http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=003

Is it a fake?

Looking at their other auctions, I'm going to guess no.

edit ...sorry about that, by no, I meant not real.

the stuff that guy has could be very useful for people looking to complete G1 tfs.

Very true, but I don't think any of it's original...so in my book, it's all junk. I know I'm being extremely Outback about this, but that's how I am.

Ratbat's "backpack" pieces should be gold, not silver. Those are either repainted, or are silver-plated because it's a knock-off. Can't really tell if they're plated or not because of the angle at which the picture was taken.

I bought that piece from the same seller 2 months ago. Though it has the hasbro stamp I doubt it is real. Same seller sold 10 more the following weeks. But still worth it IMO.

ALL of the cassettes that came out in 1986 had both silver and gold weapons. The gold came with the stickered Ratbat, the silver came with the superior painted Ratbat.

http://www.geocities.com/futuristgroup/ratbat.JPG

if they are KO's they sound good. plus it's better paying that for a Ko than £70

Seriously, I never knew that "painted" Ratbat's existed. If I had the choice, I would have preferred the "painted" version.

It is obvious that what this guy is doing is getting the knock off reissues and selling them loose. the only one who can tell if this is for real is the buyer. This guy states that rub symbol works ,but, this means nothing as you may buy a bunch of these from reprolabels and apply them to the knock-offs.

I have nothing against these, so very well made knock-offs,(they are so cool they even have the hasbro and takara stamps, I have the cassettes and a mirage and black prime on the way), but i am totally against someone who gets one of these and sells them as originals.

All of yc-collection's items are knock offs - the figures, accessories and parts. He used to sell the cassette KO 2-packs but it looks like it's easier to take advantage of buyers with loose ones since the telltale signs are harder to spot.

The seller does not explicitly state or claim that it is a vintage original item. He intentionally states only that it is "G1" and says nothing more. It's not lying outright, but it could be considered a lie of omission (if you as the buyer feel he is obligated to disclose that information up front). The fact that he doesn't shows he's deliberately trying to profit from the ignorance of the average buyer.

So when looking at auctions like this you're faced with two issues:
1) Is it still worth the price to you, once you know it's a bootleg/"reissue"? As others have said, sometimes a buyer is happy with a non-vintage at the price paid. I have my share of a couple. Vintage is always holy grail of course, but the price difference is almost entirely extrinsic value.

2) Although a non-original may be worth the price to a buyer, one should always remain wary when dealing with a seller who has demonstrated their intent to exploit uninformed buyers. Of course, many would say caveat emptor is standard procedure. But just consider that if they are willing to take advantage of you from the get-go, they may still attempt to double-deal you later. Although, since he's a power seller, that seems less likely in this case -- his strategy is likely to sell high volume and profit off of a lot more uninformed buyers than informed ones.

I know I have a legit Ratbat at home, now to check if he's stickered or painted. The thought of selling him has crossed my mind.

I'd rather spend $70 on a real Ratbat than $20 on a worthless $3 knockoff.

Emerje

Hear! Hear!

I bought one from the same seller three month ago and the price was $24.99... it's painted version with silver weapons. It has diecast metal chest but ears are loose. I can't tell if it's real because I never had one before.

Wow is that how much they go for now? I've got one with the gold weapons I bought in 2000 for $42.