What can we do about Ebay sellers that sell counterfeit CD's

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by audiofiles, Jun 24, 2009.

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  1. sshd

    sshd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    There will always be fakes when money is involved. Being able to identify a fake is an interesting part of a collector's life.

    At some point fakes might even be catalogged and be collectables themselves. This has happened with stamps.
     
  2. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    I've reported several obvious fakes to eBay over the years. By obvious, these were auctions with the discs visible and were well-documented fakes (e.g., Abbey Road black-triangle CD). In each case, eBay did nothing. I got an automated reply from eBay thanking me for reporting the issue and stating that they would review the matter. That's it. Never was an auction pulled. Again, these auctions involved obvious fakes, and I provided details of how I knew they were fakes with links showing the authentic discs. Still, they did nothing. They certainly are not going to pull auctions for mini-LP CDs that look real just because the seller is from Latvia.
     
  3. audiofiles

    audiofiles New Member Thread Starter

    However it can be a headache for people buying CD's over the internet whereas in a shop you can inspect it more carefully.
     
  4. That some people observe a wrong and do whatever is possible to correct that wrong is fine with me. I hope more people get fed up with counterfeit CD's and DVD's and do something. It isn't an issue as important as many other issues, but that doesn't mean it should be ignored by everybody. I ignore it and also ignore more important issues that don't affect me directly but I am not going to suggest that is the proper way to look at this problem or any problem. I don't collect rare CD's or LP's or stamps or any other expensive item that might be counterfeit but I do purchase many CD's and DVD's and have been stuck with inexpensive counterfeits and that is annoying enough.

    Chris
     
  5. audiofiles

    audiofiles New Member Thread Starter

    I think if the one seller gets reported by three seperate members then they may do something.
    I love your website by the way. It's a great resource.
     
  6. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    These websites have little incentive to pull auctions. They make money when things sell, and if the BUYERS in those auctions aren't complaining (and creating hassles/chargebacks), then they are happy.

    Heck, even Amazon has bootleg/counterfeits listed on occasion and they are slow to even pull them. (E.g. Beatles Let it Be DVD).

    I would guess that perhaps the most effective way to shut these guys down would be to buy from them and THEN raise a stink--repeatedly. But that would require being able to 100% prove that the item they sold was bogus. Not to mention it would take a lot of your time.
     
  7. audiofiles

    audiofiles New Member Thread Starter

    It would also probably raise some alarms at paypal doing this. They would probably suspect someone who does this to be a scammer. How do you prove it? Ebay employs many morons who couldn't tell their noses from their mouths let alone whether something is fake. You know the record companies could hire collector's like us to buy CD's off suspect sellers and when the items bought were proven to be fakes, they could take these guys to the cleaners. I think they should have some kind of task force dedicated to this. They could recoup a lot of cash and possibly increase their sales as a result.
     
  8. phish

    phish Jack Your Body

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS, USA
    this is a pretty amazing thread.
     
  9. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley...

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Here, here very well said. I think some people on the forum really do have that "reds under the bed" viewpoint unfortunately. I've had some excellent dealings with many people from the "Eastern Bloc" and every time they have been polite, and have always paid up straight away with no hassle. I can't say that for every western buyer, that's for sure.
     
  10. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley...

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I also bought a triple U2 DVD recently off eBay (from a UK seller not the evil communist mafia so don't panic!!) that I knew was unofficial. It's great - 4 hours + of live cuts that I can't get myself in a store! Real nice job on the sleeve too. Not everyone is being ripped off. Its not pretending to be anything that is actually available elsewhere, but just something that a fan has put together for others to enjoy. Only cost me a tenner so good luck to him. I'm happy to pay him for his DIY enterprise :)
     
  11. mark f.

    mark f. Senior Member

    Can we get some proof of the devaluing of original copies of these CDs? For all of my life, I've not found that to be true and when I buy I always pay full price (see the actual prices on the 3 CD Japanese Wings Over America mini-LP for instance compared to the apparent knock-off version).

    By the way, there is a Japanese seller who is working to identify knock-offs. He buys them and then puts them up for auction at high prices so that people read about them. He doesn't indentify sellers (that I remember) but he does point out what makes the CDs fakes. I'm not sure the tactic is necessarily right or fair but he is putting his money where his mouth is.

    Also, so everyone is aware Amazon also has sellers with Russian copies of mini-LPs. These items are not exclusive to eBay. I also started seeing them at record shows last time I went to one.
     
  12. Andreas

    Andreas Senior Member

    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Self-appointed policemen are detrimental to society.
     
  13. audiofiles

    audiofiles New Member Thread Starter

    What are you talking about? :laugh:
    Just because I started this thread, doesn't mean I have appointed my self as a cop. The last thing I would want to be is a cop.
     
  14. Mike the Fish

    Mike the Fish SeƱor Member

    Location:
    England
    My experience of ebay UK is that in terms of reporting bootlegs/pirates they generally do nothing at all. What sometimes seems to do something is if you report ebay/the seller to a higher body - in the UK it's MCPS in the US I don't know - RIAA? For all the fuss ebay has made in the past about not allowing pirated/bootleg material it seems they are actually quite happy to sell it.
     
  15. mrlefty

    mrlefty Forum Resident

    Location:
    Coleman, TX
    I was seriously considering the purchase of "Pantera - Power Metal" - an OOP CD that had a VERY limited release through Metal Magic records in 1988.

    Here is the seller, based out of the US, with 100% positive feedback.
    http://myworld.ebay.com/investco-global/

    I sent him a message asking if the disc was a factory pressing or a CD-R. This is the reply I got:

    "Factory Pressed Metal Magic Release. CD-r sales are illegal. Look at our feedback. Thanks for emailing."

    I hesitated and didn't pick it up - this time. If it is a factory pressed pirate copy, I might be willing to live with it and play dumb. But if I received a CD-R, it would be Paypal dispute time.
     
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