Want to buy Disney DVDs?  Be careful!

It is a well-known fact that Ebay is facing an absolute glut of bootleg DVDs.  Disney DVDs are no exception.  If you type in the title of a Disney movie in Ebay, more often than not, the vast majority of the results are of counterfeit DVDs imported from Asia.  Since Ebay has millions of listings each day, it is impossible for them to police the site effectively.  Sadly, I often see people bidding on Disney DVDs which are clearly counterfeits.  I've decided to write this guide to help people steer clear of these fake Asian Disney DVDs.  If everyone were to avoid these unlicensed fakes, the people selling the counterfeit DVDs would be put out of business, and Ebay would be a much more fun place to find and bid on Disney movies.

It is not hard to identify a fake Disney DVD.  Even if it's a good counterfeit, all Disney fakes contain certain characteristics which anyone can identify.  Sellers will also give clues in their auction descriptions indicating that what they're selling is not a true, Disney-licensed DVD.  You just need to know what to look for.  Nearly 100% of bootleg movies are made in Asia.  China, for example, has very lax copywrite laws.  There are factories there where bootleg movies are mass-produced.  If you heed the information below, you will most likely never run into the danger of buying a fake, counterfeit Disney DVD.   

Region code:

Note the region code of the DVD.  Does the item description say region 0, or "playable in all regions"?  If so, the DVD is definitely a counterfeit Disney DVD.  Disney never makes region free DVDs.  Genuine Disney DVDs made for the Asian market are region 3.  Disney DVDs for the United States and Canada are region 1.  However, please note that just because a seller says the DVD is region 1 still doesn't mean that the DVD is genuine.  A lot of sellers who sell counterfeit Disney DVDs will lie about the region code.  Another thing to look out for is if the seller indicates that the DVD is "region 1 compatible".  This is just another way of saying region 0.

DTS:

Most fake Disney DVDs contain a "DTS DIGITAL SURROUND SOUND" banner at the top.  No genuine Disney DVDs advertise DTS on the front!  As soon as you see this, you will know that it is a fake Asian Disney DVD.  In fact, it is best if you click the "back" button and avoid the seller altogether.  Below is the top half of the cover of a counterfeit Bambi DVD.  Please note the DTS Digital Surround banner on the cover.  

Here is the top half of a counterfeit Mulan DVD.  Again, note the DTS banner on the top. 

DVD 9:

In the above pictures, you might have noticed the shiny round  "9" sticker.  This is also proof that the DVD for sale is a fake.  The "9" indicates that the item in question is a dual-layer DVD.  You will never see this 9 sticker on a genuine Disney DVD, but you will almost always see it on a counterfeit Asian DVD.

Languages:  

Does the item description say that the DVD contains Chinese subtitles, or even a Chinese language track?  If so, the DVD is a fake.  If the item description says that the DVD contains an English track only, this is also an indication of a fake.  Region one Disney DVDs contain English and French language tracks, and often a Spanish language track.  There are a few releases, however, which contain only an English track, such a Beauty and the Beast and the Pixar film Cars.  Once again, research regarding DVD specifications is required.  You can find this information on Disney's official website.  But in any case, Disney DVDs never contain Chinese language tracks and Chinese subtitles (that is, unless it is a genuine region 3 DVD meant for the Asian market). 

NOTE:  The one big exception to this Chinese language rule is the recent 2-disc re-release of Mulan.  This DVD set contains a Mandarin language track as a special feature.

Seller's country of origin:

Does the seller reside in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, or some other East Asian or Southeast Asian country?  If so, there's a 99.999999999999% chance that the DVDs the seller has listed are fakes.  But even if it's an American, there's no guarantee that the Disney DVD is genuine.  There are quite a few American sellers who import counterfeit Disney DVDs knowingly, and lie and say that the DVDs are genuine, Disney-licensed discs!

Research!

Before bidding, find out as much as you can about the movie you want to buy.  Some Disney movies (such as Brother Bear and The Lion King) have only been released as a two-disc set in the US and Canada.  If you see someone selling a region 1 single-disc edition when only a two-disc edition was officially issued by Disney, it is a fake.  Also, find out what the cover of the movie is supposed to look like.  Take Brother Bear, for example.  Oftentimes, you'll see sellers on Ebay selling copies of the movie with this cover:                                             

This is a counterfeit!  The actual, Disney-manufactured DVD contains the cover art below (as can be seen in this Ebay stock photo):

                             Many counterfeits, such as the ones in the image below, have identical covers to their legitimate counterparts.  However, you can still identify them as fakes by the gray DTS banner at the top:

(Many thanks to Ebayer studiodumpster for the image above!)

Chinese characters on the cover (or lack of them):

If the seller says that the cover contains some Chinese writing, then the DVD is a counterfeit.  After all, why would a genuine Disney DVD meant for sale in the US contain Chinese characters?  In addition, if a seller states that there is no Chinese writing on the cover, this is also a sign that a disc is an Asian counterfeit.  Believe it or not, it's an indirect way of saying that the DVD is a counterfeit imported from China.  Only in this case, the cover of the counterfeit import is labeled in English rather than in Chinese.   

Import:

If the seller indicates that the DVD for sale is an import, you can be sure that the DVD is an Asian fake.

No hard plastic case:

Many sellers of counterfeit Disney DVDs will say that they will ship the DVD without a hard plastic case, or with some sort of slipcover.  The seller most always says that this is done to save postage costs.  But no one would refuse to send the hard case just to save a few cents for postage!  The actual reason is that many bootleg factories in China issue DVDs in a packet which contain only a DVD and a (fake) cover sealed in a plastic bag.  The buyer is then expected to buy a case separately.  If the seller says that he will not send a case, it is likely that he is selling these packets.

If you watch out for all the characteristics outlined above, you will be sure to avoid counterfeit Disney DVDs.  So, have fun expanding your Disney collection, but be careful! 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Click here for a link to Ebay's page on their policy towards bootleggers.  There is a link at the bottom where you can report people who sell counterfeit DVDs.  All you need to do is enter in the item number.  It is a good idea to report anyone you see selling counterfeit DVDs.  The sooner these sellers get kicked off of Ebay, the better! 

Another handy tool is the Disney Company anti-piracy unit's e-mail address.  The e-mail address is located at this page (it's all the way at the end, so keep scrolling!).  You will need to include the seller's name and item number.  Disney takes reports of sellers of bootlegged and counterfeit DVDs very seriously.  Once again, if you see anyone selling bootlegged or counterfeit Disney DVDs, it is a good idea to report them!