How to Spot a Bootleg

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Postby emopunk1 » Wed Sep 01, 2004 1:05 am

That they don't support the actual creators and licensed distributors?


True, but then again, if you sell the domestic anime yourself (i.e. like here in the forum), and you're not a store, you profit directly instead of giving it directly to the distributors, correct?

I think its been said already, but I think the majority of people who buy bootleg is because the price, especially with the new R1 bootleg copies, because its closer to the original R1 at a better value. How many here can afford the retail price or with just a $2-5 discount, (of course before the state tax and s/h) and judging by some of the post I've seen, no one here would want to buy a used dvd (I'm not trying to say that everyone here is like that, but I sort of get that feeling), that leaves those otaku who can't afford it to buy bootleg, since they probably want something to watch on their dvd player and have art to look, since wating to download a fansub is a big hassle.

What about the guys in the US who sell bootleg on Ebay? Is fair for them to be critized by members here, since they just are trying to make a profit for themselves, especially if there not connected to Chinese mafia? What about the US sellers who sell used domestic dvds, since as I mentioned, that money they get for it doesn't go to the distributors/animators, but for their own profit?

just a thought.
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Postby Kai Stromler » Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:29 am

Some clarifications:

With physical product and commercial contracts, there is always a money chain.

If you sell domestic anime titles (commercial media in cases), here or somewhere else, you must have bought them from somewhere. If you bought them from a store, they bought them wholesale from the distributor. If not, you bought them wholesale from the distributor. The distributor got the right to press those DVDs from the original producers, and paid them a consideration for the purpose. So when you buy a DVD at your local anime store, a portion of that $25 goes towards store profits, a portion to stocking fees, on the shelves and at warehouses, a portion goes to the US company that put it out (split between profit and cost of production), and a portion goes back to the licensors in Japan as royalty or license payments. If you resell that DVD, you'd be dumb not to add your own markup, or not to buy from the wholesaler so that you can put your own markup in place of the store's.

With bootlegs, the bootleg discs and bootleg packaging has to come from somewhere. People selling bootlegs on eBay buy them either from stores in Chinatowns, or direct from the same unscrupulous importers that the Chinatown stores use. Those importers bought the media from the concern that pressed them, which are usually allied to organized crime. As before, when you buy a bootleg, some of that $15 goes to the store that sold it for profit and stocking, some of the money goes to the importers, and some of the money ends up back with the gang that is operating the DVD-pressing plant back in Hong Kong. The lower price is created because that last step in the money chain, where the original producers get paid for their creative work, gets left out.

In the real world, we cannot yet magically create media out of raw matter the way we create information out of magnetic states on the digital side. Media cost money and in a commercial setting leave a clear chain of possession.

And why is there a perceived stigma against buying used? Granted, you don't get the newest or rarest stuff that way, but as long as the disc works, there shouldn't be a problem, and most stores will either accept returns of inoperable stuff or resurface the damn thing for $3.

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Postby Tomb » Thu Sep 02, 2004 3:47 pm

Some people can't afford "Walls" of anime and I say f**k those greedy bastards ^_^ they make enough profit off the people who DO buy it. I just get it from friends though so I'm lucky ^_^
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Postby Scintilla » Thu Sep 02, 2004 6:38 pm

Tomb wrote:Some people can't afford "Walls" of anime and I say f**k those greedy bastards ^_^ they make enough profit off the people who DO buy it.

Then don't blame them when they can no longer afford to bring over the shows you want...
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Postby Tomb » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:54 pm

I say again

Some people can't afford "Walls" of anime and I say f**k those greedy bastards ^_^ they make enough profit off the people who DO buy it. I just get it from friends though so I'm lucky ^_^
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Postby Coaxel Ethereal » Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:17 pm

Tomb wrote:I say again

Some people can't afford "Walls" of anime and I say f**k those greedy bastards ^_^ they make enough profit off the people who DO buy it. I just get it from friends though so I'm lucky ^_^


*sound of glass braking*

"Dude what are you doing??!!!"
"Getting some food man, do you know how much these guys make by making use buy food at these ridiculous prices!, I say F@#$ them man, we all gotta eat, I can steal food for my entire lifetime and these bastards would still be making billions!!!"

Not saying bootleg is exactly like that, or that anime is comparable to food, but you cant explain yourself simply by saying other people are making good business decisions. They make money because they work for it, unlike the people that bootleg, who get all that hard work for free.

Ever heard of subjective reality?? just because its ok in your own little world doesn’t make it right, or because you can get away with it. Will you still do it, probably. Will bootlegging stop because I (or the law) say its wrong, of course not. You can at least TRY and do the right thing when no one is looking, its called integrity.
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Postby Otohiko » Fri Sep 03, 2004 10:54 pm

Duke MadThain wrote:Ever heard of subjective reality?? just because its ok in your own little world doesn’t make it right, or because you can get away with it. Will you still do it, probably. Will bootlegging stop because I (or the law) say its wrong, of course not. You can at least TRY and do the right thing when no one is looking, its called integrity.


Mmm, yea, I live there.

I would also say, alright, bootleg if you like. Just please, for the benefit of everyone else, keep your dirty laundry where it belongs - that is, don't implicate others, especially the AMV community, in this whole bootlegging thing. Fine, do it; just please realize that it's objectively bad for anime business (which is what makes anime, and then brings it over here; you would not ever see anime if it wasn't a profitable venture), and that because you do it, not everyone else does or should.

So, fine, bootleg. We don't want to know :roll:
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Postby Tomb » Sat Sep 04, 2004 10:31 pm

Haha
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Postby Neko116 » Sun Sep 05, 2004 3:47 pm

...i just buy all the fansubs that i watch after they are licensced.... i'm just impatient... at least i feel like im making up for it eventually.
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Postby .com person » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:15 pm

Yah, bootlegs can be so fake x.x but I've fallen for it and I feel real bad. x.x I don't know why who would want to buy bootlegs and was smart to find it out. All I've got to say is in general is there is no way I'll buy a bootleg ever again and besides I'm smarter know and learned from my horrible mistakes.
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Postby petra1337 » Thu Sep 16, 2004 7:25 pm

I had a general question. I do not want to promote bootlegs but I have noticed especially on Amazon.com that they sell dvds under the new/used sections that seem a bit weird. But I find it odd, that amazon would allow these people to sell bootlegs right in front of them, especially when they have the actual item for a higher price. I was just wondering, if amazon.com has some of these copies selling on their website, does that mean they really aren't bootleg? I was just curious
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Postby Savia » Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:48 am

Amazon's 'second-hand' section is very often filled with bootleggers. It is nigh on impossible to check out the legitimacy of all of these sellers. Just because it's advertised on an official company's site, does not mean that it is official (sadly). Some of the second-hand sets are genuinely second-hand and legit, but it's worth being cautious.
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Postby GaavTheDemonDragonKing » Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:01 pm

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: I bought slayers series online for $25 and it was bootlegged. Me knows where its coming from and its all over the place! Tell me how do i take them down! I want them all to go to jail and rott till they die! just tell me what to do to get them to stop and get thrown in prison and i will do it! BY GOD AS MY WITNESS I WILL NOT STOP TILL THEIR ALL TAKEN CARE OF! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
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Postby J-0080 » Tue Sep 28, 2004 11:31 am

Well,

If it was a domestic version of Slayers that was bootlegged then you could let ADV know about the site that's selling em.
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Postby GaavTheDemonDragonKing » Thu Sep 30, 2004 5:31 pm

I am trying to get yet another dvd box of slayers. i want to order it from this site but i want to know if anyone has orderd anime here. the website is www.cduniverse.com and the prices are from $20-$40 cheaper than the original price. i just want some info to see if its legit or not.
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