By RICHARD WOOD
Customs has seized thousands of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards that could be fakes.
The cards are the latest craze for kids and collectors and may ultimately be a multimillion-dollar business. The animated TV show began in February and features characters using cards to fight each other.
But the local agent
for the cards, Wizard Distributors, is stuck without stock until late June and other importers are filling the vacuum.
Parallel imports of real cards are legal, but selling fakes can infringe copyright, trademark and fair trading laws.
Wizard director Tony Hamblyn said the firm had identified six or seven importers bringing in fakes.
Customs has detained 15 Yu-Gi-Oh! shipments for investigation but says it cannot catch everything. Fakes find their way to markets, discount retailers and online auctions.
Customs senior investigator Rupert Gamlen said the service could only stop commercial shipments and used a notification system which depended on the copyright and trademark owners lodging requests.
Customs thoroughly checked the shipments it found that matched the notifications, even if they were for reputable outlets.
"We detain until we're satisfied."
Mr Gamlen said that once caught, most importers surrendered fake goods, which were then destroyed.
Consumer advocate David Russell said anyone who found they had bought fake goods could seek their money back or a replacement under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
But even when products are genuine, unscrupulous importers can rip consumers off. Each pack contains a random selection of cards of varying rarity and therefore value. In a previous trading card rort, sellers managed to identify the best packs by their location in the supply box.
Yu-Gi-Oh! packs have been sold in New Zealand with 5mm slits cut in the side, possibly to let the unscrupulous peer inside.
Beginner's guide
* Yu-Gi-Oh! is a two-player card game and collector card craze similar to Pokemon and Magic The Gathering. There are hundreds of common and rare cards to collect.
* Genuine cards are available in starter packs for $30 to $40 and booster packs cost $10 to $14.
Yu-Gi-Oh! cards
