Forum - View topicquick Amazon.com question
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The King of Harts
 Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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I always use the trustworthy Rightstuf.com for my anime buys, but sadly it doesn't have everything I want. Eventually, for things like Sailor Moon uncut, Ronin Warriors, Dirty Pair Flash, etc I need to use Amazon, but I trust them as much as I do eBay (not very much). I mean, I know the basics of spotting bootlegs on the main description (region coding and subs mostly), though, I don't know if that applies to the second tier sellers. It may say all the right things on the main description, but does that go for all the second tier sellers?
Example: Dirty Pair Flash is selling for about $18 and the main description looks straight, so are all 14 sellers selling legit copies or are a few of the sellers bootleggers hiding behind a legit description? NOTE: Dirty Pair was just my example so I'm not looking for specific answers on that one. |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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Amazon has been caught selling anime bootlegs even when it said "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com," so I would be very careful ordering from Amazon's Marketplace. Unlike ebay you don't even get to see a picture of the specific item you're about to purchase. Not a very good system that seems to favor the seller over the buyer when it comes to the question of bootlegs.
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The King of Harts
Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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I've read about that before and that's the exact reason I'm nervous about buying from there. I'm willing to shell out $200+ for uncut Sailor Moon seasons, but not if they're bootlegged.
Do those ratings give any sort of clue as to whether they're more reliable over others? Do I really just have to go for it and hope for the best with my hard earned money? |
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Firstly, read the feedback for the last few months- sometimes people will mention receiving a bootleg or 'international' version. Always check negatives- that's the ones most likely to tell you if there's a problem.
Ebay can be a great resource just to get a 'going rate', since you can see pictures and figure out what the usual bootleg price is versus the legit one- there's usually very little difference between the two sites. Finally, always feel free to email the seller and confirm they have a 'liscensed North American R1 version' for sale, as I usually say (state the publisher if know it.) Worthwhile sellers will answer you- don't buy from anyone who doesn't. It can get a little frustrating, but it's worth it for the piece of mind when you do buy. Good luck! |
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eyeresist
 Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
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Yes. This should be the obvious thing to do! |
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Aux10
 Posts: 14 Location: Ohio |
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I don't trust the Amazon Market Place with its 3rd party sellers. I've gotten wrong items (ruined my plans for my halloween graveyard in front of my house and ended up having to make my own fog chiller the day before halloween), and I've gotten a bootleg of Card Captor Sakura from one too. (I just tossed the bootleg aside when I got it and decided to pray for it to be relicensed sometime soon.) Despite that I do completely trust items sold by Amazon its self and I've never gotten a bootleg from them. I would say that they are very trustworthy and do their best to sell legit copies.
Last edited by Aux10 on Fri May 29, 2009 1:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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asimpson2006
 Posts: 3151 Location: USA |
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I've gotten my share of anime at Amazon marketplace, though this a small number considering that I buy like 90 some percent of my anime at TRSI. I've never had a problem with getting anime through Amazon market place, but I'm only using it for single DVD's not sets (I save that for TRSI unless it's through their marketplace which is great.)
As a seller on Amazon marketplace, I'm going to basically say Ditto for what DuelLadyS said, ask questions to the seller. It's better to be picky and ask question and then decided to purchase the or not, than get it find out it's a bootleg then try and get a refund out it. |
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TheTheory
 Posts: 1029 Location: Central PA |
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I've gotten bootlegs through the marketplace before... but only when I try to buy a complete set. Singles are fine.
I much prefer ebay where there is a bigger description for the actual item and often a picture. I can't remember the last time I've been dicked over on ebay, simply because I know what I'm looking for now. (And I much, MUCH prefer buying new from TRSI or dvdpacific.) |
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Monster in a box
Posts: 671 |
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I'd wait on Sailor Moon if I were you. Funimation might pick it up. It's a big might, but it'd definitely be better than trying to get it any other way. Even if they don't use Karaoke subtitles.
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asimpson2006
Posts: 3151 Location: USA |
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If Funi was going to get Sailor Moon, they would have done so by now. I doubt anyone else is going to get the rights to distribute it, but if they do Funi might just either stick with the uncut version or if Funi feels they can at least break even or lose little money just redo a English version for the original uncut version. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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As a buyer, you do have some protection. Most credit card/banking/online money transfer services do allow you to dispute your order. NEVER send check/money order/cash when buying. Use a service!
If you do buy, and it turns out to be a bootleg, contact the seller and politely state the product you bought wasn't what you thought it was. You may not need to open it to make this determination. If the seller refuses, make a stern reply that will grab their attention and seek a refund or you'll have no choice but to file a complaint and a charge back based on deceptive selling descriptions and practices. I did this last year when I bought an out-of-production anime figure. What I received wasn't what was shown in the picture. You can bet I got 100% of my money back (and the seller ejected from ebay). 
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daxomni
Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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Charge-backs are intended to be used as a last resort and not as a crutch to avoid being upfront with the seller before bidding or buying. There are more than enough consumers who couldn't care less about the legality of what they purchase to take your place. Most sellers who are offering bootlegs either won't reply to any serious inquires or will otherwise give you a reason to move along and avoid hassling them later. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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My advice was based on the buyer-expected responsibility but was shafted when the seller blatantly lied about the item(s). Which is where the OP seems to be worried. |
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cyberbeing
Posts: 135 |
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The safest sellers to buy DVDs from in Amazon Marketplace are the ones that sell DVDs on their own website as well and only use Marketplace as a secondary source of income. If the seller's website isn't selling bootlegs, neither will their Amazon Market store.
If the seller isn't associated with a website and they seem to have a good rep, when in doubt, you should always contact the seller and inquire. If they have lied to you (didn't tell the whole truth), you are fully within your rights to issue a charge-back if they are not willing to refund you themselves. If I'm buying from a person instead of a business or a business without a website, I prefer Ebay. If things go bad you can just file a dispute with Paypal to get your money back. With the changes Ebay made last year, almost everything is now covered for 100% of the purchase price. |
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The King of Harts
Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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Thanks for all the good advice. I just wish I could go somewhere to buy discontinued anime and not worry about jerks selling bootlegs. It's just that recently I've had this sudden urge to get discontinued shows (Girls Bravo, Dirty Pair Flash, Saber Marionette J to X...) and the only two places I can rely on, Amazon and Ebay, are usually flooded with bootlegs.
Yea, after doing that survey and the recent Toei shuffle going on I decided to hold off a couple months and see how that goes. I'm also holding out on old CPM shows like Utena because ADV said they're rescuing some of their titles. |
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