Jellycats - real vs fake

[PearlTeapot]

There's been a lot of talk here in the christmas forum about Jellycats this year so I thought I'd share an experiment.

I bought the 'Vicky teapot' for £33. I also bought the dupe from Aliexpress for £2.35.

Here are my findings!

Honestly? Not massive difference. The real Jellycat feels better quality; stronger and firmer, it also of course has tags. But the dupe is softer and much better than I expected, zero tags.

If you have a child just get the dupes! If you have a teen or you're an overgrown child like me, stick with the reals.

I've found the same to be honest; if you find the right listings, they come with tags and in jellycat dust bags too.

Which does make a difference I suppose @welcometotheblackparadee although I hate to be part of the fake problem!

You can now only get Jellycat bags when buying from Jellycat themselves I'm told.

It’s funny because in your two pictures I would have guessed different one as the real. In the first the left hand one looks higher quality, yet the angle of the second makes the right look better.

I've brough the fake ones for my son. He doesn't care about the brand, and he is so young it isn't going to be a significant toy that he will treasure or keep for years. Money isn't really the issue, because I'd happily pay Jellycat prices on something that would be highly used/loved/treasured.. but in our case it was a thing he wanted for a festival, that got forgotten about shortly after. Very glad I saved the money, and didn't pay into the questionably ethical Jelly cat business model (Limiting availability/artificial scarcity to make people feel like they are missing out and purchase more, etc.)

You are right though, had he been a teenager who understands brands and specifically asked for one, I would have got the original.

Very glad I saved the money, and didn't pay into the questionably ethical Jelly cat business model (Limiting availability/artificial scarcity to make people feel like they are missing out and purchase more, etc.)

Do you not think it is unethical to buy fake items?

Is the stuffing and materials the same though? I would imagine UK safety regulations have probably not been met on the cheap one.

a lot of fakes are not regulated. In France customs have confiscated so many hazardous beauty products from places like She in.

Is the fake going to melt to my children's face in a fire though? Or give off toxic fumes as they cuddle it at night.

Also someone designed that toy for jellycat. You're not just paying for the thing you're playing for the whole concept and process which employs people in a decent supply chain.

Which is the real and which is the fake?

For a child safety would concern me. Many Ali Express fakes don't have a CE mark.

The real are on the left (the darker one)

As I've said, I hate to be part of the dupe problem. At least this one from Aliexpress doesn't have tags so can't be resold on vinted etc tricking people.

I just realised how scarce the jelly cat stuff is as dd has asked for something at the site is majority out of stock.

I don’t agree with dupes though and think it’s not fair to do that so I guess I’ll have to wait.

the real concern is not reselling, tags can be duplicated not implying you will do any of that! But how unsafe unregulated products can be. Children do tend to keep them close to them , sleep next to them etc..

I confess I would be worried about safety with buying a fake...especially if it's for a child.

You don't hate being part of the problem, you are part of the problem and are encouraging others to do the same. I'd rather not have one at all than have a fake.

Exactly. I’d say you proactively enjoy being part of the problem tbh.

Nope, I'm all for fake items as a method to combat companies who engage in anti-consumer behavior.

In fact, I actually think that fake/duplicate goods (and I'd throw in piracy/downloads) is a highly ethical method of keeping capitalist systems in check. They force companies to demonstrate their superior worth and quality, or engage more fairly with the consumer because if a company keeps producing a less convenient equal quality product at a higher cost, they will go out of business.

Jelly cat could do what other brands have done and elevate their business beyond lower-quality fakes.

Or they could keep riding their trend while playing on young girls/women's FOMO by artificially limiting the supply of their products so they feel scarce.. to scalpers delight.

Why? What is inherently wrong with a "fake"?

Are you as offended by supermarket branded products? The vast majority of which are cheaper near-identical copies of more expensive original products? If you just took away the can of baked beans and replaced it with a cuddly toy, then it is the same situation as a fake Jellycat. A cheaper nearly identical alternative.

Would you buy a can of Tesco baked beans and fret that maybe Heinz will go out of business and stop innovating new products....

You buy fakes all the time. Most daily products are "fakes" in the sense that they aren't the "original", they are copies made by other companies, often copied and copied hundreds of times over the years, perhaps with slight tweaks and changes.

I'm not a fan of copying true original artistry/creativity, but certain industries spin a line of "fake = immoral/bad" purely out of self-interest and profit, and not because of any actual ethical reasoning.

Yeah jellycat have pissed me off with their treatment of independent suppliers and creating panic buying. I got a couple of fake dragons and they are nice enough.

They are very clever with their products , marketing and keeping up demand.
Pop ups , limited releases plus the normal range. If it’s gone it’s gone , That’s the reason why they are still so popular after all these years . Labubus on the other hand ? As embarrassing as Dubai chocolate now.

I never buy from their website as it’s always SO,
but the majority I get from places like JL, or the most random places like independent gift shops.

There is this too. A whole string of small independents on my high street have stopped selling them, possibly not by choice.

The one place left that sells them (small chain) has actually moved them behind the counter due to thefts. It has taken all the temptation away for me as it is the physical browsing that used to pull me in!

A tin of Tesco beans is not pretending to be a tin of Heinz beans though so your analogy doesn’t work . The ‘fake’ jellycats are pretending to be real ones or copies of them otherwise they would make them different colours etc . Personally I’m with the previous poster that I’d rather go without than have a fake be it a Jellycat or a designer bag .

You don't know what you're getting with a fake one. It could be stuffed with any old crap.

Apparently they're planning to open their own standalone stores, which is why they've stopped supplying stock to toy shops and the like.

It's a shame, because our local independent shop used to do pretty well out of them. They always made a fabulous window display - in lockdown, I used to go there with the DCs and argue over which was the most adorable jellycat in the window.

I actually prefer the fake one.