Thanks to the efforts of a concerned European gamer, both myself and Paul Ashton from Amazon Miniatures have discovered someone on eBay selling recasts of our miniatures. I have absolute proof of this in my possession – 5 recast miniatures.
The seller in question is Peter Kerestan from Nevada, trading under the name of Weewarriors.
Both Paul and I have contacted him by email. In Paul's case, it was to inquire how he could offer multiple sales of Amazon miniatures, whereas he had only purchased one each of these same miniatures from Amazon some time previously. For myself, I ordered him to cease and desist from selling recasts of our miniatures, and demanded an undertaking that he did not do so in the future. Neither Paul or I are satisfied with the response we received.
I have passed on this information to eBay, and now wait to see what action, if any, they take over this matter.
Recasting is destructive to the hobby. It hurts everyone, including major companies like GW and even more so for smaller ones such as Shadowforge and Amazon. Recasting is counterfeiting, theft of intellectual property rights. In my own case, as a sculptor, it is especially hurtful and also bloody infuriating. There is the question of an immediate loss of income, but it goes further than this. The recasts are poor quality; anyone buying them could believe that our entire product range was the same. Once one person thinks this, it does not take long before others do so, too. Any reputation for good quality product thus gets tarnished and future sales jeopardised.
I do not say that Weewarriors will sell recasts of Shadowforge or Amazon miniatures again, but both Paul Ashton and I would appreciate it if all concerned gamers kept an eye on any sales where miniatures are offered for sale loose and unpacked, especially on eBay. If anyone feels that something looks suspicious, please pass that information on to us or any other manufacturer who could be involved.