How to Spot a Fake and Real Toei Animation Sticker
302Please enjoy my video on how to check for a real Toei Animation sticker and what to look out for with a fake version.
The famous Toei sticker is put on products deriving from Toei animated productions and distributed by Bandai. A lot of bootlegs are produced mainly by Chinese/HK counterfeiters. So, one reliable way to recognize official products is by spotting the little Toei sticker put on boxes. However, collectors that got their goods from un trusted sources must still be vigilant as sticker faking activity is known to be true since late 2009 / early 2010.
Fake stickers used to be easily recognizable because of their poor print quality. But forgery techniques have evolved. In early 2011, print quality has become really close to genuine stickers but:
Real sticker says animation (アニメーション) under the Toei cat while fake sticker says animatioso (アニメーショソ). Characters ン and ソ aren't distinguishable for non-trained eyes.
Fake sticker still does not have its backside filled with watermarks.
Those stickers come in several variations:
A golden or silver sticker with Japanese lettering shows that the figure was originally designed for the Japanese domestic market.
A silver sticker with English lettering indicates that the figure has been exported by Bandai for international markets (be it for remaining Asia, Europe or America).
The general consensus among fans is that stickers put on products designed for the Japanese domestic market should all have a golden background. That's why, although several kinds of stickers are put on official products, collectors prefer to search for goods with golden ones.
However, Toei stickers for the Japanese domestic market seem to appear following these rules:
For products below ¥5,499, stickers should have a golden background with black lettering.
For products in the range of ¥5,500-6,499, stickers should have a silver background with black lettering.
For products above ¥6,500, stickers should have a silver background with red lettering.