Benjamin Ashford|Those Taylor Swift figurines for sale online aren't from Funko, but fans will pay $250 anyway

What would you pay for a Taylor Swift Funko Pop?Benjamin Ashford

A vinyl figurine in the design of Taylor Swift can be purchased for just under $250 on Etsy, but not on Funko.com, because the company has never released one for the pop star.

What is available may not be an official piece of Taylor Swift merchandise, but it is enough to satisfy true Swifties.

“There's an entire of niche community of custom makers, that really thrives and is prevalent on platforms like Instagram,” said James Zhan Editor-in-Chief of the Toy Book the leading trade publication in the toy industry.

The custom collectables are available across the internet from Ebay to Etsy and beyond. Funko Pops are the preferred medium, according to Zhan.

“When you cross over into the realm of toys and collectibles, of course, Funko is sort of the go-to when it comes to that celebrity form factor with the pop vinyls,” Zhan said. “I'm very surprised there have not been official [Taylor Swift] releases.”

This isn’t the first-time fans have taken figure making into their own hands. The first instance of custom figure making that Zhan can recall came when in the early 1990s Star Wars fans repurposed the Kenner Star Wars collection of the 1970s and 80s to create their own figures.

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Creatives seize a market opportunity

“I started making customs because I wanted to see characters and historical figures that Funko didn't seem interested in pursuing,” said Mary Kate Cusack. “I don't want to step on their toes, but their focus seems to really be the pop culture market, not historical figures or theater or classic literature.”

Cusack has been selling custom Funko Pops on her Etsy store HamilPOP since 2016.  She modifies already existing Funko Pops ranging from "Hamilton" characters to Bruce Springsteen. Each figure she makes takes about 10 hours of work to create and range in price from $70 to $250.

Cusack began making the figures to make up for what Funko was not offering at the time, a Captain Marvel figure.

If possible to embed one of her products, or an image, would be good to here. And link to her shop.

“I figured it couldn't be too difficult to make one, so I bought a doll that had a similar costume and some craft paint,” Cusack said.

While the driving focus of the custom figure market is the Funko Pop, other figures are used to create custom toys. Zhan points to the Hasbro Marvel Legends series of figures as options makers are using for custom orders.

“If Hasbro is not producing a certain character, or a certain look that someone wants, there are people out there that are making it,” Zhan said.

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'I really hope they don't shut us down': Custom Funkos toe line between art and knockoff

In filling that market void, the custom Funko Pops exist in a market that is closer to a grey market than the black markets of knockoff clothing and fake trading cards.

“Trading cards is an industry that I think is more susceptible to actual fraud. People don't want a knockoff; they don't want a card that's been altered or customized or trimmed. They're looking to swindle somebody and pull a fast one,” Zhan said. “With these collectibles and toys. It's a little bit more out in the open. Because people are really looking to give someone something that they actually want.”

However, the line between custom figures and knockoffs is thin.

A set of Taylor Swift Funko Pops was attempted to be sold on Ebay for $2,000. According to a company representative, Funko took action against the items and the listing is no longer active. The representative would not provide further information stating, “these are ongoing investigations.”

Funko has noted that there is potential in the custom space for them and has a section on its website to allow custom digital Pops to be made.

For creators like Cusack, who marks that her creations are “customized figurines” not Funko Pops, the possibility of being made to stop would impact her beyond an Etsy account’s bottom line.

“I really hope they don't shut any of us down. This business is important to me as a business and as a way for me to make art that I enjoy creating,” Cusack said. “My experiences are that [fellow makers] are enthusiasts in the best sense of the word, and I feel like that's rare in many online communities. I would hate to feel like I could only be a consumer and not a creator in that community.”

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