johnson_design

Are the Asian Edition sets on ebay cheap bootlegs? Just curious to know.

littlefuzzy

99.9 % of Asian "import" versions on EBay are bootlegs, especially if it is for an out of print title, an anime series, or a Criterion.

Edit: Some warning signs: All Region or Region 0, English subtitles, Chinese subtitles or dubs, 26 episodes (of anime) on 3 discs for ~30 bucks, etc.

Legit Asian discs would usually only be for those specific regions, as in R2 for Japan, R3 for Hong Kong, etc.

Rypro 525

they are also mostly legit if the movie hasn't come out in the us yet.

Bill Geiger

Tell ya what.... if the auction location is listed as China or Malaysia then they are boots most likely. Taiwan is okay. Hong Kong (some time) can be legit but not when it comes to US TV shows.

bboisvert

Yes.

1 time out of 1000 or so, they're legit. But, in general, they're boots.

johnson_design

That's what I figured. Thanks all.

Randy Miller III

Why don't studios work harder to stop these auctions that aren't legit? For example, I mistakenly listed a legit Criterion DVD as being 'OOP' a few months back, and I recieved a notice from Criterion within two days that my information was incorrect and should be changed. Yet, there are still dozens of 'Import versions' that continue to be listed.

007bugs

What do you guys think about Brazilian stuff?? I ordered some stuff from a Brazilian store (not thru eBay), a couple of live Rush DVDs and one Yes DVD that have never been released in the US. All are region 0, though I have to go to sceen selection to start them on my Sony, hitting 'play movie' doesn't work. The retailer specialized in Brazilian movies and music and US/Euro music. Not much in the way of American movies.

marty888

Simply not true. I really hate it when people are mislead by incomplete information and sweeping generalizations.

Several legit Hong Kong DVD labels produce hundreds (probably thousands) of titles with a Region 0 coding, and they can be checked out at such reliable places as dddhouse, layoyo and yesasia, to name a few of the more popular websites.

Use some common sense, and you probably won't get burned. (Anyone who thinks they are getting a legit X-Files box set coded Region 0 for $25.00 deserved exactly what they receive.)

Father Karras

I'm frequently amazed at the flood of Asian "Import Version" DVD bootlegs listed on eBay. It seems to be getting more and more difficult to find listings of legitimate DVD's. This is especially true for DVDs that are OOP/popular/expensive. Buyer beware...

bboisvert

Always look at the feedback of the person you're buying from. If they're selling bootlegs, it'll be pretty clear from the first page or two.

Not only negatives, but positives that say "Burned copy, but good quality" and such...

jough

I'm always amazed that people will get the boots for not much less than the real deal, and then leave positive feedback.

That just irks me to no end, because it undermines the feedback system.

Meanwhile, I sell a guy three Limited Edition OOP CDs and he leaves me three negative feedback listings because I charged him three cents too much for shipping.

It's just not fay-er.

cultshock

The vast majority of Hong Kong discs of Hong Kong films are R0, not R3 and are completely legitimate. HK discs of US or other non HK films are usually R3 though.

island007

I think the poster was writing about Hong Kong discs of main-stream US films or TV shows.

You're correct that Honk Kong disc of Hong Kong films are mostly R0.

Apples and Oranges