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Don't buy dvd's on Ebay without checking the feedback first! (1 Viewer)

NathanP

Supporting Actor
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Aug 13, 2001
Messages
841
Alot of you guys may know this but I'll warn people..
Also, this is not meant to offend our Asian friends
smile.gif

I was reading a thing in this months issue of Home Theater Magazine on how it's so easy to duplicate DVD's in Asia..
Well, I was thinking " Boy, people in Asia are sure selling dvd's for dirt cheap on ebay.."
So I decided to look at feedback for major Asian dvd sellers on Ebay, nearly all sellers based in Asia have MUCHO negative feedback for selling "Duplicates", "Not Original", "Terrible Quality" dvd's on Ebay..
Well, that hit the nail on the head. Make sure you always read feedback before buying!
And check this months issue of HTM!
Nathan
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"Um, ER, uh, No, it's not a bedroom HT, I just love it so much, I sleep in it."
"Okay look, the St. Louis Rams rule, everyone else sucks, so sit down and shutup!"
 

James Nguyen

Second Unit
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Jul 30, 2001
Messages
295
First off, I must say I'm feeling quite indignant by your post. It makes the assumption that any Asia based DVD sale is a bootleg or illegal in some form or fashion. I know your intent is not to offend, but your wording still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Secondly though, I do agree with you to *some* extent. On any EBay auction, it's basically caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. Regardless if you're buying a DVD from someone in HK, Oklahoma, or Mars, if they have a history of negative feedback, well, don't buy from them! Do your homework. If someone's claiming to be selling a DD 5.1/DTS anamorphic Region 0 release of Indiana Jones, well, shit, you SHOULD realize that something's not kosher there.
That said however, I've bought plenty of quality, legit DVDs from EBay auctions based in Japan, HK, Singapore, and Korea. Your comments grossly generalize and misrepresent the quality that some sellers provide to fans of Asian cinema like myself.
ADD:
Sure, it is known that some parts of Asia are swimming in bootlegs and illegal VCD to DVD transfers. But your statements simply discount the fact that there are tons of legit and excellent quality releases coming from Asia now that rival (and surpass) the quality of releases from the major Hollywood studios.
[Edited last by James Nguyen on October 18, 2001 at 09:41 AM]
 

Moe Maishlish

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 30, 1999
Messages
992
Moderator,
Could you please change the topic of this thread to something more appropriate?
Regards,
Moe.
 

DavidY

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 19, 1999
Messages
510
Ditto on the above two posts. Such generalizations are not appreciated.
Dave
 

Jonathan Perregaux

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Real Name
Jonathan Perregaux
Topic renamed, deleted, balled-up, deleted from the nightly back-up tapes, erased from the memory of all who saw it, and backed up into time and eradicated from the time-line.
Also, never buy another DVD from those pesky Antarcticans, either.
[Edited last by Jonathan Perregaux on October 18, 2001 at 09:37 AM]
 

Eugene Hsieh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
550
Asian bootlegs are a well-known phenomenon. In fact they far outnumber "real" DVDs in many areas. This is no big discovery.
Did you get burned? Remember feedback is there for a purpose and I would never buy anything without reading it first. (In fact I don't buy anything from ebay ever anyway but that's my personal preference only.)
------------------
Eugene Hsieh, VisorCentral FAQ Editor
1000 km on a tank of gas??? Check out the Prius and drive the future now!
Check out my switched Dual Boot DVD Player Hack.
 

george kaplan

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Mar 14, 2001
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13,063
How about
"Be careful when buying dvds on ebay from sellers in Asia"
Your title is akin to my getting burned when buying a R4 disc from Australia that I can't play in R1, so I post "Don't buy dvds from White guys on Ebay!"
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001
 

Peter Kim

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Messages
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NathanP,
I've usually enjoyed your posts...I know you've meant no ill-will toward Asians, and I can see some merit to your subject.
But, keeping in mind the topic header is the 'headlight' for any discussion here in HTF, you could have been less inflammatory.
By looking at the topic alone, I cringed. I am Korean and sell/buy on Ebay. I have nary a negative feedback. You exclamation cries out that everyone should steer away from Asian sellers.
Upon reading your topic, I saw your real intent (and that your topic did not accurately reflect your argument). Buyers should review the feedback on all sellers, regardless of their origin. I agree that there may be a higher propensity in the Asian community (member originating in Asia) to sell bootlegs. I could be wrong...but I believe the culture of counterfeiting is not so branded in Asia as it is here in America.
Anyway, thanks for the tickle...
 

PatrickM

Screenwriter
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Okay, that has to be the worst subject line ever! Hope it gets deleted soon.
icon13.gif

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My DVD Collection
Patrick The 69th most popular name for boys according to the Social Security Administration.
 

Cees Alons

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Cees Alons
Header edited by moderator. No further explanation necessary.
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images_cees2.jpg
 

MikeSerrano

Second Unit
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Dec 7, 1999
Messages
355
Thanks to the Mod that changed the topic header. (EDIT: before I posted there was not Mod note--thanks Cees).
I think it was simply a case of poor word choice and was not meant in the way that most of us took it.
-Mike
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God Bless America--and all people who stand for freedom.
patriot.gif

[Edited last by MikeSerrano on October 18, 2001 at 10:09 AM]
 

NathanP

Supporting Actor
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Aug 13, 2001
Messages
841
Guys, Guys, it's a title not the end of the world
smile.gif

------------------
"Um, ER, uh, No, it's not a bedroom HT, I just love it so much, I sleep in it."
"Okay look, the St. Louis Rams rule, everyone else sucks, so sit down and shutup!"
 

James D S

Screenwriter
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Nov 14, 2000
Messages
1,000
I could be wrong...but I believe the culture of counterfeiting is not so branded in Asia as it is here in America.
You would be wrong.
While Nathan could have worded it differently for sensitive ears, what he says is common sense and a smart strategy for doing business on eBay.
 

Chris Xolotl

Second Unit
Joined
Jun 28, 2001
Messages
482
", nearly all sellers based in Asia have MUCHO negative feedback for selling "Duplicates", "Not Original", "Terrible Quality" dvd's on Ebay"
I bet you I can list at least 20 Asian Sellers that do not have one bootleg in their auctions!
I can give you a list of at least 20 active Asian Sellers that are.
Caveat Emptor.
If you feel the need to be the E-Bay police; if you seen an auction with bootlegs all you need to do is do this:
Link Removed
 

NathanP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Messages
841
Caveat Emptor
Is that Latin or something? Link Removed
I was just trying to point out that it is MUCH easier to make illegal copies in Asia than anywhere else..
Look at this months HTM, you'll see!
Nathan
------------------
"Um, ER, uh, No, it's not a bedroom HT, I just love it so much, I sleep in it."
"Okay look, the St. Louis Rams rule, everyone else sucks, so sit down and shutup!"
 

Peter Kim

Screenwriter
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Jun 18, 2001
Messages
1,577
James D S,
I have no idea what you're talking about...I Agree with Nathan. Because counterfeiting is much more widespread in Asia than in the U.S., buyers should be much more vigilant in checking out the sellers background. Regardless of where they're from.
That is why I said counterfeiting is not that branded (negative connotation) in Asia as it is here. And since it's not looked upon as a scourge, it is much more prolific.
[Edited last by Peter Kim on October 18, 2001 at 02:52 PM]
 

James Nguyen

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 30, 2001
Messages
295
Peter,
my reference is to the fact there is an increasingly large amount of films in the region that are legitimate DVDs produced by Asian studios. These typically are Asian films and not Asian releases of American/Hollywood films.
Companies like Bitwin, Tai Seng, Media Asia, Universe, Spectrum, Mei Ah and others all put out legitimate releases of Asian film onto DVD---and the quality of their releases keep getting better over time IMO.
Do I disagree that there is not a rampant counterfeit problem in Asia? Of course not. I've visited and I recognize that it is an issue. My point was to address the fact that there is more and more quality, legitimate work coming from the area as well; releases that should be supported by consumers to encourage additional efforts by these studios. Also, I disagree with the notion that DVDs are "easier" to counterfeit in Asia...the technology to do so is relatively available anywhere in the world. Asia just happens to be more lax with selling the items in public.
Two recent additions to my collection really illustrate to me at least the quality of discs coming out of Asia. Bichunmoo from Spectrum came as a 2 disc set, DTS and DD 5.1 soundtracks, anamorphic video transfer, commentry tracks, deleted scenes, making of shorts, and an overall excellent picture and audio presentation.
Shiri fom Bitwin equally impressed. The packaging was of extremely high quality, including booklets that discussed the various guns shown in the film, the various fish alluded to in the film (the movie uses goldfish for quite a few metaphors). The presentation itself was excellent, great video, great DTS and DD 5.1 soundtracks, again, 2 disc set chock full of extras, anamorphic presentation, well translated subtitles.
Japanese R2 DVDs are often of impeccable quality as well--Sixth Sense for example has a full bit DTS track.
Sure, excellent releases like this are more the exception rather than the norm right now, but there's no denying that there are excellent quality releases available.
As I said before, caveat emptor (Nick, Latin for let the buyer beware)...be rational when deciding what to purchase. If it seems to good to be true, than it probably is. Just don't let the quantities of counterfeits obscure your ability to recognize quality, you may just miss out on some great stuff.
 

Ryan Wright

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Messages
1,875
I agree with Nathan.
&ltrant&gt
This whole "Stop generalizing, stop judging, I'm offended" stuff has got to end. I didn't see the original title of this thread (did it say don't buy from any Asians, or don't buy from ASIA? Big difference), but regardless, we must generalize.
FACT: Buying a DVD from an outfit in Asia carries a higher risk of it being a bootleg than buying from an outfit in the US. Bootlegging is rampant in certain parts of the world and has been for decades - this is nothing new, people. Why, then, do we cry "I'm offended" when someone states this fact? Nobody seriously thinks all Asia-based sellers are selling bootlegs - there is no need to clarify that point nor get offended because you believe someone implied it. Certainly, however, a larger percentage of sellers in Asia are selling bootlegs as compared to US sellers. You need to be more careful when buying from sellers based in specific places on the globe, and Asia is one of them. Yes, this is judging and it is generalizing, but it is not a bad thing. It's just a fact of life.
Guess what, if you see a tricked-out Honda, you can bet the driver is Asian. If you see a Corvette, you can bet the driver is white. Am I implying that white people can't/don't drive modified Hondas or Asians somehow can't own a vette? Of course not. So don't take it that way.
&lt/rant&gt
Man, I wish people weren't so damn easily offended...
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-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
 

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