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Don't fall for the 'Complete Series' scams!
An earlier blog topic talked about how the complete series sets could be killing the TV-DVD market, but I'm going to talk about a different complete series set today, the bootleg set.
Over the past few weeks I've received TONS of emails asking me 1) where their order is, and 2) if the DVD set at _______ site is legit, because the person can't find it on Amazon. I've addressed this issue at TVShowsOnDVD.com before, but it's time to bring it up again and this is the perfect place for it.
There are hundreds of websites that sell these complete series sets for hundreds of dollars. You can find the complete run of shows not yet completed (or started, in some cases) on DVD by the studios that own them, so how do these websites have them? Simple; they recorded the episodes off TV onto DVD-Rs. They usually fail to mention that in their write-ups, and instead use "Region Free!" or "Region 0 - plays in any DVD player!" in their descriptions. That's one of the first signs that something isn't right with the DVD set, and you should run away from the site.
These "companies" like to use Google AdWords to advertise their sets, and often change domain names every few months in the hopes of throwing law enforcement off their trail. They hide their contact information on the site, and only advertise a toll-free number which is either a recording, or answered by someone in a country overseas. They usually claim to have "obtained the rights from a European company," which is an out-right lie. They're selling material which they don't have the rights to, and they're making tons of money off it. This isn't a group of fans trading a couple of episodes on the 'net, these are full-scale commercial operations, and they're against the law.
If you happen to have ordered one of these sets immediately call your credit card company. Most companies give you 60-90 days to dispute any charges, and if you explain that you unknowingly purchased pirated material and haven't been able to return the item to the retailer (they make it extremely difficult to return items purchased) then the credit card company should open an investigation and you'll likely be refunded your money.
Gord
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Dec 12, 2007 1:08 PM
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Great advice Gord. Anyone that has unknowingly purchased a bootleg DVD (happens all the time on Ebay), it is very frustrating.
Poor quality, no extras, and many times full fo glitches - these DVD's are meant for the garbage can!
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Dec 12, 2007 4:25 PM
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on the plus side though, my husband ordered from one of those sites, the quality was crappy, he got the refund but they never asked for the DVDs back. So they ended up being close to free (they were sent from canada so the exchange rate had changed between his order time and return time)
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Dec 13, 2007 9:35 AM
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I have bought 1 bootleg show, I hate to admit it, but I did. I knew what I was buying too. I bought Fastlane from a seller at sell.com. It was only like 25 bucks, so, I bought it. I'm sorry. I REALLY wanted to see that show again. I loved it. It was like a big action movie every single week.
I've also been tempted to buy the rest of everwood. I don't think the studio has any plans to release the last 3 seasons.
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Dec 13, 2007 4:07 PM
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Some people will find reasons to justify the purchase of pirated material. My post wasn't to bring shame to those people who sought out sets like that, it was meant to warn people who don't realize that these sets aren't produced by the studios, and are usually poor quality. I've been getting 1 or 2 emails a day from people who were charged for a set a month or so ago and haven't received it yet, or are wondering how some of these sites are selling shows that can't be purchased in stores.
Gord
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Dec 13, 2007 4:14 PM
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One point Gord has made in the past (and I'm sorry to steal your thunder on it Gord, but snooze/lose), is that these guys who bootleg are engaged in what is an illegal activity. So why would you trust someone like that with your credit card number? Heck, I wouldn't want them to have my home address, either! Yeah, that may be a bit over the top to say, but think about it...they're not exactly on the up-and-up, are they?
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Dec 13, 2007 7:45 PM
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If the studios would release more, and I mean A LOT more TV shows on DVD, these bootleg sites wouldn't exist. Or at least there wouldn't be as many of them. Plain and simple.
Since the 60s Batman show is dead in the water for officially coming to DVD, my dad bought me for my birthday in '05, a complete series bootleg set of the show on DVD. If Fox released the show on legit DVD, that bootleg set wouldn't have been purchased.
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Dec 13, 2007 8:17 PM
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I'm pretty sure they site I used let me pay with paypal, so the seller didn't get any of my personal info.
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Dec 13, 2007 9:29 PM
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