(2001)

$7 BBI & Hot Toys Knock Off Figures

Back in 2001, knock offs of Blue Box Toys (BBI) and Hot Toys figures surfaced in various Canadian shops, selling for about $17 US. Further investigation revealed the figures to be low-to-medium quality rip offs of early BBI/HT releases, perhaps made in the exact same factories during down time. For a while, these figures didn't seem worthwhile considering legitimate BBI figures could eventually be found for around $20. However, now that the legit releases are out of production, these knock offs may be the only way to find certain parts.

Contacting the distributor at sniris@netvigator.com, it was found that the wholesale price was quite a bit more reasonable. In their own words:

"UNIT PRICE USD7.00/BOX. MINIMUM ORDER IS 5 CARTONS, EACH CARTON IS 12 BOX."

So that's $7.00 US per figure.  Not too bad.  Below are promotional images that they sent along.