Ebay counterfeit trader arrested

[DB7]

Might be worth reading just as a 'heads up.'
FACT

[tvden]

Originally Posted by DB7 Might be worth reading just as a 'heads up.' FACT

cor they are all at it, selling on ebay you stand a good chance of getting caught

[smudge]

One of the factories on the site was allegedly capable of doing 1000 DVDs per hour...

Mind boggling !

SMUDGE

[tvden]

Originally Posted by smudge One of the factories on the site was allegedly capable of doing 1000 DVDs per hour... Mind boggling ! SMUDGE

what a pity they did not use there talents to produce 1000s of old hard to come by b/w movies and tv shows

[Merton Park]

They are after the counterfeiters producing the latest films which will affect their DVD sales, rather than people selling relatively minor quantities of old films.

[batman]

I agree with tvden .... some of my colleagues at work have shown me some bootleg dvds of new films and the quality of some of them (picture, sound and packaging) is awesome .... it's a pity they don't use there 'expertise' to produce 'classic' film/tv legally .... but then, I suppose they wouldn't make the big money they are after

[ChristineCB]

I'm not sure. They couldn't be as lazy because they don't have millions in recent advertising to push their sales.

And they're still dependent on original source material quality for best-quality rip-offs. They'd have to learn something about remastering, reframing, and then have the patience to do it. But "low quality" is often accepted by collectors when there is no alternative.

The bootlegger knows he can't rely on maintaining one identity or one location, so he can't afford to only sit in one place letting his old customers return for title after title. I think he probably needs to create an identity, clear his inventory and then create a new identity for the next item's sales.

So an EBay reputation based on one identity means he's a sitting target. I'd think eventually he'd tire of the chase and want to settle down. His remastering skills could give him that option and he might make enemies from rightsholders, but he'd also have a lot of fans, too.

[Torquemada]

Originally Posted by batman I agree with tvden .... some of my colleagues at work have shown me some bootleg dvds of new films and the quality of some of them (picture, sound and packaging) is awesome .... it's a pity they don't use there 'expertise' to produce 'classic' film/tv legally .... but then, I suppose they wouldn't make the big money they are after

That's the beauty of DVD as opposed to VHS - you don't lose any quality when copying because it's just digitalised code.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Torquemada That's the beauty of DVD as opposed to VHS - you don't lose any quality when copying because it's just digitalised code.

That's what terrified film producers in the first place and made them put the Region codes on DVDs. They wanted, and many still want, to put more stringent anti-copying codes on there as well.

Steve

[DB7]

Originally Posted by smudge One of the factories on the site was allegedly capable of doing 1000 DVDs per hour... Mind boggling ! SMUDGE

Here you go Al, yours for £732:
DVD copier scales to thousands | The Register

[clitheroekid]

Originally Posted by tvden what a pity they did not use there talents to produce 1000s of old hard to come by b/w movies and tv shows

[merryowen]

Originally Posted by ChristineCB The bootlegger knows he can't rely on maintaining one identity or one location, so he can't afford to only sit in one place letting his old customers return for title after title. I think he probably needs to create an identity, clear his inventory and then create a new identity for the next item's sales.

Funny you should say that because I can feel a story coming on........

I was sitting in the local dirt and plenty when this chap walked in with a pile of DVDs. Now this bloke has a reputation as a thoroughly decent DVD pirate. His prices are low and the quality is good. If there are any problems then you get a refund straight away.

Overall a good man to do business with.

Anyway, that day he turned up with a younger man who he introduced as his son. He, the DVD Pirate Chief was getting a bit past it and intended to hand over the business to his boy.

I nearly fell off the chair laughing.

Pardon me, I said, but this isn't a sweetshop we are talking about but a criminal empire. You can't pass it on from father to son, pausing only to change the sign from "X's Quality Copyright Theft" to "X and Son's (The Old Firm) Quality Copyright Theft"

Yes I can, replied my mate, my Dad did it for me and his Dad...

Apparently the family has been doing this sort of thing for so long that my pal had memories of a grandfather who sold bootleg sheet music.

Naturally, as a law abiding citizen I wish The Ferderaction Against Copyright Theft (FACT), nothing but good.

But I think they are going to have an uphill struggle.

[ron7885]

why are the pirates showing up everywhere? perhaps the price of dvd movies are too expensive. the same problem with cd music. if the film studios would lower their prices,a lot of this bootlegging might end. here in Canada,the pirates are having a field day,today i saw, Invasion,just released to the cinema,on sale at one of their stands.

[Wolfgang]

I am not convinced piracy contributes to loss of sales anyway, since would their customers otherwise buy legitimate counterparts? For instance, would some single mother of four living on council estate be able to afford to take her progeny to cinema to watch Harry Potter? You would be looking at over £20 (just to get in and then you have bus fares, kids nagging for overpriced popcorn). She is better off staying at home, popping on her pirate DVD where she can smoke her illegally imported fags (her only pleasure in life) - which incidentally - she would be banned from doing in theatre!

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang ...For instance, would some single mother of four living on council estate be able to afford to take her progeny to cinema to watch Harry Potter? You would be looking at over £20 (just to get in and then you have bus fares, kids nagging for overpriced popcorn). She is better off staying at home, popping on her pirate DVD where she can smoke her illegally imported fags (her only pleasure in life) - which incidentally - she would be banned from doing in theatre!

The only people I've ever heard discussing their pirate DVDs are young males... who are not particularly strapped for cash. They tend to boast rather proudly that they have an illegal copy rather than waiting for the legitimate. I think they see it as something of a badge of cool.

I'm not saying its only these young males... but it certainly is not only the poverty-stricken.

As for your picture, I feel sorry for the four children with their lungs full of their mother's fag smoke as they sit before their aged flickering box! They'd be better off at the cinema with the overpriced pop corn. Actually, they could probably afford a lot more if she would only give up her smokey habit.