FPVUK Support Guide

Hey everyone!

Here at FPVUK we hope you find this guide useful and

supportive in helping you build your amazing collection
safely, fake free and having loads of fun doing it!

If it ain't Funko, it ain't fun!

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 Only purchase from reputable sellers. If in doubt, ask the community, we are always happy to
help.
You can pretty much guarantee anything coming from China will be a replica; however, they have
gotten smart recently and started to list the item as being in the UK. You can see this is not the
case by the estimated delivery date.
They title the item as a Funko and have ‘Funko’ or ‘Unbranded’ in the listing. If the price is too
good to be true? It probably is for a reason
Some sites will tell you to avoid ‘Stock’ photos like the below. This is certainly a flag to keep an
eye on, however places such as Argos, The Entertainer, Curry’s etc. all use Stock images so don’t
allow this to immediately put you off, just be wary and check other points listed

Negative or Limited Feedback

Most of these reviews will have people waving the counterfeit flag.
A low number of reviews could also mean someone recently created the account to sell off a ton of
fake items and then run away with the money before anyone notices, well we do notice! In
addition, where possible we report every one we see
Large Quantities Available
Vaulted items can be so difficult to locate. A common theme with the fake listings is they have a
large quantity available for purchase. If it says 99 items are available or 50 sold at this price,
simply avoid the listing.
Discounts
As mentioned above if a price is too good to be true it normally is. People who have £100 plus
items aren’t going to sell them for £10.00 and this is especially true if they have 200 of them

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 Questions
Ask to see as many images as possible of the POP! This is the best weapon against fakes. If you
are concerned about the images, they are sending, request that they add a time stamp with their
name in the picture. You will discover their intentions quickly if they go silent after you ask. An
example of a timestamp is below (smiley face optional lol)

Facebook purchases
We are proud to be Europe’s largest Funko page! Whoop whoop! #HappyDance. We work hard
24/7 to keep the scammers out of our groups and not interacting with our members. This being
said we can only control and protect so much…….our members need to be vigilant too and report
anything suspicious to our admins on the page. Here are some key pointers
Reputation
If the seller is a member of Funko related Facebook groups, reference other members or friends
that have completed deals with the seller before. Always remember to phone a friend in these
cases. Sometimes all you need to do is ask other members in the group to vouch for the individual
if there is little feedback available for the seller.
Profiles
Check the Sellers Profile. Number one RED FLAG: they recently joined to Facebook. One strategy
scammer’s use is to create multiple profiles to run scams with. Often these profiles are created
within the past 6 months and have limited posts and communications. If they aren’t active or
members of multiple groups, there’s a chance they joined to scam and then run.

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 Always, always, always remember to use goods and services when using
PayPal as a form of payment. This is an added layer of protection, should you be scammed. Don’t
fall for any kind of sob story or excuse! If the seller refused to use G&S then walk away! You are
NOT covered sending payment any other way and fraudsters will sink to the lowest depths to try
and get you to pay via bank transfer, friends and family etc…….DONT BE A VICTIM!

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 Product Numbers
Verify product number on the bottom of the box. Numbers are different depending on licenses and
manufacturers, but will always include the year and item number produced. Most fakes lack this
product number, or have an item number that has been printed from a label maker.
A fake POP!’s item number will usually appear in bolder text accompanied with a wider sticker.
Also, note, some numbers are pressed opposed to printed but will always be located on the
bottom of the box as per the 3 images below. It’s worth pointing out some ‘good fakes’ (Not many)
do have a sticker on the base so you still need to be vigilant with the other points in this guide

REAL POP! PRODUCT NUMBER VARIENTS

FAKE POP! NO NUMBER VARIENTS

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 Most fakes have a different coloring painted either on the figure or on the box. You can see this
with the Martian Manhunter. His paint appears much darker than his authentic counterpart, both
on the POP! and the box. When producing fakes the smaller details are often missed especially
now that Funko has made more complex designs with their POP!’s. I will explain the other circles
on the below image a little later on.

Borders
One of the easiest ways to quickly identify a fake is the boarder around the POP! window. Often
the boarder around the image and POP! Logos will appear much wider than the authentic version.
Sometimes the white boarder will not completely outline the image and appear with gaps.
Reference the images above for examples circled. You may also find the lines are far from perfect,
indicating they have been cut manually.
Counterfeits often contain different fonts on the box. A large number of fakes will have different
fonts on logos, information on the bottom of the box, and the POP! Categories logo. Also, some
counterfeit items will have the copyright notice printed incorrectly. If you notice something strange
with fonts or details on the box always reference images on reputable sites or Facebook groups to
compare.
When producing a fake POP!, forgers often forget details such as logos or what line of POP! it is.
The fake is clearly missing both the Funko Line title and the Funko logo on the Convention
Exclusive sticker. Lack of detail is always a clear indicator someone is trying to pass an item off as
authentic, although some can be very convincing. Again, reference images from reliable sources.
Getting the box artwork correct is very difficult and is always a clear indicator of a fake. Numbering
in the top front right, backs and sides can often be different from the authentic POP! boxes.

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 Sometimes you’ll notice the number is off centered or too close together, in some cases the
double-digit numbers may touch or overlap. Again, the easiest way to identify correct numbering is
to reference authentic POP! From someone else in the group or from a reputable retailer.
Here we see an example of the number being entirely off center

Also from the same range, you can see the forger hasn’t bothered using the correct font for
Funko

Finally, we just won’t bother with a category here! Some of these are laughable….Poor Cap!

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 Stickers
Con stickers have become a BIG and important topic for collectors in recent years and the
demand for “Convention Only Stickers” has driven forgers to enter this territory as well. In some
cases, it’s very difficult to identify fake stickers and you’ll have to ask for help from the community,
but details are often left out too. Fake stickers may have wider boarders, incorrect coloring or text
missing, again reference images in Facebook groups or reputable sites.

Real Deal

FAKER!!!

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 Attention to Detail
Paying attention to the detail on fakes is important as well. Some forgers will not take the time
necessary to get the detail accurate in fakes. A couple of great cases are the Unmasked Jason
Voorhees and GITD Deadite. For the Deadite the GITD material may appear more translucent
than the authentic version and missing the bloody details on the box and figure too. While Jason
Voorhees misses the mark entirely.

And some are just plain obvious and laughable!

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 POP! Figures serial number
All pops will have a serial number on the actual little dude as well. Most commonly, this can be
found under the base of the neck or on the base of the foot. Fake Funko Pops don’t tend to have
these stamps, so if you are ever in doubt and you can bear to take the figure out of the box, then
have a quick nosey.
Don’t forget, this number can be on the foot OR the back of the head just above the neck

Have you learnt anything? Think so? Check

out or Friend of Foe quiz on the next page!
Can you spot the fake?

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 We’ll start you off with some easy ones and make our way to the more difficult spots! Answers can
be found on the last page at the bottom ☺ Good luck!

1. Kobe Bryant

A B

2. Beerus

A B

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 3. Winter Soldier

A B

4.Goku (Super Sayan God)

A B
5.

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 5. Golden Frieza

A B

6. Black Widow

A B

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Answers. The fakes are:
1 - Kobe Bryant B 2 - Beerus A 3 - Winter Soldier B 4 - Super Sayan God B 5 - Golden Frieza A
6 - Black Widow B 7 - Captain Spaulding B 8 - The Joker A
B A
8. The Joker
B A
7. Captain Spaulding
Now we will get a little bit harder by taking the box away……
 We hope you’ve found this guide useful in
your collecting, if ever you need any help,
advice or support always post on the page or
drop us a message on the page so an admin
can assist.

If it ain't Funko, it ain't fun!

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