These Pokémon toys were SMUGGLED into America

Enjoyed hearing about this Nintendo-related crime? I think you'll like this video I made last year: 🔴They STOLE $10,000 of Amiibo from Nintendo: https://www.youtu.be/8XLqOya8kS4

Imagine hearing there’s someone smuggling and you arrive at the scene and see pikachu looking into your soul

"So, these Pokemon were seized at the border." This sentence is significantly funnier than it deserves to be.

When they say “harm to consumers”, this could refer to fiscal harm rather than physical harm. It could also be a vague statement about counterfeit goods generally.

if i’ve had a dollar for the amount of times i’ve seen these at those shops at fairs…

how does Amazon get away with it then, I think a good 20 percent of the toys I've gotten for my son are of... suspicious origin lol

I think they're just describing why bootleg toys in general can be dangerous to consumers, rather than anything specific. The main issue is that the toys can't be sold in the US legally, due to trademark and copyright. And it is highly unlikely anyone would have that many figurines without intent to sell them. So the seizure cuts that off, same as any other contraband.

Once I saw a gacha machine full of bootleg pokemon and thought it would be funny to try it out until I did and the prize was a f-ing squidward. A literal squidward I dont know how that happened but I laughed so hard I cried

The difference between officially licensed small toys and cheap knockoffs being a choking hazard is pretty straightforward - official products must pass a series of rigorous safety testing and regular inspections to ensure that they are safe for children, i.e. the paint isn't toxic or pieces of the toys won't easily fall or break off during regular play. If the toys don't pass quality control tests, they are denied permission to be sold. The knockoffs are made with vastly inferior materials that often fail to meet even the most basic quality and safety control tests, which - after copyright infringement issues - is the main reason these toys have to be smuggled into the US as "plastic furnishing articles" as they wouldn't be allowed to enter the market otherwise. And, okay, fine, the customs office never tested the toys for lead paint, but considering just how many of these kinds of cheap bootleg toys and products actually do test positive for lead, it's not unfair to cite that as a potential hazard in this case. It would have been nice (as well as thorough) to do the testing and be able to conclusively say one way or the other, but given all of the other legal violations these toys represented, the office really had plenty of reason to seize them without it.

"Don't buy counterfeit Pokémon toys or you'll meet Officer Jenny." Nobody tell Brock.

Pft. Those things are everywhere, they stopped some boxes but probably missed hundreds of others. Also, looking at the track records of "legitimate" companies, forced labor and human trafficking are pretty common there too.

I remember one time on a family vacation we stopped at Snyder for a pit stop at a gas station. There was a small vending machine that took quarters and those Pokémon toys were in it. My brother and I bought some. I remember an omastar and possibly a seel. They looked exactly like the pics though

i used to have a ton of these and had no idea they were so controversial...guess its a good thing i got rid of them. i also still see them at places lol

Ironically the chairzard is mega chairzard x so it’s colouring is actually pretty accurate

In the late 90s for Christmas I got an official Pokemon keychain charm of Eevee. The tag looked legitimate but Eevee's paint-job was slightly off. I just wanted to clarify that even the authentic, officially licensed toys can appear derpy or off sometimes.

No way, this sounds like Team Rocket in real life Appreciate the effort and quality of your videos!

I remember I think 2017-2018 a boss of mine bought 2 bags of those fake little pokemon toys off Amazon. It was funny seeing all the mistakes and miss colors on them.

The reason why counterfeits are held up to choking standards more than legit "furnishing accessories" is because as a company with so much history of producing hazard free toys, the pokemon company is far more reliable than wherever these knockoffs came from, as they would have had to follow guidelines for however long their toys have been on the market

What a shame. My local game store sells these and I love collecting them. I really hope this doesn't affect their supply chain

Back when pokemon was new, Australia was incredibly strict with what they allowed in via imports, and there was a huge scandal involving fake pokemon merchandise. I don't remember all the details though. Wish I did.