I am looking to buy some anime on Ebay - how can I make sure I don't end up with bootlegs?
by 
MP1116
ANSWERS: 3
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Anything out of Hong Kong or Singapore is typically a bootleg, especially when dealing with anime and other dvds and cds. Also be on the lookout for '3 disc deluxe sets' which are usually bootlegs as well. Keep in mind however that bootlegs are not always bad...for example, I borrowed a 3-disc bootleg set of Outlaw Star from my friend when he got it off of Ebay, and it works great. And for a bootleg, the packaging is decorated with outstanding quality and the discs are constructed rather well, with only one of the discs having a momentary, if nearly unnoticable skip. It is understandable to worry about bootlegs...they are very enticing because of their very cheap prices and small packaging (3 discs vs 6 or 7 discs is a big difference), but you can never be sure of the quality you will get. In general, be sure to avoid anything out of Hong Kong and Singapore, which are the bootleg capitals of the world for anime dvds and soundtrack cds.
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Look it up on Amazon or deepdiscountdvd.com and see if the images on the front of the OFFICIAL release of the anime matches the image provided in the auction, and make sure that the number of disks and or layout of the disks is the same. So if you have a 3-disk collection in the official release, and the ebay item is for every episode on a single disk, DON'T BUY IT. Also, be wary of people who want payments in the form of cashier's checks or money orders. There are frauds out there who will take your money and give you NOTHING, not even a BOOTLEG. I was ripped off in just this situation by an ebayer named Staceycollector1977. And even having his address and proof of 241 cases of Fraud, neither local police nor FBI would do a THING! They're just out to protect the rich people. Send someone an illegal copy and you're in the slammer for 5 years. Send someone nothing and you've got free money.
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One way that you can protect yourself is to pay for any purchase on eBay using a PayPal account. PayPal has buyer protection and dispute resolution, so if what you get isn't what is advertised in the auction, you have some recourse. In addition, PayPal will automatically charge back the seller and refund your money if they scam you and don't send you anything. Another way is to look very closely at the seller's feedback. Don't just depend on their score. Go in and read the feedback that has been left for them. If they are selling substandard goods, buyers will leave negative feedback and comments. My personal policy is to avoid any seller with either a feedback score of less than 98.5%, or if they have more than five negatives in the past month. Also, pay close attention to the "neutral" feedback they have received. Often, experienced eBay users will not leave negative feedback because they fear "feedback retribution." Instead, they will leave neutral feedback and leave comments about the quality of the goods.
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