There's been a LOT of knockoff G1 Transformers getting out in the market last 5-10 years. The Dinobots are arguably the most common ones to be found, next to the combiners. Be cautious of sellers on ebay selling MISB specimens- the bootleggers making these even went so far as to recreate the original Hasbro packaging. I bought one, Shockwave, and it's a really neat piece, but has a bit of that knockoff feel to it. Neat boxed collectible, though.
http://highendtfs.com/?q=node/17#Grimlock- A handy guide outlining the differences between genuine and knockoff. It's pretty overwhelming exhaustive.
Of course, the easiest way to tell is usually price- a single genuine loose Dinobot is over $100, and you can score a set of five knockoffs for $200.
Thank you so much for the info Ben, I thought maybe $40 for G1 dinobots was a little too good to be true. Also thanks for the heads up on the upcoming dinobots, maybe I'd be better off going that route. I sort of wanted to go through and get a small collection of my favorite G1 bots (even if they were reissues or whatever), but it would have to be at a slow pace as budget would allow. Thanks again.
