Newbie question: Are there sealed pin set/booster set fakes?

[norjack]

Hi everyone. First post, and got a newbie question. Was looking for some Star Wars vinylmation (series 1 & 2, and 3d versions) on Ebay. From my reading it would seem there are a few fakes (stamps vs molded) of the individual pins, but....I noticed something else while I was browsing for sealed mystery packs.

While browsing pictures 2 separate subtle differences stuck out on series 1 and 2: 1)Some of the mystery packs on the backside were dark, and some were gold with a large question mark on them and 2)On some of the packs, the child warning label concerning not playing with the plastic packaging (found in the upper right hand corner) was on a white label, while on others the wording was simply stamped on the clear plastic. I also noticed this on other different Vinylmation packs from the Muppets, etc....

So, my question: Are these two variations normal for real pins, or does one of these provide signs of a "fake" sealed mystery pack? Do any fake, sealed "packs" exist, or have existed? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[norjack]

I went on youtube and watched people opening mystery packs they had gotten from the store (supposedly).

It would appear that both dark bags and golden bags have been used, at least for the Star Wars series 1 and 2 Vinylmation series.

I am still curious though if there are faked sealed booster sets or mystery packs...

 

[pixiewings71]

unless someone is able to reseal the packs somehow I can't see how they could be fakes, but of course anything is possible and I'm not familiar enough with those packs to be sure.

 

[figment_jii]

I tend to agree with pixiewings71...anything is possible, but I'm inclined to say you're less likely to get outright fakes with sealed mystery and booster packs. The only way I think it might be possible is if they're of the factory over-run variety; in other words, the factory was contracted to make 1 million pin sets, but they actually make 1.1 million. Instead of scrapping the extra 0.1 million pin sets, they sell them. Those could explain the low prices on eBay and how they still look authentic. Still, I can't think of any way to tell the difference between a factory over-run and the one sold in the parks/outlets.