The Corner Penthouse - Latest Comments on How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/?disp=comments en-US http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 Aleksandre [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:16:47 +0000 Aleksandre [Visitor] c2150@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>Firstly thanks so much for writing this post and keeping up with it! Helped me keep my sanity trying to draw a conclusion regarding the item I now hold in my hands, but I&#8217;m afraid I&#8217;m still at a loss&#8230;. Similar to Doug&#8217;s post above, I received* a copy of Person of Interest Season 5 DVD from eBay and at first glance it doesn&#8217;t appear right, it has a clear case instead of a black one and opaque disc prints instead of translucent, and it had shrinkwrap added after it already received damage to the slip and notable fingerprints on the discs. Per my own history in the secondhand space that seemed suspect, however, unlike my prior experiences with DVDs of this series, this copy is from region 2, namely France, and I can&#8217;t find any other information that relates to this release specifically, so perhaps this is normal? So I found your post and Nero Info Tool, which I was surprised to find reported&#8230; all signs point to legit. Dual layer, CSS/CPPM, correct titles, region and formats. The underside of the disc looks normal as well. If not for the strange disc prints, I wouldn&#8217;t question the <em>discs</em> themselves even if the <em>case</em> is a reproduction. It&#8217;s quite the mystery! </p> <p>*I actually purchased the blu-ray and they sent me a DVD by mistake; when I pointed this out to them they vowed to make it right and they sent me&#8230; another identical DVD. I unsealed one of them to investigate it after noticing the damage beneath the shrinkwrap. In the end I&#8217;m glad I got the blu-ray I wanted from another seller because that at least I know is real lmao</p> Firstly thanks so much for writing this post and keeping up with it! Helped me keep my sanity trying to draw a conclusion regarding the item I now hold in my hands, but I’m afraid I’m still at a loss…. Similar to Doug’s post above, I received* a copy of Person of Interest Season 5 DVD from eBay and at first glance it doesn’t appear right, it has a clear case instead of a black one and opaque disc prints instead of translucent, and it had shrinkwrap added after it already received damage to the slip and notable fingerprints on the discs. Per my own history in the secondhand space that seemed suspect, however, unlike my prior experiences with DVDs of this series, this copy is from region 2, namely France, and I can’t find any other information that relates to this release specifically, so perhaps this is normal? So I found your post and Nero Info Tool, which I was surprised to find reported… all signs point to legit. Dual layer, CSS/CPPM, correct titles, region and formats. The underside of the disc looks normal as well. If not for the strange disc prints, I wouldn’t question the discs themselves even if the case is a reproduction. It’s quite the mystery!

*I actually purchased the blu-ray and they sent me a DVD by mistake; when I pointed this out to them they vowed to make it right and they sent me… another identical DVD. I unsealed one of them to investigate it after noticing the damage beneath the shrinkwrap. In the end I’m glad I got the blu-ray I wanted from another seller because that at least I know is real lmao

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c2150 Doug [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Thu, 15 Jan 2026 22:09:08 +0000 Doug [Visitor] c2147@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>I just ran into an interesting one. I purchased a set of &#8220;The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition&#8221; on eBay from an individual seller. The cover art seems really dark so I started with suspecting a counterfeit. However, it&#8217;s on 2-layer, pressed discs with CSS/CPPM copy protection. There is no show title around the center hole. However, the discs are region 0. I&#8217;m not sure what to think on this one.</p> I just ran into an interesting one. I purchased a set of “The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition” on eBay from an individual seller. The cover art seems really dark so I started with suspecting a counterfeit. However, it’s on 2-layer, pressed discs with CSS/CPPM copy protection. There is no show title around the center hole. However, the discs are region 0. I’m not sure what to think on this one.

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c2147 Jackson Burnett [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:18:00 +0000 Jackson Burnett [Visitor] c2014@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>This had me frantically checking the undersides of about every DVD I ever bought new on Amazon. I must have incredible luck avoiding counterfeits, since they all had numbers on the underside. (Okay, &#8220;Train to Busan&#8221; does have the movie title, but it&#8217;s from the legit Well Go USA, and there&#8217;s legit numbers alongside it, too.)</p> <p>HOWEVER, that wasn&#8217;t the case when we all got copies of &#8220;Homeland: The Complete Fourth Season,&#8221; &#8220;Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season,&#8221; &#8220;Minions,&#8221; and &#8220;WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series&#8221; from someplace in Arizona for Christmas 2016. I knew right away all were boots, but at least they reproduced the slipcover on &#8220;Homeland&#8221; pretty nicely. &#8220;Game of Thrones&#8221; looked shoddy, and sure enough, they&#8217;re on BD-Rs! &#8220;Minions&#8221; is an odd one - there&#8217;s no parental controls, the wrong Universal logo opens the disc (it&#8217;s their 1997 one and not the 2012), and on one occasion (maybe more than one), I couldn&#8217;t get the movie to play. Lastly, &#8220;WKRP&#8221; had the underside numbers of the real release, but looked sub-par. I still keep it around because I like the show, and I even made my own custom packaging for it.</p> This had me frantically checking the undersides of about every DVD I ever bought new on Amazon. I must have incredible luck avoiding counterfeits, since they all had numbers on the underside. (Okay, “Train to Busan” does have the movie title, but it’s from the legit Well Go USA, and there’s legit numbers alongside it, too.)

HOWEVER, that wasn’t the case when we all got copies of “Homeland: The Complete Fourth Season,” “Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season,” “Minions,” and “WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series” from someplace in Arizona for Christmas 2016. I knew right away all were boots, but at least they reproduced the slipcover on “Homeland” pretty nicely. “Game of Thrones” looked shoddy, and sure enough, they’re on BD-Rs! “Minions” is an odd one - there’s no parental controls, the wrong Universal logo opens the disc (it’s their 1997 one and not the 2012), and on one occasion (maybe more than one), I couldn’t get the movie to play. Lastly, “WKRP” had the underside numbers of the real release, but looked sub-par. I still keep it around because I like the show, and I even made my own custom packaging for it.

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c2014 Tina [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Fri, 28 Jan 2022 22:59:42 +0000 Tina [Visitor] c1980@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>When you buy from Walmart or Amazon make sure it says SOLD by Walmart or Amazon , not by some other seller . Do that and you won’t get a bootleg . I’ve been using a trick a friend from Sony taught me 20 years ago . It works every time . It takes 3 seconds to spot a bootleg dvd . Look on the silver side around the hole . You should see random holographic letters and number ONLY &#8230; if you see the name of the tv show and the season wrote out in white letters that is a bootleg !!! Authentic dvds do not have it spelled out . They don’t need to . Bootleggers do , so they can keep track of what they are burning .</p> When you buy from Walmart or Amazon make sure it says SOLD by Walmart or Amazon , not by some other seller . Do that and you won’t get a bootleg . I’ve been using a trick a friend from Sony taught me 20 years ago . It works every time . It takes 3 seconds to spot a bootleg dvd . Look on the silver side around the hole . You should see random holographic letters and number ONLY … if you see the name of the tv show and the season wrote out in white letters that is a bootleg !!! Authentic dvds do not have it spelled out . They don’t need to . Bootleggers do , so they can keep track of what they are burning .

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c1980 Locke [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Thu, 19 Aug 2021 02:54:46 +0000 Locke [Visitor] c1905@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>Came here after getting some bootleg Curb Your Enthusiasm DVDs. The way I found out they were fake, because to me they looked real, was that I rip all my DVDs and Blurays to hard drives for easy access. When I inserted the first DVD MakeMKV gave me a warning that it might not rip right and to instead rip from original DVDs.</p> <p>It&#8217;s crazy to think that counterfeiters can get discs produced professionally yet the MOD companies just use DVD-Rs or Blu-ray-Rs&#8230;</p> <p>Thanks for the very useful article.</p> Came here after getting some bootleg Curb Your Enthusiasm DVDs. The way I found out they were fake, because to me they looked real, was that I rip all my DVDs and Blurays to hard drives for easy access. When I inserted the first DVD MakeMKV gave me a warning that it might not rip right and to instead rip from original DVDs.

It’s crazy to think that counterfeiters can get discs produced professionally yet the MOD companies just use DVD-Rs or Blu-ray-Rs…

Thanks for the very useful article.

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c1905 Valerie [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:44:30 +0000 Valerie [Visitor] c1889@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>Is there a simple way to check the disc specs on a Macbook?<br /> I&#8217;ve tried DragonBurn, Burn, VLC and can&#8217;t find a way to see the specs to check.</p> Is there a simple way to check the disc specs on a Macbook?
I’ve tried DragonBurn, Burn, VLC and can’t find a way to see the specs to check.

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c1889 Tina Wildcat [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Fri, 09 Jul 2021 15:09:14 +0000 Tina Wildcat [Visitor] c1886@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>Much simpler way that takes 1 minute to check . Been using it for 20 years . Friend who works for Sony told me . Look on the shiny side of the disc near the hole . There will be random holographic numbers and letters going around on the authentic sets .If you see the name of the series and season spelled out then it is a bootleg . Look at every set you ever bought at Walmart and you will never see that .Also when buying on Amazon scroll down and look for SOLD BY AMAZON and you will not get a bootleg .</p> Much simpler way that takes 1 minute to check . Been using it for 20 years . Friend who works for Sony told me . Look on the shiny side of the disc near the hole . There will be random holographic numbers and letters going around on the authentic sets .If you see the name of the series and season spelled out then it is a bootleg . Look at every set you ever bought at Walmart and you will never see that .Also when buying on Amazon scroll down and look for SOLD BY AMAZON and you will not get a bootleg .

]]> https://www.spookcentral.tk/tcp/2019/06/25/counterfeit-bootleg-dvd-box-sets#c1886 Friend [Visitor] in response to: How to Identify Counterfeit Bootleg DVD Box Sets Being Sold on eBay and Amazon Fri, 21 May 2021 04:43:09 +0000 Friend [Visitor] c1876@https://www.spookcentral.tk/ <p>Thank you so much for this blog and the recommendation of NERO INFO TOOL. I just used it on 2 DVD sets that I purchased from Ebay and was on the fence about being a counterfeit, but NERO showed that both sets were fake. I will now check all my other recently purchased DVD sets to double check.</p> Thank you so much for this blog and the recommendation of NERO INFO TOOL. I just used it on 2 DVD sets that I purchased from Ebay and was on the fence about being a counterfeit, but NERO showed that both sets were fake. I will now check all my other recently purchased DVD sets to double check.

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