were 3 sets, a Krieg command squad, hvy weapons team, and a team of grenadiers which were just in ziplock bags and were definitely not FW quality. Both of the sellers of the above items were selling out of Russia and took several weeks to arrive. Both were selling well below FW prices and, I admit, I was suckered by the idea of saving a lot on a big purchase.

Anyway, when I got the models some were clearly plastic so I contacted the first seller. No reply for a week. But when I left negative feedback and opened a complaint in eBay I got an instant refund. Like within an hour, and no instructions for what to do with the forgeries. Not bad since I'd spend $80 USD on a plastic cast that makes GW look detailed and finecast look sturdy.

The other seller had been careful not to use the name forgeworld in his sale, and had actually used resin, albeit poorly, to make his forgeries. He actually offered me a few concessions, but insisted that sometimes FW's molds are a little off (I have a lot of FW models and I've never seen one this poor quality). I decided not to fight him as I think I got stung by Buyer Beware and my greed to get a good deal.

The takeaway for me is to look for the brand "forge world" in the auction and to check to see if you're getting bases, bag, the info sheet all FW models ship with. Also, if they're selling it used but unpainted, most of the sellers who sold me legit FW stuff mention why they're selling it or have a proof pic of the bag. The seller who gave me a refund had clearly tried to make it look like she was selling FW stuff, even putting the models on the info sheet and citing the artists who designed the models.

I know this is pretty elementary stuff for most buyers, but I bought my first miniatures in 1978, built my first 40k army in the 80s, and bought and sold hundreds of items of eBay, so I felt it might be useful to share my experience, and maybe learn about other things to watch out for.

This is nothing new. Of course as long as the models are functional you might as well paint them and use them.

Did they come from China? The land of knock-offs!

I actually found a nice company in China that sells knockoffs. And not some cheap copies either. They use the same kind of Resin and are top quality. Indistinguishable from the real deal. And its not a scam either. They're a legit company. Albiet ripping off FW, but they arn't scamming their customers.

Both packages were from different parts of Russia. The troopers who I got refunded looked like something a home modeler might pull off, but the other ones look like they could have been mass produced.

There are plenty of "professional" forgers that sell ripoffs. You can make more money by having a good quality product then a cheap home cast afterall.

A person that can sculpt can easily make a master mold copy of the original and then make their own molds. And then they start mass producing their own versions that are indistinguishable from the original, especially once painted.

Yeah, I'm just not a fan of people who make and sell knock-offs. I was looking for OOP FW stuff and got caught up in cheap prices, thinking that someone was selling off stuff that'd been collecting dust (like 1/2 my Necron army) but I don't have any intention of doing it again. It's not like there's a moral argument for having access to Forge World models at 10-20% off.

Maybe when I see the modelers from Forge World driving around in limos and Ferrari's and dumping resin refuse into the Thames I'll consider ripping them off.

BTW if you ever see a Rolex for 50$ sold from Asia, it is not original either

something like from this seller?

http://myworld.ebay.com.au/alexprintposter/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

i recently bought a FW nurgle sorcerer on ebay. it cost about the same as directly from FW when the cost and shipping are combined (total of $20usd). seller name is bdstd. was that one of the counterfeiters?

Dragonzord: Yeah, I'd suspect that one, though his models look really good compared to the ones I bought. He also sells with bases and has good feedback. Hell, I might buy from him next time.

hivetyrant: that was one of the sellers I suspected. Though he didn't explain how his prices are a bit cheaper than FW, he did insist that the models were legit. Honestly, I might never have noticed they were forgeries if it hadn't been for the other seller who tried to pass off cheap hot melt plastic figures as FW resin.

Kroothawk: A cheap rolex costs $5000, people who sell counterfeit miniatures on eBay are charging 10-20% off $50 sets. I'm trying to sell my deff dredd and grot tanks for a bigger discount than that in the Swap Shop and those are NIB models that came straight from FW and have never been touched. There's nothing unreasonable about expecting to get the real deal when you are paying a relatively minor markdown on a slightly esoteric product.

I know someone who thought they were buying the Forge World Hydra on Ebay and it turned out to be a Chinese knockoff, a plastic Chimera with a turret of 4 resign autocannons.

oh, good. coz i got a warboss on bike from that guy, and hopefully its a good one :/

i didnt even consider them being fake forge world stuff when i bought it..