Ebay advice - Friends Boxset

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:42

Right guys my mums birthday is fast approaching so I was on the lookout for a pressie for her. I won an Ebay auction on for the Friends complete series 1-10 boxset on 36 DVD's. Firstly the item description stated clearly that is was "an Asian collectors edition" which had chinese characters on the front. That didn't bother me since it was going for such a good price and it also stated it has the original american soundtracks with english/chinese subtitles that I could turn off. No biggie.

Anyway, the postie arrived this morning with the parcel. However on the back of the box it says "Series 10, episodes 1-10" as shown below.

This obviously has me concerned. On the side of the box however it states 36 DVD's and the box itself looks about the right size for the complete set. Is this just a case of a mistake on the packaging? Considering it is of Asian origin that wouldn't surprise me but I would just like to be sure. The box is sealed so I don't want to open it up to have a look.

So what do you think? Nothing to worry about?

Here's a pic of the front of the box set and yes those are my toes at the bottom of the pic

Brynn · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:45

Email the guy you got it from?

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:47

Brynn said:
Email the guy you got it from?

Sorry I should have said, I have emailed him. He hasn't got back to me yet though. I'm sure it's all fine and is just a case of poor english translation, just wondered what you guys thought.

Matblack · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:48

I'll put money on it being a bootleg.

MB

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:50

Matblack said:
I'll put money on it being a bootleg.

MB

Hmm that thought hadn't crossed my mind to be honest. The box itself is very high quality, it looks fine but then I have little to no experience of "knock off" versions. Just how good are they these days?

It stated on the auction that these are company sealed DVD's. 100% gaurantee of quality, not copies from TV etc but I guess that doesn't mean a thing.

dirtydog · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:52

What is the seller's feedback like - if he has been selling bootlegs then someone will probably have mentioned it in feedback even if they left a positive. I would personally never buy anything that I knew in advance would be an Asian version etc as I would strongly suspect a dodgy copy.

dirtydog · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:54

GordyR said:
Hmm that thought hadn't crossed my mind to be honest. The box itself is very high quality, it looks fine but then I have little to no experience of "knock off" versions. Just how good are they these days?

It stated on the auction that these are company sealed DVD's. 100% gaurantee of quality, not copies from TV etc but I guess that doesn't mean a thing.

High quality packaging isn't a guarantee of authenticity unfortunately. Can you post the auction URL so we can see the seller's feedback and the auction description?

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:55

dirtydog said:
What is the seller's feedback like - if he has been selling bootlegs then someone will probably have mentioned it in feedback even if they left a positive. I would personally never buy anything that I knew in advance would be an Asian version etc as I would strongly suspect a dodgy copy.

He has 100% positive feedback, no mention at all of dodgy copies. I have never purchased anything like this before so I guess I am a little naive as far as bootleg's are concerned.

Here is the link...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9106413652&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

I'm considering just opening it up and checking it out now. To be honest i'm starting to think you guys are right and it's a pirate copy. I feel like an idiot.

gib786 · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:56

im 100% certain its a bootleg. Went to pak last summer, walked into a store which was FULL of pirate dvds, and i mean FULL, stacked left right and centre with good quality dvds, the printing on the box sets was very good but they were all fakes, I saw a similar friends boxset like the one you have pictured there as well, pretty cheap over there, £1.50 a dvd!

Borris · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:57

I'm guessing the quality won't be too bad, but they'll still be compressed to death (to fit onto 1 dvd).

What was the blurb in the item description?

dirtydog · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:59

GordyR said:
He has 100% positive feedback, no mention at all of dodgy copies. I have never purchased anything like this before so I guess I am a little naive as far as bootleg's are concerned.

Here is the link...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9106413652&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

I'm considering just opening it up and checking it out now. To be honest i'm starting to think you guys are right and it's a pirate copy. I feel like an idiot.

My advice for what it's worth, for future reference. Never buy an expensive item off someone with low feedback (which 22 is) and which doesn't have the £500 PayPal guarantee. Also where DVDs are concerned, only buy if there is a photo of the actual item in the description, which in this case there isn't - that would be a red light to me too.

edit - he does mention refunds so don't open it yet and see if he'll give you one.

Matblack · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:59

GordyR said:
He has 100% positive feedback, no mention at all of dodgy copies. I have never purchased anything like this before so I guess I am a little naive as far as bootleg's are concerned.

Here is the link...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9106413652&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

I'm considering just opening it up and checking it out now. To be honest i'm starting to think you guys are right and it's a pirate copy. I feel like an idiot.

Being a boot doesn't mean it will be a rubbish copy, I get a bit anal about these things, much of the anime stuff on Ebay is boots but I prefer orginals, as long as Mum is happy then it doesn't matter. If its just a case of taking the plastic off to check the discs out then I would do it and give them a try, you'll be gift wrapping it anyway and you don't want to give her a duff prezzie

MB

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 10:59

Borris said:
I'm guessing the quality won't be too bad, but they'll still be compressed to death (to fit onto 1 dvd).

What was the blurb in the item description?

They aren't compressed to fit on one DVD. The boxset contains 36 DVD's according to the packaging, so if they are copies I would asume the quality will be perfect. But that isn't the point.

gib786 · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:01

Id advise opening them up to make sure they all work tbh, they copy so many dvds in one run that they never check any to see if they work

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:02

Matblack said:
Being a boot doesn't mean it will be a rubbish copy, I get a bit anal about these things, much of the anime stuff on Ebay is boots but I prefer orginals, as long as Mum is happy then it doesn't matter. If its just a case of taking the plastic off to check the discs out then I would do it and give them a try, you'll be gift wrapping it anyway and you don't want to give her a duff prezzie

MB

Aye you're right MB, it was relatively cheap for what it is so I can't be too dissapointed. If the quality is fine then i'll still go ahead and give them to my mum, she would never know the difference in a million years anyway.

Still... I feel like a bit of a muppet to be honest. I was so enthused by the price and the fact that I knew my mum would love the present that I really didn't pay much attention to the details of the sellers account or indeed the description of the item. Lesson learned I guess.

mcmad · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:03

yup those are bootlegs, as are most cd's & dvd's from Asia, there are not your normal home user bootleg but done in a factory (you've probably heard the term Hong Kong Silvers before, thats what you have).

Dont get to hung up about it mate, mistakes happen, I'm sure the quality will be fine & at the end of the day she will be very happy with them.

dirtydog · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:04

"if it looks too good to be true it probably is"

GordyR · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:11

LOL well i've opened them up.... 100% bootlegs. On the inside sleeve this it what it gives as the description for series 10.

"In an exciting supernatural thriller, Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfieffer play a seemingly happily married couple who uncover a terrible secret.... etc... etc..."

You get the idea. I have tried out a couple of the DVD's and the picture/sound quality is absolutely perfect. They are definately factory produced, the CD labelling is also super high quality. They certainly did a good job, if it wasn't for the mistakes on the packaging I wouldn't be any the wiser.

Anyway, sure I could probably send them back for a refend but in all honesty I know my mum couldn't care less whether they were bootlegs or not so I think i'll still go ahead and give them to her.

We live and learn. Thanks for the advice guys.

Boomstick · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:22

File a complaint on paypal and as they are fakes you will get your money back and if your really lucky paypal will just do it straight away not giving the seller chance to take the item back leaving you with the money and the dvd's

They do exactly the same kinds of fake boxsets for the entire stargate series, ive spotted them on ebay before and been very tempted

Borris · 24 Feb 2006 at 11:23

GordyR said:
"In an exciting supernatural thriller, Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfieffer play a seemingly happily married couple who uncover a terrible secret.... etc... etc..."

Sounds better than your average schmalzy Friends episode at least

As they are copies, they might have been burned onto cheap media which may degrade very quickly - the dye just fades, and you (or your ma) are left with drinks coasters.

From £114 for the real deal.

I would report the trade to ebay as a fake, get your cash back (ebay aren't allowed to host pirated items), and buy the real thing.

If you dont, according to the egregious lies spouted by the FACT, RIAA, MPAA etc., you are supporting terrorism.