CD reseals are now the norm

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Julian Hadley, Nov 2, 2020.

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  1. Julian Hadley

    Julian Hadley New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pontypridd
    As someone who has been collecting CDs since they first arrived in the 1980s I am fanatical about my collection but this last few years the problem of dishonest sellers claiming items as new has been increasing.I am now at the point were every seller in Europe seems to be passing off resealed/reconditioned CDs as new,most worrying of all Amazon themselves are doing it for pretty much every cd I buy that was released over 6 months ago.I'm not sure how this is legal or even why it happens.Are all sellers buying up thousands of used cds and reconditioning them themselves or are they all buying from the same third party seller maybe not even realising what they are buying?You would expect a business the size of Amazon to only buy direct from the record labels themselves.In fact the only business in the UK who seems to sell brand new product is HMV but their range isn't the best anymore and their online selection is poor.I know this topic has been discussed here many times but there always used to be the option to not buy from that seller and go elsewhere.I am struggling to find an elsewhere in 2020.Are there any major outlets who sell 100% new CDs in Europe that I might have missed?
     
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  2. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    That’s quite the accusation, can you provide more conclusive proof? Eg photos ect.
     
  3. Julian Hadley

    Julian Hadley New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pontypridd
    Thanks for engaging with my post.There are always 3 easy telltale signs with these resealed cds.The first being the poorer quality cellophane used which usually has a serrated line along the sealed spine and the second being scuff/buff marks on the actual cd surface.Both of these are very tricky to capture on a camera phone but I'm sure will be familiar to many who have had this problem.The third and easiest to detect is the old "stud" marks in booklets which are visible when a cd has had it's case replaced with the now more common raised bar detail to hold the booklet in place.

    [​IMG]Of the 9 cds I have bought from Amazon UK ,not their 3rd party matketplace sellers,in the last week only 2 have been genuine original factory seals.I have no reason to makes false claims about this,merely to see if any other collectors had a go to retailer that never sold these reconditioned items described as being new.
     
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  4. rjh_54

    rjh_54 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    CT, USA
    This has been an ongoing issue with third party sellers on Amazon for years. Whenever confronted about it, most of the sellers claim not to know anything about it, and it's about 50/50 whether they will immediately offer a refund or ask for photos.

    I see this problem becoming more of an issue. Unfortunately it will become harder to prove that the discs are resealed considering less and less studios are releasing albums with the white security seals at the top. In fact, I think most major labels have officially stopped with that. It's sad because more and more third party sellers will get away with pawning off resealed / rebuffed discs.
     
  5. boiledbeans

    boiledbeans Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I spotted this problem 5 years ago, and posted this:
    Resealed CDs Sold as New on Amazon UK (and other places)

    Note that the photos are 5 years old. Today's reseals no longer look exactly like the photos there.

    As you mentioned, the "stud" marks are the easiest way to spot them, as the replaced jewel cases usually have a vertical "stopper" instead of the older "stud" design.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2020
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  6. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Here's a worse story: I ordered a 4-disc bluray set from Best Buy. What I received had the paper card for the right title but a metal box for a different movie. I called Best Buy to explain the situation and ask for a replacement; I didn't even open the cellophane since I assumed the disc in it would match the metal box, not what I ordered. I'll spare you all of the other horrid details (Best Buy seemingly has the worst customer service), but just a couple of days ago (over a month after I returned the first mismatched set) I received an email from them that they were rejecting my return because I tampered with it and the disc inside did not match what I ordered. (I ended up ordering what I wanted from Target since Best Buy sent a completely different item -- something I had already ordered and received -- in their "replacement" shipment.)
     
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  7. elgreco

    elgreco Groove Meister

    Yes, resealed CDs appear to be the norm nowadays. Because of COVID, over the last few months I ordered more CDs than I did in the last few years, and it seems that the majority of my newly ordered disc appear to be re-sealed, no matter where I ordered them from. Be it Amazon, Dodax, Wow HD or some smaller European vendors. Admittedly, there re-seals usually are easy to spot, especially is you take into account the tell-tale signs that boiledbeans describes in his linked thread above. Apart from the obvious signs it was the first time that I encountered some Amazon-sent CDs that had the 'Import Fono CD' hologram sticker om the back of the jewel case.

    The stamp also shows the SIAE moniker, which to my knowledge is the Italian equivalent of the RIAA. Which makes me think that many of these may actually be re-sealed in Italy. That's remarkable, because, as others have stated, many EU discs, esp. from way back in the past, did not come sealed from the manufacturer at all, except when they are from Italy. Even now, Ebay and Discogs show listings of many truly sealed discs, esp. from Warner/Atlantic and associated labels from the 80s and 90s being offered by an Italian vendor.
    Maybe Italians are more used to original 90s discs coming sealed than inhabitants of other EU countries? I don't really know what to think of this, but it makes me wonder if some companies higher up in the chain are making a shady business out of this.

    I have to admit though, that most of the discs that I received are in pretty good shape, usually EX to MN. I have yet to encounter a re-sealed disc that turns out to be actually VG+ or less. So it's not like they re-seal any disc that they can get hold of.
     
    boiledbeans likes this.
  8. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I worked at a store that would reseal. I hated it. The worst was watching that blow dryer ruin dvd cases. Luckily, I'm out of that joint.
     
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