Ebay bootleggers, pulling trickery ?
 

I was going through Ebay tonight looking for some rare stuff on DVD and LD
What I saw was funny.On titles yet to be released plastered all over as legit copies.Not the old way either with a nice cover and simple image.These things look great!
Since when can these guys get stickers/tape we get on retail movies? You know, the ones that have the DVD logo and say WARNING - Security Device Encolsed.All nice a shrink wrapped like retail copies.
Are they trying to go undetected.Fool people into thinking they are legit?
What happens to the person who doesnt really know what is released and what is not and buys on of these only to see the quality is bad.
Perhaps if looking for the movie on Ebay in the first place for such a movie means you know it is bootleg.Then why the fancy wrapping done on the DVD? Why have the security warning?

I just thought it was funny to see these movies done up like this.To those who know well and good that certain movies are yet to be released on DVD know what they are getting.Do they feel safer buying such a well packaged product? Does it make the seller 'safer' in any way from those who may narc them out? "well it looks legit to me, just look at that packaging"

http://i16.ebayimg.com/02/i/06/d8/99/04_1.JPG http://i9.ebayimg.com/03/i/07/0d/82/e5_1.JPG

Look at those pics man.See all those copies! These guys are mass producing these days! If you check, there are many sellers showing images like this showing stacks of any certain movie.This mass producing can get someone into a heap of trouble no?! This isnt just like a few years ago when you saw someone sell 2-3 copies and then you waited to see more a few weeks or a month later.

Can this in any way shape or form help get these movies released?
I started thinking.Maybe if the companies that hold rights to these unreleased movies, saw these things selling, they would see an interest in them and finally released them?

I think crap like this helped "This Island Earth" and its cause.

Bootlegs on eBay?!?!

I think that is the point, the more well packaged and prepared the product is regardless of the quality of the actual presentation, the better. Or so they'd like the buyer to believe.

Unless Howard comes along in Widescreen, these bootleg dvd's no matter how nicely packaged will ever come to rival what a studio can do.

I disagree.

A perfect example is the anime series, Initial D.

The bootlegs are MUCH better than the official USA produced versions. The bootlegs use actual fan subbed material and the picture quality is just as good as the legit version.

I own both versions and the bootleg wins, hands down. Even the packaging is better. Of course this is probably just one rare case.

I bought a Criterion DVD (Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound) from Ebay, several months ago. I became worried that it was a bootleg after seeing the seller was always selling copies of it. However, it seems pretty legit considering it's still in its plastic and it has a Criterion/legit-looking security sticker on it.

I actually e-mailed the seller and inquired about why he was selling so many and he told me that he bought quite a few of them and is selling them off. He's got a 100% rating, so hopefully everything is fine/legitimate.

Yeah, I got a few anime-boots off of ebay (not knowing they were boots at the time), and they were surprisingly top-notch, quality-wise - clean anamorphic transfer, DTS, quality subs, solid packaging - that's why I never suspected they were bootlegs.

Just a thought, but I wonder if the disc itself has some sort of code number printed around the inner ring (either on the top or bottom side)? I'm assuming a bootleg wouldn't be so good as to duplicate the true number on the Criterion disc. Unfortunately, I don't own Spellbound so I can't tell you what that number should be.

The problem with buying anime boots is that the people who sell them are likely just packaging fansubbing work that other people did for free (and that is widely available on the net for free) and are charging people for it. The fansubbers hate that with a passion.

I've bought some imports from eBay that turned out to be boots (damnit!)... they were all nicely packaged, with holographic authenticity stickers, and the security stickers over the edges.

I took some pics of the packaging: http://www.shagman.org/hobbies/bootleg-dvds/index.html

I haven't bought anything from eBay since, I've had much better luck in the past year with the DVDTalk Exchange forum.

Wow, Shagman. My paranoia over buying DVDs off Ebay just went up a few notches. (And I didn't think that was possible!) What made you realize they were bootlegs?

I don't buy nothing from Ebay, strictly for this reason. There are many fraudulent, and defective merchandise being sold on Ebay, especially DVDs. My best advise to all is to avoid patronizing as much as possible. Buyer's beware!!! Use common sense as well, because the seller preys on the unknowledgeable, and naiveness of the potential buyers.

The general eBay principle is simple....at least for this kind of stuff: use eBay for selling; not for buying.

I've heard there are actual factories cranking this stuff out in Asia and Eastern Europe. It's not just a basement operation, they're pirating DVDs, CDs, and tons of Computer software. That's why they look legit with all the right logos and holograms. Since it's impossible to enforce copyright laws in these countries, all the manufacturers can do is appeal to their governments to crack down on the pirates. They all say they will, but the problem keeps getting worse. Then everyone thinks Microsoft is the bad guy for having their software "phone home" to authenticate itself.

So are you saying, for DVD, sell, not buy? How will one sell anything then if nobody buys? If you only sell, but at the same time tell people not to buy, then why sell if nobody will buy?
I dont think what you say should be any type of rule.I think people just need to be aware.I have sold a few DVDs of mine and none were 'pirated' or otherwise.

Be warned that it will be either VHS or LD transfer.Only time I saw a really nice version was on INHD2 back in DEC and APRIL.
I even emailed them to see how they got the source to play it.No answer yet.Im hoping I get some sort of answer as to who to email so I can bug the shit out of them to get it released!

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/6297/radinhd24pi.jpg


So I guess it is easy enough to get proper wrapping and stickers to fool people.It seems all one really needs is a good sized duplicator and they are in business.I would hate to be the one who gets busted though.I guess though the reason these are still around are because studios dont release titles, and these are the next best thing? I mean, how long can one really wait for great titles such as RAD and MONSTER SQUAD and HOWARD THE DUCK!

There seems to be a huge loophole on Ebay for selling overseas dvd's. From what I have seen Ebay allows overseas sellers to sell their cheap crap as long as long as they don't try to sell new movies that are still in theatres. I see loads of the James Bond overseas box sets on Ebay and they never get taken down. Ebay seems more concerned with the new movies coming out and being bootlegged than oversea imports that are most likely illegal..

So what your saying is, they may know of movies not yet released but have been out for years and they dont care, or 'turn a blind eye' towards them, so long as they seem to be imports? No wonder there are so many of these.
You would think this would get studios to release titles that are made available like this.If they see these bootleggers making money on the title, I guess that means there is a market for them.So I have to wonder why this hasnt got the studios to move their ass and put these guys out of business.

Ebay won't do anything about bootlegs as they make too much money off of them.

as with any huge marketplace with the good comes the bad, ebay is afterall a business and people that list pay fees and that is how they rake in the dough over there, that and companies that pay them for advertising and other things. so it figures they go after new release films that haven't been released yet or are still in the movie theaters. the studios may pay them $$$ to do it as well so they make more money off their product to avoid bootlegging on newer films when the dvds finally get released.

If you check the feedback of a seller with a questionable item there is usually at least one neutral or negative comment about an item being a burned dvd-r or copy. That's a good tip off. I've even seen positive feedback comments that mention an item is a copy I guess because the buyer was happy to have any kind of copy.

I once purchased a Disney dvd that turned out to be a bootleg copy. I emailed the seller, claimed it was bootleg, and she responded that she was unaware of it being a bootleg. Thankfully she refunded my money. Nowadays, I always ask a lot of questions of the seller first and also research the dvd title extensively (i.e. dvdtalk, etc...) before buying it.

please keep the "i like bootlegs" and "if it's not released legally, i'll buy it the bootleg anyways" stuff out..they'll be deleted and/or this thread will be closed again. thank you.

When movies are taken from the LD's do they usually include the extra features or are they just they just the film.

Also, this has probably been discussed before, but I bought Elvira, Mistress of the Dark from K-Mart and it turned out to be a boot. It just looks like you regular cheap DVD though. So bootleggers have a nice distribution system if they can get into K-Mart.

Since when does a holographic sticker make the DVD seem legit? I always thought that was the tipoff that it definitely was a bootleg. I've never bought a DVD imported or otherwise with one of those stickers that was a legitimately licensed product.

How could you tell it was a bootleg? Maybe somebody returned it to K-Mart and they resold it?

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!)