There are many questions circulating the internet about the legitimacy of Alpacas products all over the world. Whilst some are very obvious fakes, others can be much harder to spot. In the picture below the Alpacasso on the left of the screen is fake whereas the one on the right is legitimate.
So let’s start by going into the backstory of the brand. Official Alpacas products are made in China by the Japanese brand Amuse. Alpacasso “Arpakasso” plush toys are very common all over Japan are were created for the use in grab machines. Now their popularity has boomed and spread outside of Japan, there are official stockists and retailers selling them in various countries around the globe. Alpacasso, however, are not actually that easy to get a hold of and there is actually only a select number of companies able to supply them to the public. These official retailers or sellers are as follows:
- Tokyo Otaku Mode – United States with a warehouse in Japan.
- Tofu Cute – United Kingdom
- Pixie on Storenvy – Korea
- KawaiiPlusHLove on eBay and Storenvy – from the USA
- Littlest Gift Boutique – Canada
- Alpacaloco on Storenvy – Japan
- Rosy’s Garden on Storenvy and eBay – ships from Hong Kong.
There are several more, however these are great examples of places you can purchase them from without having to worry about the legitimacy of your products.
So how do we tell if an alpaca plush is the real deal or a knockoff?
- Price: Legitimate Alpacasso toys are not cheap. Here in the UK the average price for a large one is £26.99. Cheap toys or ones offered at a “bargain” price, especially from places such as Amazon or eBay are most likely fake. However, don’t be fooled. Some sellers will ship out fake items and charge as much for those as for real ones. Freebies are also to be avoided. Seeing as Alpacasso have to be imported from Japan and are costly, no official retailer will offer a “free” Alpacasso or a BOGOF type of offer as they would be losing a lot of money. Sellers who do this are dealing with fakes.
- eBay: This is probably the most risky and untrustworthy places to purchase from. Many sellers use stock images of real plush toys but will ship out bootlegs
- The eyes: Real Alpacasso plush toys have quite large rounded eyes placed against or just touching the muzzle (see picture above). Smaller plush toys do have smaller eyes which are proportionate to their heads. If you see a larger plush (14 inches) with small eyes, spaced widely from the muzzle or unevenly placed- it’s a fake. They should never be made from fabric or stitching.
- Tags: Apart from the baby series’ such as Love Berry, almost all other Alpacasso toys will have their tag places on their bottom linked through their fabric tag. These tags always have a bar scan, the official licensing and series tag. Some such as the Sherbet range will have their scan tag around their neck. These tags are a lighter colour than your plush and are quite glossy. Often the large series tag will be bound together so you can’t just open it. The fabric tag should be correct to the series. For example; the Sweet Day Alpacasso large plush toys should be a “Kids Alpacasso” whereas a Rainbow series plush should be a “Rainbow Alpacasso” and a Love Berry a “Baby Alpacasso” if any of the fabric tags do not match the series (e.g. a Rainbow Alpacasso with a tag of Girly or Baby) it is fake. Please look up your series and find out where the official tags are placed. A baby Alpacasso will have his/her tag on the side about 1.5-2 inches from the hind leg whereas almost all other Alpacasso toys will have their fabric tag on their rump. If your plush has a tag through its ear, foot, no fabric tag or any wrong/misspelt/incorrectly placed tags it is a fake. No exceptions.
- Quality: Alpacasso official products are of a much higher quality than fakes. Their fur is thicker and does not shed very easily, their eyes are larger and shinier, their stitching is professional, they are quite plump, some more so than others e.g. Sherbet are more plump than Rainbow. Real products are built rounded, full and sweet apart from the Rainbow and Alpaca Hatter series’.
- Branding: Alpacasso is ONLY made by the brand Amuse. These toys are made in China but distributed from Japan. If an Alpacasso is made by any other brand, has no brand or sellers are advertising them knitted or made personally, these are not real. If you receive a fake Alpacasso that is labelled as an Amuse product you should report it to wherever you purchased it from and ask for a refund. Selling bootleg items is a criminal offence as well as upsetting to those whom spend their hard earned money on falsely advertised, illegitimate products.
Every single one of those is a fake!
Please do your research on the series’. Some sellers get away with creating entirely new “series” fake Alpacasso toys such as neon colours, ones wearing clothes or printed alpacas. Certain ones are more commonly faked than others such as the Animal Hats series and the Rainbow series due to popular demand.
Below is a photo of some of my own personal collection of official Alpacasso toys. These toys are all 100% legitimate.
100% Real.
Sweet day (brown and yellow), Sherbet (blue), Bridal (pink) and Love Berry (white).
Tags are a very important issue when it comes to Alpacasso products. Some companies will scan and reprint real tags or use actual real tags. Be very careful as while they’re a very good way to help tell if your product is real or not, they’re not a 100% guarantee. If the tags don’t match the series or are missing their codes – they’re fake. Some sellers are good at replicating. Take a look at these photos I found on Tumblr.
If you’ve purchased an Alpacasso from Amazon or eBay then it’s most likely a fake. Please take the time to look through this list: Official Alpacasso Sellers
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