Buying Smurfs on eBay - a few guidelines

EBay has opened up many opportunities for people to be able to source collectibles from all over the world, however, it is important that Smurf buyers are eBay "savvy" because there are many pitfalls to avoid.

Repainted Smurfs

The Smurf market particularly is being targeted by shonky dealers who are selling rare repaints which are often just Smurfs that have been simply repainted by someone who is rather handy with a paintbrush! If a seller repeatedly offers rare testversions or rare smurfs then it is wise to be cautious.

Raw Smurfs

There are many fake raw Smurfs on the market at the moment, having seen a few close up we can say they have an obvious smell to them and the finish is obviously not as per your normal Schleich smurfs, there are also no markings. If someone lists a lot of raw smurfs on eBay and arranges them in a jumbled, haphazard manner, then be cautious. A picture is often taken in a certain way in order to hide giveaway signs that the smurfs are fake.

There are also what appear to be "original" raw smurfs. It is has become something of a hobby in continental Europe to strip smurfs of their paint in order to "create" a raw smurf. Raw Smurfs normally fetch more money than the painted ones and have always been sought after by smurf collectors. Schleich do not let raw smurfs leave their factory easily. Buyers should bear in mind when buying a raw smurf that it might have previously been a painted smurf and they are probably paying the extra money to cover the cost of paint stripper!

Easter Smurfs

In 2004 there was an influx of fake Easter Smurfs from Hong Kong which used to be easily recognisable because only the Hong Kong sellers were distributing them. Unfortunately these are now in wider circulation and are being resold with sellers not necessarily realising that they are fakes! Fake Easter Smurfs are made in two separate molds and are slightly smaller in size than the genuine article.

New Fakes

In 2005 more new fakes hit the market. These are designed to look like the original smurfs and are often seen being sold in large lots on eBay from places like the Netherlands. As mentioned with the raws, if the picture is of a jumbled mass of smurfs offered at a bargain price, then be cautious. If you were selling something on eBay then you would want to picture your wares at their best surely? These people are taking poor photographs for a good reason, they are often trying to hide the fact that the smurfs are in fact replicas!

Rare smurfs with strange accessories

Another trick used by eBay sellers is to add weird and wonderful accessories to smurfs claiming them to be rare prototypes! They make a song and dance about the smurfs being found in their attic, or dream up some other bizarre story to claim authenticity!

Smurfs with red skis have stolen their accessories from Snoopy.

Ice Hockey Smurfs with brightly coloured sticks have been taking fashion tips from Astro Sniks!

Traveller Smurf with a green bundle is actually borrowing accessories from Jerry of "Tom & Jerry".

Smurf collectors love to own all of these accessories and create their own variations, but the majority do not do it in order to profit from others. If you know you are buying a custom smurf then it is personal choice how much you choose to pay for the item. It is a problem however when new smurf collectors are duped into paying more for something not realising that it isn't an original or genuine smurf item.

Shill Bidding

There is also a new threat to eBay buyers, the shill bidding Smurf sellers! Although the majority of Smurf sellers are genuine and trustworthy, there are an increasing amount who are shill bidding their own Smurf auctions in order to raise their bid prices. Shill bidding is when a seller sets up a second eBay id and bids on their own auction in order to raise the price. The shill bidding account often has zero or hidden feedback, and in addition they will probably have many bid retractions. If you are being bid up by someone with questionable or zero feedback then it is always worth having a look to see what else that person is bidding on. To check out what someone is bidding on then follow these steps: -

From My eBay, click Advanced Search

From the menu on the left click Items by Bidder

Enter the bidder's user id and tick the include completed listings box and leave "even if not high bidder" checked. Remember that a shill bidder doesn't necessarily want to win their auctions! Now click Search.

If the bidder you are questioning is mainly bidding on one seller's auctions and they are bidding on different types of items then you should be suspicious. So if they are bidding on Smurf auctions and also clothing auctions from the same seller then there is a strong possibility they could be a shill bidder. Obviously this is not always the case. Points to note are that a shill bidder is trying to just bid the price up and not necessarily win the auction, so they will bid just under the £1 or on the £1 whereas a person genuinely trying to win will bid over the £1. If they make a mistake and outbid the highest bidder rather than just nudge the price up then they may retract their bid. An id with a higher than average amount of bid retractions could well be a shill bidding id.

Many of our Smurf Community forum members have been paying inflated prices for Smurfs on eBay because of shill bidding sellers and the problem is getting worse.

Also the sellers that sell repainted Smurfs pretending they are rare testversions are putting the whole Smurf collecting hobby at risk. Genuine Rare Smurfs and Testversions are hard to find, it is unlikely that a seller will have an ongoing supply of unusual Smurfs. Rachel of Blue Imps has been testing out various paints and has proved just how easy it is to repaint Smurfs to make them look like hard to find pieces. If you are a serious collector then you are putting the value of your Smurf Collection at risk by buying repaints. Repaints made to look like rare Smurfs are flooding the market and bringing prices down.

There are many bargains to be found on eBay and it is a good place to pick up a rare Smurf at a bargain price, but it is important to be aware of the pitfalls otherwise you could end up paying through the nose for a smurf that you could have painted yourself!!