[ToyFanatik]

Odex is selling anime figures!

Spotted big (covered almost half the box -_-) and obnoxious "Distributed by Odex" stickers on the "Pu Pu Pu Netsuke Fullmetal Alchemist" super-deformed little keychain trading figures series. The individual boxes are a long and rectangular (small width to length ratio), and have lots of red on them (I can't find images of the box on the net).

For pictures on the figures themselves: http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN958503?nav=rss

When I asked the shop assistant why there was an obnoxious "Distributed by Odex" sticker on the box, I was told that the sticker is meant to show the distributor company to act as an assurance that the figures are authentic - though I doubt that any "Odex sticker" is assurance of authenticity at all; it's more like an assurance of dubious quality. I mean just look at the quality of their VCDs and the lame excuses they gave for their unforgivable actions.
(Downloaders were wrong, but so was Odex. You can't argue that downloading is 100% right unless you actually support the producers in some way - merchandise, etc.)

I do not know how it will affect the shop selling the figures that Odex brought in to Singapore if I name the shop (the shop isn't doing anything criminal), so I will not mention the shop name as yet. Though I will let you know if you PM me individually.

[ValkyrieLenneth]

shld have bring in OP/ED and OST of animes, so that ppl can purchase the cds w/o credit cards

[darkhonour]

Originally Posted by ValkyrieLenneth

shld have bring in OP/ED and OST of animes, so that ppl can purchase the cds w/o credit cards

now this is what most people want

HMV is always overcharging the OSTs

there are malaysian versions at music junction though i dont know it is fake or not

[White_Glint]

I normally get my OSTs from PlayAsia since HMV is over priced as dark has already pointed out.

I'm not too sure whether those malaysian versions are fake or not seeing that they have the exact same printing etc but I do know that the picture art is not as sharp as compared to the original album

[white_zero]

All i can say is, it might probably just be a gimmick to gain back sales bah since their debacle with the anime downloaders....If they expanded their retinue and really put effort then maybe i might look into their stuff...

[ToyFanatik]

Originally Posted by white_zero

All i can say is, it might probably just be a gimmick to gain back sales bah since their debacle with the anime downloaders....If they expanded their retinue and really put effort then maybe i might look into their stuff...

I would never support Odex EVER. Neither will I support anything by Peter Go or Stephen Sing for that matter.

1. They have never apologized or made amends despite their crimes and atrocities against the gullible people they cheated money off.

2. They never even considered simplest gesture of returning the money back to these gullible people and have kept the huge sum of money without accounting for any of it; EVEN though they promised to have a transparent audit of all that money and make it public information.

3. Worse. They are still acting like they are on high moral ground and gloating over the gullible people they cheated, even though they are clearing wrong (and so are downloaders who never repay or support any merchandise, but that's not the point). Even a GP teacher who doesn't watch anime can see that Odex is a malicious organisation during that short farce Peter Go and Stephen Sing put up.
And they stupidly acted like they won when they lost to PacNet in 2008 with all their big claims once again.

4. They lied. Not once, twice but many, many, many times.

- Said money used to pay for BayTSP, then became given to anime companies.

- Took $5000 from a 9-year-old kid and then claimed didn't take large sums of money.
$5000 can be used to buy 100 fifty-dollar anime DVDs, 250 twentyfive-dollar normal DVDs, 500 ten-dollar normal DVDs or 11 full sets (of 8 crew members) of One Piece NEO Portrait of Pirates that are 8" tall, which is probably more than what your house can fill (imagine 88 twenty-cm figures).

- Said they could sue downloaders, but they couldn't. It was just scare tactics to induce mass hysteria. In fact this can be a case of extortion if presented properly in the Court.
A close parallel would be the Phone Scam Artists (that appeared in Oct '07 soon after the Odex Farce started, probably inspired by Odex during Aug-Sept) who masqueraded as Supreme Court officials and called up people telling them that they were getting sued in court and needed to pay up to get out of trouble, even though these victims did nothing wrong and were not involved with the Court in any way. But the victims paid up anyway.
http://www.straitstimes.com/print/Br...ry_267963.html

The worse thing was that Straits Times & especially the writer on this case (I shall not name him, you can google it) probably thought that Odex's boasts were the truth and quoted Odex's statements like it was the bible, which inadvertently helped Odex induce the entire population of parents into mass hysteria. This was a huge mistake that was eventually proven by Judge Woo in 2008. All the legal academics (that Straits Times quoted) who thought Odex would undeniably win, were obviously wrong.
The problem was that Straits Times writers did not question or provide alternative views at all on the Odex Farce, except for the notable Andy Ho, though his columns were crowded out by the pro-Odex articles that were prominently plastered all over Straits Times during that time. And although Thomas Koshy also stood up to expose the deceit, he did not manage to receive much media attention.
I bet many people wrote to Straits Times Forums about it after realizing the farce by themselves in 2007 through in-depth research but Straits Times probably rejected them. I digressed.

- Said downloaders who paid up would be safe, but signing that agreement Odex forced just dug downloaders into more trouble.

- Made AVPAS, a farce, that looked like it held authority to prosecute but did not.

- AVPAS was also a bluff that looked like it was from the government but was not.

- Explained poor subtitles was to conform to BFC's requirements, an obvious lie that BFC director exposed.

- Made further bluffs on an official release on their website to justify their poor subtitles. However, how are "grammatical errors, inaccurate translations and poor video quality" related in any way to "discomfort to the various religious and racial groups in Singapore" and "vulgarities and offensive language"? Once again another farce.

Why resort to lying, faking and bluffing if you are truly behind a legitimate cause?

I will also delibrately go out of the way to avoid supporting Odex in any way. Supporting Odex is like breeding mosquitoes or rearing a cobra; you are just itching to be bitten back and to receive suffering for that moment (or period) of folly.
From now on, it'll pay to be careful to check the distributors.

Oh btw, I did not get Odex-ed. I am not stating the above because I am angry from the loss of $5000 to Odex or anything.

Originally Posted by ValkyrieLenneth

shld have bring in OP/ED and OST of animes, so that ppl can purchase the cds w/o credit cards

I can help with that
especially if you are 18 or above.

Originally Posted by darkhonour

now this is what most people want

HMV is always overcharging the OSTs

there are malaysian versions at music junction though i dont know it is fake or not

There is no such thing as Malaysian versions of Japanese stuff. I mean seriously, with all the bootlegging going on there. Japanese stuff will probably be released in three alternate versions - either US, European or Asian (made in Hong Kong or Taiwan, though there's lots of bootlegging in Hong Kong too).

And then there is the risk of supporting Odex inadvertently if you buy anime products of unknown origin in South East Asia as Odex is doing the same anime business in other countries under a different name. I'll appreciate it if anyone knows what pseudonyms Odex uses for hiding itself.

[xamtaro]

ok i'll be reasonable.

Is odex IMPORTING those figurines or did they manufacture them themselves like their DVDs??

Cos if its just importing, then quality-wise it should be good.

On the other hand, if those are manufactured by odex, then i'll pass.
Odex's Quality control and "value-for-money-ness" is terrible judging from their standard-per-price of their dvds.

[ValkyrieLenneth]

Originally Posted by darkhonour

now this is what most people want

HMV is always overcharging the OSTs

there are malaysian versions at music junction though i dont know it is fake or not

HMV is very limited and OPed, i tried browsing HMV @ hereen and found very limited like bleach, FMA as well as FF series

i dun mind importing since the anime cds r made in japan

[ToyFanatik]

Originally Posted by xamtaro

ok i'll be reasonable.

Is odex IMPORTING those figurines or did they manufacture them themselves like their DVDs??

Cos if its just importing, then quality-wise it should be good.

On the other hand, if those are manufactured by odex, then i'll pass.
Odex's Quality control and "value-for-money-ness" is terrible judging from their standard-per-price of their dvds.

Does importing from other producers definitely imply quality? Are you very sure of that?
I think we've gotta be very careful here when we think like that. Here's a very possible scenario.

I can import from bootlegging companies (the producer) and then paste my (the distributor and importer) sticker of authenticity. Then I jack up my prices and distribute these bootleg figures (with my sticker), and pretend to sell them like original authentic figures.

First of all the distributor and importer MUST be a trustworthy company, not some lying dog.

[ValkyrieLenneth]

Originally Posted by ToyFanatik

Does importing from other producers definitely imply quality? Are you very sure of that?
I think we've gotta be very careful here when we think like that. Here's a very possible scenario.

I can import from bootlegging companies (the producer) and then paste my (the distributor and importer) sticker of authenticity. Then I jack up my prices and distribute these bootleg figures (with my sticker), and pretend to sell them like original authentic figures.

First of all the distributor and importer MUST be a trustworthy company, not some lying dog.

i guess odex is distributor nia, unless u wanna make quick bucks, cuz trying to 'cheat' consumers, biz would not survive long, especially in the world of internet

[ToyFanatik]

Originally Posted by ValkyrieLenneth

i guess odex is distributor nia, unless u wanna make quick bucks, cuz trying to 'cheat' consumers, biz would not survive long, especially in the world of internet

Not necessarily. As long as you have other avenues to support your business, you won't be affected even if you get a bad name in one particular field. Other than Odex, Peter Go has this apple juice making company in China.

A very good parallel is Comics Connection. You can go ask around. They sell bootleg figures like nobody's business for years and many collectors know they sell bootleg figures but they aren't closing down are they? In fact they are alive, thriving and expanding.

Why? Firstly, they have a huge selection of alternatives to survive on - manga and games.
Secondly, because of their established brand name in selling manga, many clueless people think that their bootleg figures are legit and buy them anyway.

As long as the rich and/or poor parents (many of whom do not surf the internet, not to mention for anime related stuff) continue supporting Odex cluelessly, either directly or indirectly, Odex can continue to survive.

[JeForceX]

Voted for ...


RE:Q1 - I will support the Odex figures.
Seriously and honestly, I dont really care about what the company staff did as long as I get the figures that I want.


RE:Q2 - Please DONT mention the name. There WILL be negative repercussions. It's unfair for the shop
The Anime Figurine Retailers as well as the Anime Figure Products are innocent.
Do not let the misdeed of Odex's staff destroy their business.

[grilledcrab]

woah, ToyFanatik, your essay was pretty insightful and we get the point, the thing is i personally don't see any problem buying an anime figure distributed by Odex as long as the price is competitive(which i highly doubt so )

[hsingshen]

Originally Posted by xamtaro

ok i'll be reasonable.

Is odex IMPORTING those figurines or did they manufacture them themselves like their DVDs??

Cos if its just importing, then quality-wise it should be good.

On the other hand, if those are manufactured by odex, then i'll pass.
Odex's Quality control and "value-for-money-ness" is terrible judging from their standard-per-price of their dvds.

Don worry Odex isn't big enough to start a manufacturing company by itself. Want to compete with big name companies like GSC koto etc, they can forget about it.

Anw i do agree that if odex are just importing those stuff, it should be alright. It's good in a way that quality check can be done and mass importing can reduce cost.
(A lot of countries have their importers that import authentic product from japan. the only difference between a direct import product and an importer imported product is just a sticker. And trust me, it's a lot cheaper for the same quality)

As for the situation mentioned that what if odex import bootleg product and sell at authentic product price, i think it is unlikely to happen as it'll cause a major uproar the consumers.
Such a move isn't beneficial to them at all.
(in my opinion, they aren't foolish to that extent to do that)
We shall see.

[ToyFanatik]

Originally Posted by JeForceX

Voted for ...
RE:Q2 - Please DONT mention the name. There WILL be negative repercussions. It's unfair for the shop
The Anime Figurine Retailers as well as the Anime Figure Products are innocent.
Do not let the misdeed of Odex's staff destroy their business.

Oh btw, I've also spotted bootlegged anime figures at that particular shop brand. When I pointed to some of the figures (which I knew was bootleg at first glance) and asked the shop assistant about it, the person was not sure whether it was bootlegged or not. Maybe only their boss or owner of the shop knows for sure.

By bootlegged anime figures in this particular post, I am not referring to the Odex distributed FMA swing (though I strongly feel Odex distributed toys cannot be trusted).
With regards to the shop in this post, I am not referring to Comics Connection (although Comics Connection does sell bootleg anime figures).

Originally Posted by hsingshen

As for the situation mentioned that what if odex import bootleg product and sell at authentic product price, i think it is unlikely to happen as it'll cause a major uproar the consumers.
Such a move isn't beneficial to them at all.
(in my opinion, they aren't foolish to that extent to do that)
We shall see.

After their PR disaster of boasts, lies and deceit, anything is possible

[theliverevoluti]

True. I remember a blog started by a person or group of people some time back. One article I vaguely remembered was that one particular anime that was hotly anticipated became the crux of a problem - Odex had ripped the subtitles of a FANSUB and aired it on tele. GG

Oh well, I'm not into manga or animes anymore, so I'll let this one pass. After all, they are distributing the figurines, and not manufacturing it themselves, so I guess its fine. As for whether the price is competitive, well, the market would sort itself out eventually

[ValkyrieLenneth]

u can c alot of dust on the bootleg figurines especially in shops in marina n vivo

[puppypower]

If they got the stuffs I want I dont mind hooting from any shops.

[RedEyesFan]

thread must remain alive!