Tokyo Toys are pretty much the most well known seller of anime/manga related merchandise in the UK. Unfortunately they don't just sell legitimate goods, they carry a mixture of legal and counterfeit goods.
The guy who calls himself Hideki (one of the owners of TTs, and it's not his real name) has posted admissions that TTs sell counterfeit goods on the MCM Expo forum in the past. His excuses for it amounted to 'people buy it and seem happy, and other people sell the same kind of stuff so why shouldn't I?' He also pushed that bogus line that 'unlicensed' goods are somehow okay to sell. They aren't. Unlicensed goods are just another type of counterfeit goods. You can confirm that by talking to Consumer Direct if you need to: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
Complaints have been made to Trading Standards about Tokyo Toys selling counterfeit goods, and links to what Hideki posted on the MCM Expo forum were given to Trading Standards as part of the complaints. Not long after that the posts were deleted from the Expo forum. Guess someone wasn't too happy to leave Hideki's admission of guilt in the open.
Anyway, Tokyo Toys are still selling counterfeit goods and the best way of saving yourself from buying them is to know the kind of Chinese wholesalers of counterfeits that supply the UK market. Here's a couple of them:
http://www.salesmanb2b.com/
http://www.frontwinner.com/
If you spend a few minutes going through what they sell and comparing them with things that Tokyo Toys and others sell here it won't take you long to match things up. You'll also be able to see the big fat markup that gets applied when they are sold here. Given that the goods are actually worthless due to being illegal that amounts to a hefty rip-off for you if you buy any of them.
If you have bought anything from Tokyo Toys that turns out to be counterfeit and you still have proof of purchase you should report it to Trading Standards via Consumer Direct (URL above) and they should be able to get you a refund. You will also be helping the rest of the community and the people that create the anime and manga in the first place by doing so.
The guy who calls himself Hideki (one of the owners of TTs, and it's not his real name) has posted admissions that TTs sell counterfeit goods on the MCM Expo forum in the past. His excuses for it amounted to 'people buy it and seem happy, and other people sell the same kind of stuff so why shouldn't I?' He also pushed that bogus line that 'unlicensed' goods are somehow okay to sell. They aren't. Unlicensed goods are just another type of counterfeit goods. You can confirm that by talking to Consumer Direct if you need to: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
Complaints have been made to Trading Standards about Tokyo Toys selling counterfeit goods, and links to what Hideki posted on the MCM Expo forum were given to Trading Standards as part of the complaints. Not long after that the posts were deleted from the Expo forum. Guess someone wasn't too happy to leave Hideki's admission of guilt in the open.
Anyway, Tokyo Toys are still selling counterfeit goods and the best way of saving yourself from buying them is to know the kind of Chinese wholesalers of counterfeits that supply the UK market. Here's a couple of them:
http://www.salesmanb2b.com/
http://www.frontwinner.com/
If you spend a few minutes going through what they sell and comparing them with things that Tokyo Toys and others sell here it won't take you long to match things up. You'll also be able to see the big fat markup that gets applied when they are sold here. Given that the goods are actually worthless due to being illegal that amounts to a hefty rip-off for you if you buy any of them.
If you have bought anything from Tokyo Toys that turns out to be counterfeit and you still have proof of purchase you should report it to Trading Standards via Consumer Direct (URL above) and they should be able to get you a refund. You will also be helping the rest of the community and the people that create the anime and manga in the first place by doing so.
