Post by davidf on Jan 22, 2019 16:51:35 GMT
I know we’re all aware that fake vinyl and CDs exist, but I wanted to just bring people’s attention to the fact that it seems more widespread than many of us think, and unfortunately, eBay don’t seem interested, other than to refund the customer.
A family member ordered a mono Beatles CD box set. They usually sell them for about £80, but got this one half price because of a dinged corner. Complete fake. Cover and CD printing lacks contrast and look washed out, postcards in the genuine product aren’t present, the cardboard sleeves are almost thin enough to be paper. And none of the inserts that were included in the genuine product either.
But that’s not really the main main issue here. The main issue is that when you complain to eBay, they get involved and get the seller to refund the buyer, and then feel they’ve done their part. It’s almost like the fact that they’re highly illegal counterfeits doesn’t come into the equation, they just seem to want to keep the buyers happy by giving a refund and the sellers happy by not banning them and continuing to let them trade - after all, they make money out of it, whether it’s a genuine product or not.
The seller has feedback on eBay is just under 200,000. He obviously sells a lot. And that’s scary. That keeps eBay happy though. He claims to buy his stuff from genuine distributors, and attributed this fake product to an “unofficial” Chinese release. Except for the fact the covers and CDs of the genuine AND fake ones all say “made in Japan” and “printed in Japan” on them. Just like the genuine product. In fact, there’s even a listing for the fake one on discogs:
www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-The-Beatles-In-Mono/release/6422229
This “wholesaler” is based in Staffordshire. Chances are most of their products are completely legitimate, but this box set isn’t, and they’re not making this clear when selling the products - this points to ‘intent’, rather than being ‘blissfully unaware’. So while most of this is sold on the internet, be careful with market stalls too, and even anywhere you can buy relatively cheap CDs, or vinyl.
So this is a warning to all who scour ebay for budget music. Hell, I’ve used ebay a lot for CDs over the years. It is worth checking what you’re buying from eBay in Discogs - if it’s released, it’ll be on there. Even the fake ones sometimes. I have an “unofficial” Queens Of The Stone Age vinyl copy of Songs For The Deaf, which is also listed on Discogs. Well worth checking rather than losing £80 on this fake Beatles box set, or even worse, never knowing at all.
This isn’t like taping music off the radio onto cheap cassettes in 1979. Other than the crap we taped, we all ended up buying a vinyl copy or eventually the CD anyway - many times over - this is reproducing an official, original product, and selling it, making money out of unsuspecting buyers, most of whom are not even aware. And not only that, this is also about the portal these scammers use to make their illegitimate money - ebay, and probably other websites that are either turning a blind eye or have no idea what’s going on.
A family member ordered a mono Beatles CD box set. They usually sell them for about £80, but got this one half price because of a dinged corner. Complete fake. Cover and CD printing lacks contrast and look washed out, postcards in the genuine product aren’t present, the cardboard sleeves are almost thin enough to be paper. And none of the inserts that were included in the genuine product either.
But that’s not really the main main issue here. The main issue is that when you complain to eBay, they get involved and get the seller to refund the buyer, and then feel they’ve done their part. It’s almost like the fact that they’re highly illegal counterfeits doesn’t come into the equation, they just seem to want to keep the buyers happy by giving a refund and the sellers happy by not banning them and continuing to let them trade - after all, they make money out of it, whether it’s a genuine product or not.
The seller has feedback on eBay is just under 200,000. He obviously sells a lot. And that’s scary. That keeps eBay happy though. He claims to buy his stuff from genuine distributors, and attributed this fake product to an “unofficial” Chinese release. Except for the fact the covers and CDs of the genuine AND fake ones all say “made in Japan” and “printed in Japan” on them. Just like the genuine product. In fact, there’s even a listing for the fake one on discogs:
www.discogs.com/The-Beatles-The-Beatles-In-Mono/release/6422229
This “wholesaler” is based in Staffordshire. Chances are most of their products are completely legitimate, but this box set isn’t, and they’re not making this clear when selling the products - this points to ‘intent’, rather than being ‘blissfully unaware’. So while most of this is sold on the internet, be careful with market stalls too, and even anywhere you can buy relatively cheap CDs, or vinyl.
So this is a warning to all who scour ebay for budget music. Hell, I’ve used ebay a lot for CDs over the years. It is worth checking what you’re buying from eBay in Discogs - if it’s released, it’ll be on there. Even the fake ones sometimes. I have an “unofficial” Queens Of The Stone Age vinyl copy of Songs For The Deaf, which is also listed on Discogs. Well worth checking rather than losing £80 on this fake Beatles box set, or even worse, never knowing at all.
This isn’t like taping music off the radio onto cheap cassettes in 1979. Other than the crap we taped, we all ended up buying a vinyl copy or eventually the CD anyway - many times over - this is reproducing an official, original product, and selling it, making money out of unsuspecting buyers, most of whom are not even aware. And not only that, this is also about the portal these scammers use to make their illegitimate money - ebay, and probably other websites that are either turning a blind eye or have no idea what’s going on.
