Shanghai police have cracked a case involving fake Disney toys, according to local media reports, which said that more than 2,600 dolls have been seized and the amount involved exceeded 25 million yuan ($3.68 million). Police have taken measures against 17 suspects on suspicion of selling fake trade-marked goods.

In early March 2022, a Shanghai citizen surnamed Liu reported to a police station that he had bought a Disney LinaBell toy, one of the most popular toys in the Duffy and Friends toy line introduced in 2021 at Shanghai Disneyland. The original price was 219 yuan, but Liu got an 80 percent off deal and paid just 42 yuan.

Liu told the police that he bought the doll via live-streaming on a popular short video platform, but he found the doll was poorly made and the quality was different from certified products. He then reported it to the police.

A suspect involved in the case said that the Disney doll craze in recent years has raised the price of a doll from 219 yuan to more than 2,000 or even 3,000 yuan, but the toys are still in short supply, which made him think of selling fake dolls to get fat profits.

The 2021 Duffy and Friends Christmas Collection, released by Shanghai Disneyland during the 2021 Christmas holiday season, attracted thousands of visitors who waited overnight outside Shanghai Disneyland, according to photos and videos circulating on Chinese social media.

The hashtag "More than 5,000 people lined up at Disney at 3 am" topped Sina Weibo at that time with over 12 million views, and sparked a backlash from netizens over hunger marketing by Shanghai Disneyland.

GT reporters previously found a seller on Xianyu, a secondhand item trading platform, who was reselling a set of hard-to-find Duffy and Friends toys, also known as the Christmas Collection, for 14,444 yuan ($2,123.5). The original price of the toy collection, which comprises 12 different toys, key chains and backpacks, is 4,158 yuan ($652.9).

"If the enterprises' 'hunger marketing' gets out of control, it may even cause systemic financial risks. Therefore, stricter and more detailed laws such as anti-monopoly laws should be issued to rectify the market order," Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times.

"The purchase price of these fake dolls usually ranges from 5 yuan to 20 yuan, which is only about 5 percent of the price of the real ones," said a police officer involved in the investigation, adding that the price is usually about one-fifth of that of the certified products when it is sold via live-streaming.

Further investigation is continuing in the case.

Global Times