The only way I knew it was is because it is listed as an Unathorized Release on DVD Aficionado. It was produced by a company called Top Ten Media.

Ahh, yes, Top Ten New Media Production
I think the most popular set they have is the Hellraiser 1-2-3 set on Ebay.
I bought that set not really paying attention and didnt think at the time, that if it had a company name it surely couldnt be a bootleg.
Is it known that they are indeed a bootleg manufacture?

EDIT:
Thank you PILOT for re-opening this thread.I think it will help many users.

I want to clarify some things about my post. I am not saying that I support bootlegs. The reason I got them(like most people) was that they weren't available in the USA. Once they were released here I bought the legit versions and to my dismay they were horrible. Plus they only put three 30 minute episodes on each DVD and were priced at $15 each! There are well over 25 episodes in the series....you do the math. I paid $50 for the entire series on bootleg DVD. Better packaging, better picture quality, better sound, accurate subs and uncensored. I ended up buying the US versions simply to show support for the show here in the USA. NOT because I liked what the studio(TokyoPop)gave us. I sent several emails and letters expressing my opinions about the job they did on the show.

It just bugs me how some people can get so preachy about how we should buy the legit versions because they are "so much better" when in some cases they are not.

What's a choosy consumer to do? Knowingly spend $130 on 8 DVD's that have crap quality(and take up a buttload of space) or spend $50 on a better fold out boxed set?

Exactly! That's why I prefer to buy my home theater components from the guy around here who sells them out of his truck.

I know they're not really the brand name that's on the unit but they're so much cheaper than what I can get the real ones for it makes up for it. And sometimes they even work better than any legit ones that I could afford!

I just did an imitation of your avatar with my Mountain Dew after reading that!

Your sarcasm is noted. :)


In most cases bootlegs are horrible. No matter what you buy if it's bootleg chances are it's crap.

There is a discussion going on right now in the Star Wars thread about Lucas releasing non-anamorphic versions of the OT. Basically giving faithful fans crappy versions. You think they should be happy with what they are given, or buy them and still buy the anamorphic bootlegs that are available? Lucas is still getting his money if I buy his crap versions but I want the best that is available and if a cheap bootleg is the best that is available then.....well you figure it out.

huh? Ebay shuts down bootleg auctions a lot.

this may be slightly off topic (at least from what is currently being discussed above), but whats with all the fake "the killer" cc on ebay as of late?

looks like someone massed produced a huge amount of fakes and are flooding the market.

Since this is a topic about bootlegs...what about web sites like:

This isn't a thread about listing sites that sell bootlegs

They sell dvd copies of tv shows that have never been released on dvd. They told me personally the episodes are taped directly off tv, this is legal? Do the tv companies know this is happening?

It's really not necessary to sink to the level of "never buy DVDs off of eBay." The same rule holds true here as it does any time you make a purchase... be an informed consumer.

Is the item coming from Guam, Asia, the Phillipines, or some other non region 1 area?

Does it have Chinese writing on the case?

Is it listed as region free, even though it's a major film?

Have you done a search on Amazon.com to see if the film has ever been officially released? If it has and it's out of print, Amazon will have at least some information on it, even if it's just a link to people selling it in the overpriced Amazon Marketplace.

These are just a few ways to protect yourself when buying DVDs on eBay.

I don't know about the legality of it, but I know other sites that did the same thing have been shut down. Goldmonkey used to do this, and their TV sets were only around $10, much cheaper than the site you posted. They got busted, and now only sell actual DVD sets.

I remember someone on eBay was selling full TIME TUNNEL sets awhile ago.
In fact they somehow got a link-not a sales page- onto Amazon.com, when you'd type "search" for TT...

The worst part about getting a bootleg from eBay or Half (and I'm talking about when you set out to buy a legitimate in-print DVD only to receive a bootleg by a lying seller) is that you can't rip them in the feedback without taking a retalitory feedback that ruins your rating. Why should I end up with a bunch of negative "bad buyer" feedbacks because some jackass lies and tries to pass-off a boot as the real thing? I'm not stupid enough to buy a "chinese import version," region 0 copy, or a DVD for a movie that's not in print, but it's hard when you buy something that says "legitimate Criterion" by a seller with a 100% positive feedback (and more than 10 transactions) only to receive something fraudulent. Then what? I have to wreck my feedback that can effect my ability to make future sales just to inform the rest of the community?

If you sell on ebay/half.com, you should create a second account to use for buying only. Then you can neg away when appropriate.

I've so been there Joliom. I'm not sure why everybody says "pay attention to the feedback" as an indicator of whether or not the seller deals in bootlegs. I have had MANY a negative experience with shady sellers that have exemplary feedback. How they don't get complaints is a real mystery to me - but it must be the retalitory thing, like you mentioned.

To quote one seller who I threatened with a negative: "I can handle your negative feedback. Can you handle mine?"

This was a few weeks before I was to sell a highly collectible item on Ebay for over $700. I knew it was valuable and didn't want a big freakin' negative before I sold it, freshly appearing at the top of my feedback list!

Not that I buy DVDs anymore off Ebay, but if I did I would follow a few strict rules. First, I would never bid in an auction using a stock photo of the item. (Violating this rule got me burned.) Second, I would also find out what the catalog ID number is for the DVD and ask the seller to provide it to me off the spine, or the UPC code off the back. (I did this all the time, and was surprised how many sellers provided some lame reason why they couldn't give me this info!)

With a good cover scan, I see this as another way they are tricking people.There are a couple online UPC makers that anyone can add to a custom/scan DVD cover.I dont see asking for the UPC number anything to help in distinguishing if it is fake or not.

They get positive feedback because most buyers don't know that they have purchased a bootleg. As long as the packaging is well done, they don't know the difference. :(

There's a guy that's been selling bad copies of Street Hawk for years, it's even his eBay name. I've reported it a few times, but it's never pulled. Maybe if a few more people clicked the "Report this item" link & kept clicking to send an email, maybe it'd get noticed. It's so obvious they're copies, the screen shots have the network logo in the corner. I can't believe that anyone actually monitors the reported items or he'd be banned by now.

I liked that show growing up but I can't support pirating like that.

Why is it such a huge deal if you did in fact get a bootleg on a DVD from Ebay? Let's say that it is a Dead Ringers Criterion DVD for example. I see people comparing the numbers on the ring because they can't tell from just the packaging whether it is real or not. If the bootleggers did such a good job imitating the packaging, then why should a few numbers be such a big concern? Is the content of the disc ever different on Criterion bootlegs? I understand that you should never support bootleggers because what they do is illegal, but at the end of the day I can't help but feel that if the bootleg I accidentally bought is practically indistinguishable from a real one then I'll be happy with it.

It's not, especially since at least one large Criterion fansite (if not Criterion's website itself) actually lists all of that information on each release. UPC and other numbers are readily available from multiple sources.

I'm sure that quality standards aren't there. Plus, I don't like paying for one thing and getting something else. If I pay for a genuine release, I want a genuine release.

Some people, myself included, will pay a good chunk of money for an OOP film or other collectable item. If I spend any amount of money on something, and it turns out to be a fake, I'm not going to be too happy about it, even if the "content" is exactly the same.

The same could be said about bootleg clothing/accessories. The asian bootlegging community can make awesome rip-offs of designer clothing that would normally sell for hundreds of dollars, but people in those circles (the fashion afficianados) would be able to spot it from a mile away, while your everyday consumer is not so savvy.

Maybe the studios should start putting serial numbers on dvd's. Not only on the dvd and the box, but also in the dvd programming.

Uh, no. It's already bad enough that consumers get the butt end of the HD/BluRay fight, Sony's spyware, etc. The problem isn't the ability to bootleg, there will always be people that find ways around it. The problem is they're not prosecuting people and handing out jail time. If the RIAA can do what they did to Napster, I see no reason why one employee of the MPAA can't have an eBay liason and shut down a great deal of pirates. Even if eBay balked and the MPAA paid the liason's salary, that amount of money would be a drop in the bucket when the first bootlegger's assets are seized.

It's just like the "war" on drugs. They don't care about a solution, they're happy with the illusion of due diligence. (Ok, I just watched Syriana. :lol: )

Obviously, you don't have a conscience. Because it's considered as fraud, that's why. Knowingly would you fence, or buy stolen goods (which you've already admit to) from someone who burglarized a residence, people that worked extremely hard for the belongings they achieved? No matter what the quality of the pirated copies are, it's just the principal. It's remains an illegal act to sell unauthorized copyrighted materials, and surely, the buyers are an accessory party contributing to the crime as well, when apprehended by the authorities.