Steve Jobs Action Figures Are Now Everywhere In China

By Chris Chang, posted Oct 13, 2011 at 6:30 PM, 6,734 views,

Steve Jobs Action Figures Are Now Everywhere In China

Remember that Steve Jobs action figure that was selling by us, but then was pulled by a “pure company”? Well, we are now seeing FAKE Steve Jobs action figures EVERYWHERE in China now. They are available at a place you’ll probably feel unfamiliar with: Taobao. Taobao has a few sellers selling crappy Steve Jobs action figure for prices as low as 50 yuan ($8). Oh Jesus, the Chinese are willing to spend more than 5000 yuan ($783) for an iPhone, and they are spending only 50 yuan ($8) for a FAKE Steve Jobs figurine. Let us show you how crappy the rip-offs are when they are compared to our very own legendary Steve Jobs action figure.

Gallery: Fake Steve Jobs Action Figures

What happened to M.I.C. Gadget’s Steve Jobs Action Figure?

We know there’s a lot of people out there hoping to purchase a Steve Jobs action figure. However, we are no longer offering it, forever and ever. The reason? We signed something after a “pure company” hit us up with 3 cease-and-desist orders (first, second, third). We think someone doesn’t want to see the figurine anymore, so we think it is perfectly alright for the pure company to order us to fly down there and then blow up at them. And most importantly, it’s like we’re one big family.

The Fake Steve Jobs Action Figure

Side-by-side comparison of a rip-off and our Steve Jobs action figure

The rip-off you see in the photo above is one of the fake Steve Jobs action figures we found on Taobao. It’s the most popular SJ figurine knockoff, and we think it is an ‘insult’ to Steve Jobs. About 10 sellers are selling this, and the prices range from 36 yuan to 70 yuan ($5.64 to $10.99). Surprisingly, one of the sellers has sold 557 pieces in 30 days, and there’s one seller who is using our photos to promote his handmade Steve Jobs figurine. What a shame.

Comparison

Everyone knows our SJ figure is a very detailed figurine featuring Jobs in his signature jeans, black turtleneck, and New Balance sneakers holding an iPhone 4 (black or white). Buyers also received “speech bubbles,” where they could write in signature Jobs-esque phrases. Does the rip-off offer these features? Sort of. When the rip-off is being placed beside our SJ figure, you can see a huge difference in there.

The Bad Stuff

It does not look like Steve Jobs at all. It looks like… Steven Spielberg.

The black turtleneck, blue jeans, and (removable) rimless glasses are all there, but they aren’t high grade, they are made by cheap plastic and thereby ruins Steve Jobs’ image.

Sloppy sculpture and bad painting. Looking closer, the shoes do not look like the New Balance sneakers Jobs was wearing.

The glasses looks weird, and seriously, Steve Jobs’ hair and beard are gray, not black!!!

The Good Stuff

Side-by-side comparison of the best rip-off and our Steve Jobs action figure

The fake Steve Jobs figurine you seeing in the photo above, is probably the best rip-off we have seen yet. The rip-off is available at Taobao too, and it’s priced at 688 yuan ($107). It’s the most expensive SJ figure rip-off out there, and the seller — K.O. gadget — offers worldwide shipping and some stuff that we did not offer. First, 5% of the profits for their SJ figure will be donated to the China’s Red Cross, the country’s largest charity. Second, they are including a display case for every purchase of the SJ figure.

Lastly, they have a badass video to promote their SJ figure.

What do we think? Well, the photos below say everything.

And…

We are very pissed. The guys over K.O. gadget have no creativity at all. They copied our SJ figure, and their figurine is more expensive than ours. Their SJ figure looks almost identical to ours, but we’re very sure there’s difference in terms of quality and craftsmanship. We still think…

Why? Here’s the reason.

And they have…

Other Hilariously Terrible Steve Jobs Action Figure Rip-offs

This one is 190 yuan ($30). It’s totally a crap.

This one is 120 yuan ($19). Nice try on the earphones. But we do not want to see Steve Jobs being “cut” in half.

This one is 880 yuan ($138). It’s a 1:6 scale action figure. The idea is good, but it does not look like Steve Jobs at all.

This one is 36 yuan ($6). Maybe it’s difficult to make a figurine, so someone picked one of our SJ figure photos to print it on an iPhone 4 case.

This one is 29 yuan ($4). We actually like it very much.

The Verdict

Please take note: Steve Jobs figurines have not consented to the use of Apple’s copyrights and trademarks, therefore we think Apple should immediately cease the sale of these figures. The figure and its white Apple logo podium are replications of Mr. Jobs image and Apple’s trademark. We know some people were apparently eager to have a tiny Steve Jobs in their homes to remember Jobs, and the idea of putting him on your desk is quite kewl for Apple lovers. Sure, there is a lot of Steve Jobs action figures for sale on Taobao, but, c’mon, what’s the point of buying a Steve Jobs figurine that doesn’t even look like Steve Jobs at all? If you want to pay respect to Steve Jobs, please do not spend your money on these shameless SJ figure rip-offs that ruin Steve Jobs’ image.

You need to know, China’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. We don’t think that anymore. We think what they do is steal things. They will steal something that’s already been invented and study how it works. In some cases, they failed to understand how it really works, so what they do is copy the design. Most of the times, they uglify the beautiful things. They have no innovation and creativity to invent a thing, they need things to be ready-made. The smart ones will add interesting ideas and get on with improving the innovations.

Remember, don’t ever ask one from us, WE RESPECT APPLE. WE RESPECT STEVE JOBS. WE WILL NO LONGER OFFER A STEVE JOBS ACTION FIGURE.