South Korea authorities seize thousands of fake Pokemon plush toys

One side effect of Pokemon GO’s popularity comes in the form of fake Pokemon plush toys flooding the marketplace. Pokemon GO players aren’t the wiser, as they purchase anything that passes off as a Pokemon for a cheap price.

In South Korea, authorities have seized a whopping total of 530,000 fake plush, reportedly worth over 6 million US dollars. These were smuggled into the country between April and June, and were offloaded into arcades as crane game prizes. Besides catching the supplier of these fake wares, South Korean authorities removed the bootlegs from the arcades.

Here are some tips to avoid purchasing fake Pokemon plushies.

1. Look at that price. Official standard size Pokemon plushies are usually quite pricey (USD17.99 to USD24.99), and fakes could go as low as USD5.
2. Purchase from well known retailers. In the US, official Pokemon plushies could be found at places such as GameStop, Toys R Us, and the Pokemon Center online store.
3. Check the product tag. There are only a few companies licensed to make Pokemon plushies – Takara Tomy, Banpresto, Sanei, and The Pokemon Company. Anything else, especially with no licensing info, is a guaranteed fake.