What is it with Russian Federation listings on Discogs?

Every record I want is always available from Russian Federation. Is this a hub of counterfeits?

 

Of course

 

They have an infrastructure for bootlegging western music that dates back to the Cold War and their 2nd World status. I would avoid Russia unless you have assurances of authenticity.

 

Some of their sellers are the real deal though too. I know because I've purchased from some legit sellers. You just have to be discerning and knowledgeable. You really can't use such a broad paintbrush in this scenario.

 

That's what happens when you love Russian music.

 

I bought a 2014 mono A Hard Day's Night from a Russian seller...a completely legitimate Optimal pressing. Some of the Russians on Discogs have good reputations.

 

No, I'd put it this way. I would assume all rare CDs from Russia are counterfeits. There are exceptions, but not a huge number.

 

The OP mentioned records, I would think anyone familiar with vinyl could spot a counterfeit lp, considering all the well-documented identifying matrix #s etc.

 

Russia hasn't been mass producing vinyl for quite a long time, although they certainly produced a lot of counterfeit vinyl back in the late 80's - early 90's... BUT those were never replicas of the real thing. All their bootlegs were very distinctive in terms of packaging (with often altered artwork), labels etc., and I've never seen them being sold as something they are not

 

I bought a couple of sealed Beatles 2014 monos from Russian seller here and they were just fine. I was glad to have found them as they were already hard to find. Discogs I don't know, but I'm not sure all the bootlegging talk is relevant now as it may have been decades ago. Russians have more disposible income now, there are not just a few Russian audiophiles who are fans of some very upscale audio gear, knowledgable of all kinds of the genres SH members have been fanatic about for years and years, etc., so I agree about the broad paintbrush and question its usefulness here.

 

I buy counterfeit CDs from Russia if they are OOP and unavailable used elsewhere. Maybe the record companies should keep stuff in print or do runs every once in a while.

 

If you go on ebay, there are Russian sellers selling DAT tapes, MiniDiscs, cassettes with music on them, as promos, rarities or limited releases. These look like home made, but I guess there are no copyright laws over there.

 

I wonder if there are counterfeit versions of the Beatles VINYL Mono Box? I know the CD version had fake copies floating around.

 

there are not

AFAIK those had nothing to do with Russia and were often described as "Chinese replicas"...

 

Thanks for the info

 

Got a minty kill em all metallica from a good guy in russia years ago,took 3 months to get it though but a legit american pressing creeping death.

 

I avoid records from Russia and Greece. Records from the UK or Italy are usually over rated trash.

 

I bought some rare Japanese pressings from Russia, all checked out fine. But in general I avoid buying there due to high shipping costs, uncertainty of condition and overall high prices. Never seen fake LP there. Counterfeit CDs are abound and very hard to distinguish, but I am not collecting them.
Records from UK are almost universally overgraded, but for some bands I simply have no choice.... Sticking to NM- and hoping for the best.

 

The grading standard across the pond is much lower than the US. Like a lot lower. Even Jamaican's have a better higher grading standard in my experience.

And I have never bought anything from Russia (knowingly anyhow).

 

I rarely have issues with German sellers.

 

I have had some but much better overall experience. I usually only buy if it's listed as NM and being sold at a VG or VG+ price and that's helped curb expectations and disappointments. Always try to get pictures also, although that doesn't always tell the story. US sellers guilty of this too.

 

Utter nonsense, I’ve had more problems with poor US sellers than UK ones.

 

Actually, I’ve had good luck with German sellers. For me, American sellers have been pretty good especially on eBay. Perhaps the fact that I can drive to their doorstep has something to do with it. Sorry, but nearly half of the records I got from the U.K. have been graded poorly.

 

You’re lucky!