Questions about buying dvds on ebay....
 

Hi! In looking on ebay I am always amazed at the very cheap prices in which dvds are offered. How can I make sure I am not purchasing a bootleg copy or something other than the real thing? I am always running across a vendor that starts their dvds at 99 cents which seems to good to be true. I have watched and many times these sell for this plus shipping.

I would order from ebay but do not want to purchase bootlegs or such.

Any advice?

If this is a bad question I apologize but I don't know much about these things.

Gracee

It's not a bad question.

First look at the description and see if it mentions anything about the DVD. Many sellers will say "we sell only studio manufactured dvds" or something to that effect. Look to see if the seller offers any guarantees. If the seller mentions anything about foreign language on the DVD jacket, it's probably one you want to avoid.

Check the feedback. If there are no mentions of other people receiving bootleg dvds, you are probably safe.

When in doubt e-mail the seller and ask if they are studio manufactureded, authorized dvds (they may not tell you the truth, but at least you asked.)

A 99 cent opening bid is not necessarily the sign of a bootleg. The seller may be offering a low opening bid to get the bidding going.

Ask the right questions, avoid anything overseas like Asian version, etc. Unless you know such version REALLY does exists. If you want to go straight to the point, add a link of the dvd to a reputable site and ask is what they are selling the exactly the SAME as such and such. Feedbacks are hit or miss, many people don't mind buying bootlegs or don't want to risk retaliation feebacks so everything looks fine and dandy. Overseas have little telltale signs, such as a dvd that never had DTS, but overseas, it's DTS!

Usually the sellers that sell bootlegs will have a few negative feedbacks mentioning this. I ordered a DVD from a seller that had dozens of negs. (out of thousands of feedbacks) and I got a boot. No surprise.

I ordered the Fight Club 2-disc from a reputable (99%+ pos. FB) used DVD vendor for a great price (less than $10 shipped). The DVD case was trashed (long rips at edges and really worn) and both discs were covered in scratches, like someone had rubbed the discs in gravel or something. I complained to seller and he eventually gave me a refund, but the whole guessing-game about the condition and the length of delivery and hassle of return was enough to keep me from buying used DVDs on eBay anymore.

I don`t know why your amazed, I couldn`t get $1.99 for a RED DRAGON the other day sealed and brand new. there is little or no market, only for very recent stuff, most people now just rent from netflick or blockbuster by mail or make thier own bootlegs. also most of the advanced collectors have moved on to hd-dvds or blu-ray by now. why do you think deepdiscountdvd changed their name?

I contact the seller on almost every DVD I buy from EBay or Half.com. I always need to be 100% clear that the item they are selling is not a (1) Bootleg (2) Previous Rental (3) Import (4) the correct edition I am looking for, like widescreen, 2 disc set, etc. I also never buy from anyone who has feedback dipping near the 99.0 mark.

Most sellers are happy to answer your questions.

Really? Exactly how do you contact a half.com seller?

It used to be much easier when they actually gave you the option of asking a question through Half, but now I just have to go through the CONTACT MEMBER link via the seller's feedback. Then I just say, "I had a question about such and such dvd you had available on Half.com". A few more clicks, but it works pretty well.

Basically, know what you're shopping for. Research the DVD on a site you know to be reputable (Amazon, etc.) first and then check the auction's description against that information. Use Toolhaus.org to see the seller's feedback history. If I'm still skeptical I'll quiz the seller about the DVD: "Does it have a director's commentary?", etc.

Also, if the disc has long been OOP or a rare title then you can be reasonably certain that it will be bootleg.

To add to the other excellent suggestions - if the movie is a major title and they're telling you that it's region free, it's a bootleg.

I've done a lot of purchasing of DVD's on eBay, and I've found that it's like anything else - the more you work on becoming an informed consumer, the less chance that you'll have a problem. Asking questions here at DVDTalk is a great step in becoming informed.

And look at the seller's other auctions. If he has the same movie listed five times, there's a decent chance it's a bootleg.

Personally, if the seller doesn't mention in his auction specifically that the DVD is not a bootleg, I'll ask. If he ignores my question, I have my answer.

Some other tips for DVD purchases on eBay :

1 - Check what other titles the seller has listed - are they all recent releases ??- and do they all have the same 'starting price' ?? - this is a pretty good sign of something strange.

2 - DO NOT TRUST feedback !! IMO the eBay feedback system SUCKS. That there are sellers who are selling 'copy' DVDs and that the feedback system 'rewards' them by getting rid of 'negative comments' via the stupid 'mutual' removal of comments is IMO a joke ('You 'negative me' - and I'll 'negative' you is ridiculous !!). READ comments - even the neutral ones. I have seen many comments about copy dvds simply 'hidden' in the feeback.

3 - Feedback that is PRIVATE. I don't trust any seller with 'private' feedback

4 - Payment by DIRECT DEPOSIT - no PayPal. You have limited ability to get your money back if by direct bank deposit.

5 - Postage - is the post charge outrageous or over the top ?? Some charge prices which aren't reasonable given local postage prices for your country.


I've recently written to eBay Aust about several instances of sellers 'selling' pirate or copies on their site. Their online Customer Service is less than desirable - and after several emails back and forth about several sellers - I've come to the conclusion that they dont seem to really care about this trading. Sellers which I have pointed out that sell 'copys' from Asian continue to put more items up for bidding.