Answers.Body: <p>If you can't hold them in your hand and inspect them closely for the usual LEGO production marks, as it would be the case with buying from Amazon, your best bet would be asking the seller and checking whether the individual parts exist as official LEGO pieces. A custom piece that doesn't appear in any official sets or catalogues clearly indicates a third-party make. Note however that the inverse is not true, if all parts of the figure can be found in official sets, they still could be custom-made. At this point it all comes down to the honesty (well-informedness?) of the seller and your trust in her/him.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-05-23T07:58:24.033Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-05-23T07:58:24.033Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: zovits
Answers.Body: <p>Also, I would suspect that Amazon has a "buyer protection" that protects you in case you "get taken" by a fake or sub-par quality figure. If the product description says, "Lego..." then I'm sure you're protected in the event that the product that reaches your house isn't "Lego".</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-06-04T18:48:09.140Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-06-04T18:48:09.140Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jeff
Body: <p>I see that on Amazon you can find a lot of minifigures but I can't tell if they are cheap knock-offs or not.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-09-24T15:34:02.270Z
Comments.Text: China is making tons of the knockoffs. They have created the Marvel minifigures (Ironman, etc), also made the Knights series. They are even copying items from 3rd party custom accessories companies like [Modern Brick Warfare](http://modernbrickwarfare.com "Modern Brick Warfare") that sell custom molded parts for lego minifigures. Amazon and eBay are flooded with these cheap off brands. Don't support them!
Comments.UserDisplayName: maddog4ever
Tags: <minifigures><shopping><clone-brands>
Title: How can I tell if minifigures are custom-made or LEGO Originals?
UserDisplayName: Webhead101
ThreadText: # How can I tell if minifigures are custom-made or LEGO Originals?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-05-22)
  
  I see that on Amazon you can find a lot of minifigures but I can't tell if they are cheap knock-offs or not.
  
  **Tags:** minifigures, shopping, clone-brands
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: China is making tons of the knockoffs. They have created the Marvel minifigures (Ironman, etc), also made the Knights series. They are even copying items from 3rd party custom accessories companies like [Modern Brick Warfare](http://modernbrickwarfare.com "Modern Brick Warfare") that sell custom molded parts for lego minifigures. Amazon and eBay are flooded with these cheap off brands. Don't support them!  
  
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  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2014-05-23. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  If you can't hold them in your hand and inspect them closely for the usual LEGO production marks, as it would be the case with buying from Amazon, your best bet would be asking the seller and checking whether the individual parts exist as official LEGO pieces. A custom piece that doesn't appear in any official sets or catalogues clearly indicates a third-party make. Note however that the inverse is not true, if all parts of the figure can be found in official sets, they still could be custom-made. At this point it all comes down to the honesty (well-informedness?) of the seller and your trust in her/him.
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-06-04. Score: 4
  
  Also, I would suspect that Amazon has a "buyer protection" that protects you in case you "get taken" by a fake or sub-par quality figure. If the product description says, "Lego..." then I'm sure you're protected in the event that the product that reaches your house isn't "Lego".
  
  
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