Bootlegs: An Anecdote and a Primer

I think, in this day and age, it is safe to assume that the majority of you are familiar with the word bootleg. For some, it was dealt with first hand by purchases- intentional or under false pretenses. For others, they have heard, not experienced, tales of horror of those that were unfortunate enough to buy below-par bootlegged merchandise.

And for the blessed, blessed few that are still not in the know, stick around.

My first run-in with a bootleg was out of ignorance. With nostalgic stars in my eyes I had snatched up the complete first season of MACROSS for only 60 dollars without looking at the packaging- thoroughly. I had glossed over a subtle grammar error and woo’d over the gorgeous-but-oddly-placed cover art. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the discs when I realised, just maybe, something was fishy. After a quick Google search for the company that did such a shoddy job with subtitles and video quality, I came across one of the many, many articles about bootlegs and how to differenciate them from the real thing. It certainly isn’t limited to this list, but here are the basics of “Bootleg Sighting 101:”

Some bootleg companies logos

Inspecting the packaging:

• Are there any examples of incorrect grammar, spelling, or gratuitous English?
• Is the printing quality bad? Look for scanlines, pixelation, etc.
• Is it different from packaging that you know is official?

Inspecting the disks:

• DEAD GIVEAWAY: Missing serial numbers on discs? DVD-R and CD-R clearly seen? Bootleg.
• Check print quality of the disc, as with packaging.
• Region 0 (“Region Free”) discs are not used by official products, so this is also a dead giveaway of a bootleg.

Additional Steps:
These require research on your part.

• Compare prices. If a $100 set is being sold for $20, you better be buying used (and even then, double check).
• Look up the seller and/or company logo. If they look a little shady, then…
• Compare/contrast official packaging with the item in question.

There are many more in-depth guides for bootlegs, way, WAY too many to count, so I didn’t go into too much detail. There are links below.

So… guess what I bought for sixty dollars? Yup. A bootleg. And a pretty obvious and one, now that I think about it. But, like I said, stars in my eyes. Luckily I bought it used and not from some swindler on eBay or Amazon.com; the money went to the store instead. (Someone may have noticed that it was a bootleg and successfully pawned it off, for the next hapless purchaser: me.)



A bootleg on eBay. Isn't that way TOO cheap?!


As with anything made by human hands, the range of products fall ‘tween “can’t tell from the original” to “pretty dang obvious.” This is especially apparent when it comes to digital media and print, although anything terrible you may tell off the bat regardless of the make. Plenty of people would sacrifice product quality just to obtain what they want, at a cheaper price. But what are they losing? You may have to deal with sub-par audio, video, and subtitles, as well as shoddy packaging. And one major, MAJOR negative about bootlegs is the fact that no portion of the money goes to the original creators. To purchase and support these folks is one of the best ways you can so your appreciation for their creative work.

…But if you never pay for anything, or don’t plan to, you may be in the wrong article. Just don’t scam the rest of us, willya?

For more information:
Catalog numbers and a few logos to watch out for

http://music.3yen.com/category/bootlegs/

Bootleg blacklist on Chuda’s Corner

http://chudahs-corner.com/reference/index.php?reference=bootleggers

A more in-depth FAQ on spotting bootlegs

http://www.otakunews.com/piratefaq.php

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