How To Tell If Your Beatles Stereo Box Is A Fake

At first I thought that was a joke, that the fake set was printed backwards. But they both were.

 

The mono discs I just received wouldn't even play on my home stereo, but Revolver played in the car, albeit after a delay of some sort. It sounded pretty decent to my ears, but the real thing probably sounded even better. Anyway, they're on their way back where they came from.

If there is a gap in the cellophane you can put your nose to it and easily smell the phony ink. I knew it was a fake as soon as it arrived.

 

Are you the guy in the video? He talked about the smell of the ink, too.

 

No, not me, but the box I received was JUST like his, and having seen his video the night before mine arrived, I knew what to expect when I openend the box. The smell is unmistakable. It's a dead giveaway.

 

Did you buy yours on Ebay?

 

Yes.

 

If I may ask, who was the seller?

 

theredcarpetmedia

 

If you look at what that seller has been selling, it's mostly expensive sealed DVD sets that are known to have been widely counterfeited...Something smells bad...

 

It's not numbered?

No it isn't. Not limited either. I was being facetious.

 

So I've just received my mono box, and it's an obvious fake - I knew it the second I looked at it. The black border on the front is off; no FBI seal on the back, and the box itself is shoddy quality. The inner case was upside-down; the individual albums are haphazardly placed in there; crappy glue seams galore, and the weird stink of crappy ink. And just in case it couldn't get worse, the seller is no longer registered on ebay, but the douche had communicated with me via his personal email. What are my options?

 

File a claim with eBay. Maybe Paypal can reimburse you somehow.

 

If you purchased through eBay and paid through PayPal, through a payment request via eBay/PayPal, I think you're protected--although you will have to convince them the item is counterfeit.

 

I filed a claim; everything had been done through Ebay. The guy originally wanted me to pay directly through paypal but I refused; he offered to cancel the transaction and set up a new one so we could go through Ebay, which he did, but he never cancelled the first transaction and then disappeared.

I do have what appears to be a genuine Hard Day's Night. The differences are not at all subtle. The counterfeit ones really are pieces of s**t. I'll take some photos and post them. I've also found a blog showing in great detail opening a new box. I wouldn't think it would be hard to convince the powers that be; I would also think that they've had many of such complaints. I'll report what happens.

 

Yeah, it's so obvious it's sad. Even an average Joe consumer would have to suspect something fishy. The discs in the box I got didn't even play in my stereo. The whole package was a sad joke. You could smell the ink stench before the plastic was even off.

If someone wasn't sure, just simply put a small slit in the plastic and take a good whiff. Smells like a teabag from India or something. Very distinct. The sleeve printing is not convincing. Poor reproductions. Lame glue. The baggies the CDs are in are as thin as tissue paper. The box itself lacks the weight of a legit copy.

The waters are contaminated, people. Tread with caution.

 

It's not just The Beatles either. I noticed some cheap Floyd boxset on ebay too.

I bummed out about all this. I was hoping to snag a reasonably priced (well for my wallet) stereo Beatles set and a Floyd set but ebay, UK at least, is just full on "new and sealed" cheap sets. I keep looking out for a used one but even that won't be full proof since it could be a chinese knock off being sold as used.

Eddie

 

I hear you. I intentionally waited on a mono box because I knew the market was flooded with them and that a price drop was inevitable. Now there's no way of telling until it's too late.

Maybe Amazon will have a crazy sale someday.

 

Let's look at the silver lining on all of this. The glut of fakes out there are going to SAVE the record store as we know it! People will develop such a fear over buying over the Internet that they will go back to buying at Brick & Mortar stores.

Well, maybe not. Just trying to stay positive.

 

Sad but true

 

I recently bought a Mono Box from a large recordstore in Sweden with IFPI 4011 and this should also be a real one. It looks like real at least.

 

Has anybody been able to confirm or deny if the Stereo and Mono fakes are digitally identical to the real thing?

 

I think the real discs sounded a bit better. I didn't A/B them at the same time, this is several weeks apart. I only played the fake Revolver once. It was okay, but not quite right. A little irritating to my ear, digital-ish, whereas the real ones are buttery smooth.

Also, the fake ones would not play on some of my equipment. Only worked in the car.

 

I just discovered that a copy of the stereo box I purchased on ebay last December is a fake. I never would have known this if not for reading it on this thread. The thing is, I never opened the box. Like so many others I was keeping it as my back up copy. When I got it on ebay I thought I got a steal. I've been had. Of course, ebay won't do anything about it. They said try to work it out with the seller and if he won't do anything you can report him to our Trust & Safety Dept. YADA, YADA, YADA. I sent the seller a message, but it is unlikely he will respond. I guess I'm out $105 plus postage. Good have been a lot worse. Another lesson learned. I feel like I have to go through everything I ever purchased on ebay to see if there is anything else in my collection that is fake. I have to check to see if I paid for it with a credit card. Does anyone know how this works if you paid with a credit card through PayPal?

 

You have a specified amount of time to make a claim with eBay or PayPal. After that, your only recourse is either to make a claim with your credit card company (which can get you tossed off of PayPal, although is frequently successful) or else to contact the local law enforcement authorities where the seller lives. (That sometimes can be surprisingly effective).

If the same seller is still selling counterfeits, but another and immediately file a claim on that one. At least you can warn anyone else and potentially get them thrown off eBay.

 

OK.. we have verification that they are digitally identical. Do they have the multimedia content when you put them in your computer?