Attention Megara Lovers ~ Warning about Counterfeit WDW Megara Pin

[Merryweather]

A long time back, I bought few things from a seller in UK. At that time, the disneystore keyhole pins were not all over the place, but (s)he was selling them in multiples. He was also selling these Meg pins as a BIN of $9.99 and there were 3 available. So, I bought 2 thinking that it was a great price. Well,the joke was on me :facepalm:

At that time, I did not suspect this pin to be counterfeit. Later, I bought a very nice princess lot on Ebay and there was one more Megara in it.

Today, while organizing some of my pins in my never ending boxes, for the very first time, I placed both pins side by side. The differences are mostly subtle except at one spot on the front.

On the back, the stamps are very very different.

So, this made me re-iterate the moral of the story: If it is too good to be true, it usually is. It turns out that all of the pins I bought from that seller were counterfeit. Unfortunately, I was too late in realizing that to request a refund. I ended up losing a good amount of money :rant:

So, here are both pins for your viewing pleasure - the one on the left is the authentic one.

My camera is not so good, it is an old Kodak point & shoot. But, even with this not-so-great picture you can see that the hair band is brown on the fake one. Also, the criss-cross of her sandal does not have clean lines.

It is possible that this is only an error version, but looking at how all other pins I bought from this seller were counterfeits, I have reason to think that this Megara too is not authentic. I wanted to bring this to other collector's attention.

 

[HiddenMickeys]

Hmm, thanks so much for posting this. You right, there are differences; the hair band, the back stamps, and if it's not just me, it looks like the lines on the potentially counterfeit pin are thicker than on the authentic one. Hmmm...good to know.

 

[crushedbubbles]

Thank you also for posting this! I wish this would be the picture for the pinpics page for this pin. I love seeing the pins side-by-side. That's really unfortunate though Selen that there are counterfeits of beautiful Meg

 

[Merryweather]

I just looked at the hands now. There is a big difference on the fingers too. Especially the one on her hip.

 

[hopemax]

Apparently, my Mom owns this pin. No idea when she got it, although she did go to WDW in Oct 2002, and Jan 2003, so she might have traded for it back then. But also she could have traded for it much later too. I will see what hers looks like when I go in a couple weeks.

 

[Merryweather]

Apparently, my Mom owns this pin. No idea when she got it, although she did go to WDW in Oct 2002, and Jan 2003, so she might have traded for it back then. But also she could have traded for it much later too. I will see what hers looks like when I go in a couple weeks.

That would be a nice way to compare. And you can take much better pics than mine with your new camera.

 

[hopemax]

This is what's throwing me. I don't have this pin. But I have several "core" Jungle Book pins that were released about the same time, and my husband traded/bought them probably Jan 2003. It was pre-counterfeits, and I think pre-disneymade scrappers in circulation, but who knows. The backstamp on Colonel Hathi, for instance, match the style on the Megara on the right. Other ones, the ears are a different size to fit, but the font of the character name match more the one on the right. Not the one on the left. But the one on the left is hard to make out too. Is the year on the left, 2002 or is it a different year?

So I'm curious to see what my my Mom has.

 

[Merryweather]

I can't see the date stamp very well. Last time went to get my eyes checked, I was told that I need bi-focals. I vehemently denied it ... LOL ...

My daughter has a toy magnifying glass, but even that does not work.

I will try to take a better picture over the weekend. Maybe I will get lucky.

 

[Shivatopia]

Oh dear! What a horrible thought, but at least if the one on the right is a counterfeit, the hairband color and the back stamp are good tell-tale features at a glance. I have one that looks like the one on the left, though I bought it from a US eBay seller about a year ago, and it looks exactly like the left-hand one in your pictures (front and back).

 

[Psycho Pixie]

huh... Thank you for posting this! There are to many differences to just be a pin that slipped past the quality control folks. I think the post is what got me.... I have never seen a pin post that is different on what should be identical pins.

 

[MMiano]

Also I can see a difference in the skin color as well. The counterfeit's skin color is darker than the true one.

 

[Aquata]

Okay... posting my pics. I got this years ago... about 4 or 5 years ago... and it was back before I really knew about scrappers/counterfeits. So... I'm afraid... I may be sitting on a counterfeit one :facepalm:
Her headband is the right color, it's hefty in weight and her hands look like the one on PinPics. Her sandals are not as clearly defined though and that's throwing me off. Opinions...? *prepares for the worst*

 

[TheOtherSteve]

Okay... posting my pics. I got this years ago... about 4 or 5 years ago... and it was back before I really knew about scrappers/counterfeits. So... I'm afraid... I may be sitting on a counterfeit one :facepalm:
Her headband is the right color, it's hefty in weight and her hands look like the one on PinPics. Her sandals are not as clearly defined though and that's throwing me off. Opinions...? *prepares for the worst*

Comparing to the images in the 1st post, your backstamp is positioned too low. The fake backstamp in the 1st post is positioned too high. Also notice that the middle finger on the left hand is a little longer than the other two. In both of the others, all three fingers are the same size...

 

[Aquata]

Comparing to the images in the 1st post, your backstamp is positioned too low. The fake backstamp in the 1st post is positioned too high. Also notice that the middle finger on the left hand is a little longer than the other two. In both of the others, all three fingers are the same size...

D'oh... I had a feeling *sad sigh* Well, thank you for your help Steve as always

 

[hopemax]

Alright, checked my Mom's pin, and it looks like the one on the left. The back stamp may be a bit lower though.

 

[Merryweather]

Aquata ... I did look at yours over and over, and I still am not sure. That is why I refrained from posting a comment on it. But the backstamp is a bit ... Maybe there are different versions ?? IDK :dunno:

Alright, checked my Mom's pin, and it looks like the one on the left. The back stamp may be a bit lower though.

Can we count on that new DSLR camera of yours when you get back ?? Hurry baaaaaaccck .... hurry baaaaaaacccckkk ... LOL ...

 

[hopemax]

Alright, back with pics. Although, I should have loaded them on my parents computer, and then I could see how blurry they are, and retaken them. And adding to the confusion. Backstamp on my Mom's pin is smaller, actually fits on the back, but the fingers are all the same length. And the eyes are completely different. And her ear is filled with hair color. So like I said, confusion.

 

[dawny]

let me look at mine...this lst pic above me sure does not look right at all. the eys are bleeding color and the flower is off.

ok mine is exactly like in the original post authentic pin. same back stamp and all. you can see a speck of ear through the hair, eyes are sharp and clear. good detailed pin. feet and hands defined.

 

[Aquata]

Mali87 just got the REAL pin and it looks just like yours Merryweather, the one on the left. Her pin pretty much confirmed that my pin is a dud. Hopemax, unfortunately, I think you too got a dud from the pictures. Her eyes, discoloring on the lock of hair by her ear and her short stubby fingers are what make me say so. Mali87's came from a trade from someone who got her in the park and still had her backer card and the big thing I noticed with the authentic one, is the fingers. The fingers in the counterfeit seem to be stubby and all line up where the fingers in the real one, the middle finger is longer than the other fingers

 

[ladyroselie]

So on the real Meg the gold is not punched out between the right arm and the dress and the flower and her chin? But there is a punch out between the right arm and the dress on the fake?