The most important people this needs to be explained to is those manning the returns counter; this is where these figures find their way back to the store, and is thus the easiest place to stop this from happening. Toy department people don't have the time to check every figure on every peg, but the person at the returns counter does have the time to simply look at the package to make sure the item being returned is the right one. They open up electronics or other things with multiple parts to see if something is missing; it's a far easier and quicker thing to flip the toy package over and make sure that the thing in the package looks something like that picture. I hope the folks you spoke with realize where the first line of defense is, as you made a very good point about how this growing problem can affect sales, not just with collectors, but with Mom and Junior, as well.

I'd also hope it may have dispelled a few stereotypes a lot of retail folks may have about collectors to have someone making a logical, informed and reasonable argument about the issue at hand.

toy companies aren't making spot-the-fake easy, though. how many variants do we have coming in ml that aren't featured in artwork anywhere on the packaging? and that's just 1 line.

On ML the entire back of the card has a picture of the character so it really shouldn't be hard to look and see the red white and blue of Captain America as opposed to red and gold of Iron Man.

You would think anyway...

i think you're missing my point. variants are, effectively, a different figure than what is shown on the package. while one version of spiderman is on the package, hasbro is shipping them with a different(variant) figure inside. assuming wm or their employees even care about attempting to stop this, toy companies are making that trickier.

I see what you mean. I hadn't even thought of that aspect.

Not to mention the vintage Star Wars cardbacks actually show the original version of the figure, be it actual vintage, POTF2, etc. I haven't yet seen anyone returning a POTF2 Rebel Fleet Trooper swapped onto a vintage card but they could make a good case for it by pointing to the buff '90s edition pictured right there on the cardback.

How do I stop the (bleep) at my local stores who swaps out the figures with mediocre-quality customs? I told the manager about how they're not painted with regulated paints, and if some kid gets sick from a custom toy that was allowed to be on their shelves, the burden would be on them.

He told me to F-off.

hahahahaha!!! too funny.

I understand your frustration. I've seen the same thing, and even seen build-a-figure parts swapped out with completely different parts or accessories. And yes, 999 times out of 1000, it's some ripping off the store. However, even if the returns clerk is on the ball, recognizes the swap, and says anything to the customer, the customer can always trot out the old, "It was like that when I bought it." So then what do you do?

I'm not saying I have a solution. Just one more angle to consider.

Recently on a wrestling board someone posted their "haul". Another poster pointed out one of the newly bought figures was a swap out. Somebody swapped out an $18 Elite figure with a $10 basic figure. Yes, the buyer actually took a photo and posted without noticing. If a knowledgeable (I assume) collector could miss that, what chance does the guy working the service desk have?

Over the last few months in PA the crooks have gotten a lot less subtle and switched from swapping to just knifing bubbles open and stealing figures out of the box. Whoever's doing it here seems to have a predilection for female figures (DCU Harley Quinn, DCU Crime Syndicate Wonder Woman, even the little MU Wasp were all victims). He's also too cheap to even pay for a Minimates 2-pack when stealing is an alternative. I point out the packages when I find them to the store employees. Some of them seem interested and concerned, some don't seem to care, and some say they know about it and are trying to catch whoever's doing it but just can't.

I can see how if they say "It was like that when I bought it" could be a problem. My first instinct would be to reply in my snarkiest tone, "Then why did you BUY it?"

But this might be a better solution:

Often when I'm doing a legitimate return the clerk will ask, "was there anything wrong with this item?" If that question was asked to these fraud artists, they would probably at that point just say "no" because 1. They want their return to go smoothly and 2. they don't want to draw attention to the fact that their item is actually garbage.

At that point a clerk could say, "No problem, but we've had a problem with people returning repackaged collectible toys so I'll just need to see your driver's license to copy the number on the return slip which you will then need to sign."

I bet most crooks would embarrassingly withdraw their return request at that point once they knew they would no longer be anonymous and that their fraudulent returns could be tracked by the store or law enforcement.

I saw a couple of these last week at a Target. A ML Madam Hydra/Masque was replaced with an old Lara Croft with a DCUC stand where the BAF part would go. There was also a ML Daken package with a dirty, broken (hand was missing), black and white power ranger inside. I think the biggest education to stores is just to let them know that this is something that criminals actually bother doing. Once they know to look, it's not hard to spot the fakes, at least with the two I saw.

Today, I saw a DC Direct Green Arrow ("Hard Traveling Heroes" line) repacked in a DCUC Series 5 Green Arrow package. I did a double take at first, because the differences are hard to immediately spot (and probably impossible for a store employee). I had an instinct to take it to the front desk, but figured they'd be hard pressed to spot the difference, and I'd look like a Sheldon to them.