Bottom line -- No more, never again.

In the past I've gotten some excellant deals, but lately, I've unknowing bought junk that came from Malaysia (sp?). Helen of Troy is watchable, but only barely. The Aviator, is junk. I have three DVD players and it doesn't even play on two of them. The player connected to the home theater is one of the two afflicted. I said F$%* it and just went and bought the film at BestBuy.

I did get a used 24 3rd season, that plays flawlessly for $30. The box is a bit dinged up but all in all a good deal.

You could switch to Half.com for used DVDs. Plenty of great deals there and I doubt you'll find anything but Region 1 discs.

just don't include listings from sellers outside the US. If I see Malaysia or wherever, I move on. Also, I'd suggest including the shipping price in your searches. There's an option when you're logged in. A lot of people selling on ebay will have a dvd for little $$$ but then shipping with be 8-12 bones.

agreed. quit buying asian bootlegs and you'll be fine. Personally, i find i can get better prices on used stuff from amazon.

Or try the pawn shops i found alot of great stuff in the last few weeks..

I used to love Half.com pre-orders - I could set my price of what I was willing to pay for such and such a title, and wait. I would frequently get what I wanted after some time passed.

Recently I got burned on when a complete idiot filled my pre-order with a shipment direct from Taiwan. He whined when I emailed him that the item didn't meet my order requirements (not even a UPC). He replied that it matched his description just fine. Moron - he thought if he put in his description, and then filled my pre-order, he was ok. I submitted for a refund to Half, and after a month, they gave it to me. He emailed me and asked me to send it back to him - in Taiwan, of course. I said - sure - just paypal me $10 bucks to cover the shipping, and then he whined some more. I never received it.

Of course I left him neg feedback warning other would-be buyers. I've checked back occasionally on him and several others have left similar feedback - seems he loves to fill pre-orders with his version of takeout. Since then I've stopped my pre-orders altogether.

Agreed - pawnshops rock, particularly just before the end of the month.

As others have said, stop buying bootlegs and you'll do much better. Malaysia, Phillipines, Taiwan, China, etc. Unless it's USA or Canada and Region 1, don't trust it. Region free = bootlegs.

Also check the feedback. Only a couple feedback? Most likely a bootleg dealer that has started a new account after getting banned or getting too many negatives.

I've made numerous DVD purchases on Ebay, from 1 movie to over 900 movies. Sure, there have been some problems along the way, but in every case but one the seller immediately rectified the situation. The one that didn't got bitch-slapped by PayPal.

So in short, be a little more selective who you do business with and you'll be fine. Quitting Ebay just because you bought from bootleggers is like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

To make a blanket statement like that is somewhat unfair. Yes I have gotten a couple of poor bootlegs, but sometimes that is the only way to go.
I just got a good copy of 55 Days in Peking (WS) that is not available in any other version. I also have been getting some good (not boot) R2s that I couldn't not get any other way
As for used stuff, I have a guy in NYS that is selling used dvds for around $1 plus around $5 for the shipping. I get about 5 to 10 at a time time so for $15 I get a good selection of DVDs (this includes the postage). If I did the same thing here on Long Island, it would run me about $100. Just be careful where you buy.
Austin

That's a good idea, but does not work all the time. Aviator/DVD was to come from Palestine, Indiana, but instead came from Malaysia. Scam!!!

My 1st purchase overseas was for Be Cool, and it came from Malaysia, and plays fine. Picture and Sound Quality are top notch.

Half pre-orders are for the most part okay but I have seen alot of no shows and a few jerks trying to take my money for merchandise obviously not listed. One time a guy filled a pre-order for me with a region 2 PAL disc, even stating so on the pre-order he filled. I e-mailed him asking what the hell he thinks he's doing trying to sell discs most Americans are NOT going to be able to play without buying a new player in order to do so. He whined and cried and acted as if that's not his problem, I left negative feedback, filed a complaint with half and finally got my money back.

I always check seller feedback... look for the negative or netural... read what the feedback says, usually there are clues if the seller is selling bootlegs.

Also, if it's a new release and the price is too good to be true it probably is.