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Topic: genuine or fake CDs? (Read 9502 times) previous topic - next topic
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genuine or fake CDs?

How can I be sure that the music CD I bought is genuine and not fake?
(Eg from EBAY or any other CDs store)
There are special signs that can not be fake?
Special stickers?
There is any way of knowing at all?
You just have to trust the merchant?

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #1 –
Your first clue should be how popular is this particular CD.

If it is a relatively low sales volume issue then it will not be worth the effort for someone to make a high-quality copy. In this case it should be fairly obvious when a CD is a fake (quality of silk-screening, printed material etc.)

If it is a high volume CD then it may be harder to tell. Certainly you will not be able to tell from the data on the CD because it is relatively easy to make this for all practical purposes identical to the genuine original.

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #2 –
Quote from: yonatan on
How can I be sure that the music CD I bought is genuine and not fake?
(Eg from EBAY or any other CDs store)
There are special signs that can not be fake?
Special stickers?
There is any way of knowing at all?
You just have to trust the merchant?


Frankly, appearance is probably your best guide. How good is the printing on the disc and the case liner?

Obviously, if  its a CD-R, then it is probably a fake unless it was made in  very low volume (less than a 500-1000) in the first place.

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #3 –
One thing i may add to the discussion is that some of the CDs i bought lately as release in a digipack came with rather washed out printing quality. They are no big sellers and i wonder if the industry meanwhile has that low selling numbers that a kind of universal digipack printing system exists to spit out some fast prints on demand.
The media itself looks high quality.
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on
Frankly, appearance is probably your best guide. How good is the printing on the disc and the case liner?

Yes, but with one exception (AFAIK), quoting myself from 2009:
[blockquote]
Quote
... IMO the biggest problem is with CD's made in Argentina; pressing from analog sources (only sometimes), very poor quality covers (even I could make better with my cheap all-in-one HP printer/scanner). They are pushing these crap items everywhere with cheap prices (eBay is full of them, PlayTrade (play.com) sellers are pushing them with low prices, and recently even my local "trusted" second-hand store started to sell those). ...
[/blockquote]
And these crap Argentinean CD's are legit.. one way to detect them is to find a certain (IFPI) hologram sticker in the product image (if available).. example here.

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #5 –
Sometimes albums get a re-release and the record company doesn't bother to replicate the original artwork in decent quality. Proably the worst I've ever seen is the book included in newer pressings of the Velvet Underground Boxset. It's all blurred and blocky - like it had been reprinted from 50dpi scans - and is a pain to read. So even when the boolet looks like a sloppy copy it can very well be an original release. The best way to tell is probably by looking at the CD.

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Northpack on
Sometimes albums get a re-release and the record company doesn't bother to replicate the original artwork in decent quality. Proably the worst I've ever seen is the book included in newer pressings of the Velvet Underground Boxset. It's all blurred and blocky - like it had been reprinted from 50dpi scans - and is a pain to read. So even when the boolet looks like a sloppy copy it can very well be an original release.

Yeah, the Argentinean CD's are just like you describe. And I just recently found a similar re-master/re-release case with one Finnish artist (re-mastered CD's pressed in Finland, most probably the edited artwork too.. actual CD labels were nicely done though).

genuine or fake CDs?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: pdq on
If it is a relatively low sales volume issue then it will not be worth the effort for someone to make a high-quality copy. In this case it should be fairly obvious when a CD is a fake (quality of silk-screening, printed material etc.)


Not so. I have bought my share of counterfeit cds on ebay on labels like Warp or Out Of Line, Dependent and Metropolis Records where the sales are routinely in the hundreds or very-low thousands. Each time I suspected a fake, I would contact the primary label of the band's release and ask if they knew of any licensing to XXXX label and generally they would say no & that this is a huge problem for them. Often times they would ask me to send me the send them the cd & replace it with a real copy. They would usually ask for me to file a formal complaint on Amazon or Ebay against the seller & send them any info I could & I'm happy to oblige, I don't care for "entrepreneurs" ripping off the bands I listen to who barely scratch by.