I thought figure collecting was a waste of money until I dropped $180 on a bootleg Saber and the paint started flaking off in a week | Anime Discussions - Free To Speak
$180 for a bootleg is wild when the real Saber fig runs like $60 to $90 depending on the version. The flaking is just what happens with cheap paint on cheap plastic, not some lesson about the hobby. I've got prize figures that sat on my shelf for three years with no issues, so it sounds more like you got scammed than anything.