Dvd's on Ebay? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Reckelhoff]

Possibly a stupid question, but how do ebay sellers make money selling sealed, brand new dvds for way below list? For example, I'd love to buy the Star Trek:TNG season sets for $75 that they seem to be going for, but I have to wonder if there's a catch?

kevin

 

[Rob Lutter]

Just remember... if it is too good to be true, it probably is I only buy from people on eBAY if their feedback is over 250 (with very few negatives). If others are satisfied, there is a good chance you can get a good deal

 

[MikeEckman]

Alot of people who do it are actually selling bootlegs. If you ever want to bid on a DVD on ebay and its a movie made by a major studio, make sure it is Region 1 (or some region), but if you see a movie listed as Region 0 or All Regions, then more than likely its a bootleg.

The other way these people get these things for so cheap is to buy them from Columbia House and sell them for a profit. I regularly post over at DVDTalk and they have a very good DVD Clubs forum and they detail how to get any movie you want for around $9 shipped.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Or they stole them from their local brick & mortar store and are turning a profit on their ill-gotten booty. Buyer beware.

 

[David Lambert]

Or they "fell off the truck". I wonder how many of these eBay sellers work in freight company-type jobs?

 

[Dave_P.]

Yeah, beware. I thought I got a great deal on the currently OOP Goldeneye DVD for $25. As soon as I got and saw the DTS logo on the cover I knew I just got ripped.

 

[Thik Nongyow]

Rob,

I would be careful for sellers who have high feedback ratings. I noticed that some of them sell DVD bootlegs out from Asia.

To everyone:

Remember to buy DVDs from North America or Western Europe. Do not buy them from elsewhere as one does not know whether the DVDs are legitimate or bootlegs.

 

[Daniel Mai]

You never know. I bought Goldeneye from a guy from Los Angeles and the it was a bootleg sent from Singapore. So they might have a set up here, but it's a bootleg shipping from Asia.

 

[streeter]

Thik: Regarding Western Europe and North America - true, but did you know that Italy is the third-ranked country (excluding the US) for bootlegs? Number one is Russia, then China, then Italy. Germany ranks pretty high as well.

I got this information from the 2002 VSDA Annual Report.

 

[John_Berger]

I just recently was talking with one seller who claimed that they were selling GENUINE "Star Wars" Trilogy DVDs. She even has in her description that they were "NOT BOOTLEGS". (Red flags went up like crazy at that point.)
I checked her previously sold items, and none of them were DVD related, so I guessed that she either got duped or was going into a new line of work.
I would have let it go, but this person was from Canada, not Asia.
Just to be a smart ass, I asked how they could be genuine when Lucas has never authorized the movies to be done on DVD and how as a member of HTF if they ever were released on DVD, we'd all know about it. When I was challenged with "my supplier in Asia says their genuine", I gave her links to the various DVD sites that talk about the bootlegs. Her response was one of "Oh. I wasn't aware of that since others sell the DVDs, too."
I don't know if she was just feeding me a line or not, but it is more proof of "caveat emptor". She also asked how to be a member of HTF, so maybe there's a silver lining to her bootleg cloud.
A lot of the VCDs from Asia are bootlegs, too, so be careful on those as well. I bought a set of 15 Tom and Jerry VCDs thinking that they were genuine since VCDs are still popular in Asia. Makes sense, right? Silly me. Fortunately, the last four VCDs are loaded with Cinemascope, 2.35:1 widescreen episodes, so I can't feel too badly.

 

[Dmitry]

I've sold a few brand-new shrink-wrapped DVDs below list just because it was a dup I got as a present or I had some promotional certificate that reduced my cost to $5, so selling it for $15 seemed like a good idea But as others have pointed out you have to be careful when you're buying. I personally only buy from people who accept Paypal or eBay Payments in hope of getting outside help in resolving issues should they arise.

 

[Thik Nongyow]

I am surprised about Italy, but even more surprised about Germany. I do not understand how these two countries can be major producers of bootlegged material. I also wonder what the European Union is doing about this.

 

[Dan Kaplan]

I've bought a few DVDs (and most all of my A/V equipment) through eBay and have only had one bad experience -- a clear import that looked like a bootleg, but the seller willingly returned it and refunded shipping expenses. The main thing to look for, in my opinion, is that it is labeled as being Region 1. Some sellers don't realize "All Regions" is not the same as "Made for North American players." :frowning:
Dan

 

[BradG]

Well,
If we use your example of $75 for a STTNG set...I live in Canada, and I can get the set when it comes out for about $110 Cdn - that equates to about $70 US. I can actually make a small profit selling the set.

Of course, I would have to do big time volume and I can't be bothered...but even if I can sell 10 sets quickly, there is $50 US made right there, never mind if I can gain a little on shipping and handling too.

Theoretically, a little profit can be made without too much hassle, but if you're looking for large profits, it would be too time consuming.

Brad.

 

[Sebastian_A]

Germany and BOOTLEGS? I don't think so! There is ASIA, yes, but here, we don't see any at all!!! Neither at B&Ms nor online, there just is no place for Bootleg DVDs - that's a fact. Italy as well - the European Union is not really the place for bootlegged DVDs.

My advice: buy from whom you think you can trust - at least 90 per cent of the bootleg-peeps are doing it very obviously - like that "genuine 5-star Star Wars" seller up there. Just because a price is good, doesn't mean it's not legit - it's an auction, after all!

Seb

 

[Nick_Scott]

I've bought nearly 100 DVDs from Ebay, and only been burned twice with bootlegs, so I've been pretty lucky. Both sellers refunded me. I think they didn't know what they had.

For those that are interested, here are some tips for DVDs on EBAY.
Try searching for dvds without "dvd" in the title. They always sell for less. (ie harry potter -(dvd)).
Also search in the video-tape section. Lots of people post DVDs there by accident.
Look for DVDs with limited payment options, or incorrect spelling, or missing spaces in the title.
Always check the shipping. Shipping can range from $1.50 to $10
Always use a good sniping program to avoid bid wars.

 

[Dan Kaplan]

Always use a good sniping program to avoid bid wars.

Could you elaborate on that? Do you mean an actual program, or just a system of paying attention to the number of bids before jumping in?

The rest of your advice looks very sound for finding good deals in general.

Dan

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Never buy any anime title that's got Chinese and English subtitles off of Ebay

It's a bootleg 99.9% of the time

 

[Chris Xolotl]

I always use a sniping program especially if the auction ends at inconvenient time or if it's a few days away.

Set it and forget it!

 

[Wes C]

Ive bought about 10 DVD's on EBAY with no problems. Ive also sold 3 when upgrading to new additions. I highly recommend it.