Trend reselling and spotting fakes

Whatnot's UK browse page shows how many people watch each category live. On 6 October 2026 at about 1am UK time, our capture showed 946 live viewers in Labubu and blind boxes, 725 in Sonny Angels and Smiskis, 2,900 in slime and squishy toys and 1,900 in LEGO. Trading card games had 26,200.

The evening before, at 6:30pm, slime had 2,400 and LEGO 2,100. Those are live viewers at capture time, two snapshots only. Watch the same rows over a few weeks before you spend on stock: a category whose viewers fall while prices on sold listings drop is a craze cooling.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute warned in 2025 that fake Labubu dolls were flooding the UK, and councils seized thousands. The fakes had loose eyes, hands and feet that could choke a child, and lacked UKCA or CE marks and importer details.

Collectors check the QR code on the box leads to Pop Mart's own site rather than a lookalike page, and report a mark on the foot that shows under UV light. Compare print sharpness, colours and the sealed foil against a box from an official Pop Mart shop. Treat a price far below other sold listings as the clearest warning.

Fakes often have a lighter blue back, blurry text or a glossy surface where the real card is textured. Hold the card to a phone torch: genuine cards have a dark inner layer, and many fakes let more light through.

Weigh a card you pulled from a sealed pack on a 0.1 g pocket scale and compare suspect cards with it. Sealed booster boxes and tins can be resealed, so check the wrap on a known good box. A clip-on macro lens shows the print pattern; photograph it for your listing.

Sonny Angels sell blind in sealed boxes, so check the outer box print, the seal and the figure's paint against one from an official stockist. Ask sellers of rare figures for photos of the box and insert together.

For trainers, compare the box label with the size tag inside the shoe, stitching, the insole print and the smell of the glue. On eBay UK, eligible trainers and handbags from selected brands sold for £200 or more go to an authenticator before the buyer receives them. Trading cards from £250 can go through the same Authenticity Guarantee.

A 500 g pocket scale reading to 0.1 g catches thin card stock and light figures. A clip-on macro lens kit shows printing dots, stitching and tiny logo details your phone camera blurs.

A 40 cm light tent gives even light so colours match from one photo to the next. Photograph the item, the box codes and the scale reading before you list. Those photos answer an authenticity claim and show buyers you checked.

Vinted bans counterfeit items, removes listings and suspends accounts, and blocks repeat offenders for good. It may ask for proof on luxury items, such as receipts, tags or codes. If a buyer shows strong evidence an item is fake, Vinted cancels the order and refunds the buyer.

eBay's Authenticity Guarantee covers selected trainers, handbags, watches, jewellery and trading cards above set prices. Below those, you carry the counterfeit risk. Whatnot has its own counterfeit rules: read them in its help centre before a show.