Robert W. Getz told Toy Shop magazine in 1997 that he was a big fan of Simpsons merchandise made in France. A three-figure set of Homer, Marge and Bart was made in France in conjunction with a French detergent called Vizir. The figures prominently feature the Vizir logo. Unfortunately, far too much Simpsons merchandise doesn't hold up in quality, particularly some of the early stuff. Notable among the cheaply made Simpsons merchandise were games from Ja-Ru that, in our experience, quickly fall apart.
Many serious collectors have little interest in bootlegs.
Mostly, the quality of these ripoffs are so bad it's their brazen awfulness that's their only redeeming feature. A few of these knock-off Simpsons items, though, are clever enough to impress even Simpsons creator Groening, who has made room in his office for a bootleg plaster bust of Bart wearing a sombrero. Even so, Groening, who oversees Simpsons licensing, hasn't stopped Twentieth Century Fox attorneys from targeting flagrant bootleggers in order to protect the company's rights to the characters it owns. Fox has authorized legal action against companies selling unlicensed Simpsons merchandise, and the company has warned that it will attempt to shut down any Internet Web site selling unlicensed Simpsons merchandise. Not long ago, Fox successfully sued an Australian firm that briefly distributed its own Duff Beer, which featured a packaging clearly inspired by Homer's fictitious favorite brand.