DVDs: PIRATES, COPIES

A guide byrainbowjam
With the sheer amount of DVDs for sale on eBay there are always bound to be a fair few which are not what the inexperienced buyer is expecting. So how can you tell and what do the different terms for dodgy DVDs actually mean?
I myself don't sell illegal DVDs of any description but I do have over 20 years experience of selling music and entertainment items on all formats. Ialways have hundreds of DVDs and CDslisted in my eBay shop which are all 100% legitimate and are mainly 4.99 Buy-It-Now. So if you want a safe and easy purchase, visit my shop at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/rainbowjam. Well, that's the plug over; now back to the matter in hand.
Pirates:
These are probably the worst kind of dodgy DVD as they are being passed off as official, often current,items. They are illegal, generally poor quality,DVDs which are an exact copy of a legitimate DVD. Virtually any current popular film will have been pirated in vast quantities; pirate copies are often sold at larger well-established car boot sales and also by dodgy eBay sellers. They are difficult to spot on an eBay listing as the seller will be pretending they are the real thing so someone who is selling pirate DVDscan only really be spotted once the negatives start to roll in. So, always check feedback before you buy. Once you're holding the pirate DVD in your hand, they're easy to spot (although, if you've bought it on eBay, it's a bit late by then). A pirate will look like the real thing at first glance but, on closer inspection of the artwork, it's easy to spot the poor quality of the printing and often a slight difference in shades of colour and also the lack ofserial numbers around the inside rim. Also the quality and cut of the paper used for the inserts will usually be noticeably sub-standard. The disc itself will have poor quality, strangely printed or missing details on the label side and will usually be a DVD-R rather than a "proper" DVD.
Copies:
Thisis just another term forpirate DVDs: an illegal sub-standard DVD-R copy of an officially released DVD. Sometimes people will openly offera copied (pirated) DVDfor sale and state that it is legal to buy as a back-up if you already own a legitimate version, thusplacing the onus on you to remain within the law (or not). Whatever they tell you and regardless of whether you and / or they own legitimate issues of the DVD in question, it's illegal for them to sell it and for you to buy it. It's just a common misinterpretation ofthe law that sellers ofdodgy goods try to use to their advantage.Copied DVDs sold as back-ups will usuallybe sold in a plastic wallet without artwork or case, willoften have a blank label and will be DVD-Rs of the same sort of standard as a pirate being passed off as legitimate.
Bootlegs:
These are unofficial (ie: illegal) DVDs which contain recordings which are not, and have never been, officially available for sale on DVD. Theyoften contain material that has previously been available on video but has not yet had a DVD release and are more commonly old TV series rather than films. There is a large collectors' market for bootlegs as they contain material which has never been legally released so can be very attractive toanyone trying to get hold of some TV programme from their dim and distant past. A lot ofbuyersare happyto buy bootlegs as there is no legal way of obtaining the material on them so opinion is divided as to whether they do any harm. Obviously, with more and more old TV series being given official DVD releases, the demand for a certain bootleg title can vanish overnight. Recent examples of this include Adam Faith's Budgie TV series andkids' series,Grange Hill. However, it's still illegal and in breach of eBay rules so eBayare constantlyremovingany listingswhich are reported to them that offer bootlegs for sale. Ebay has it's own VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) programme whichfilm companies can join - you can view a list of VeRO members in the Movies, Television