A Guide to Spotting Fake CDs

With today's technology, it is becoming easier and easier for anyone with a home computer and a fancy printer to make fake, pirated CDs look very much like original copies.  I will offer some tips on how to spot a fake CD when you do suspect you've received one and also how to spot the "red flags" to avoid buying one in the first place.  This guide is mainly concerning "rare" CDs, since common, relatively easy-to-find discs are not worth the time and effort to bootleg in most cases.

What prompted me to write this guide was that a seller I recently encountered was selling multiple copies of rare CDs, and he sold one to me.  I will tell more about my story below, but first let me talk about how to spot a fake CD that looks official. 

CHECKING FOR AUTHENTICITY

First and foremost, does the bottom (information side) look factory pressed?  If you're a CD collector, you can probably spot a CD-R right away; however, there are new types of recordable media on the market that have a "silver" bottom.  At a glance, these silver bottom CD-Rs can look like authentic original copies, but if you hold them side-by-side with a true factory-pressed CD, most times you can detect a hint of color (usually pale green) or a surface that is not quite as reflective as a factory-pressed disc.  Looking at the label-side of the disc, I have seen some that are near impossible to distinguish from an original disc.  Printers are available on the market that can create labels which print directly on the CD's surface (not a stick-on), and some of them are of such high quality that you'd never know the difference.  They even have a glossy look to them, just like the real thing.  This brings me to the most accurate way to tell.

Take a look at the inner ring of the disc near where the plastic is clear.  Most times, the letters and numbers on this ring can only be read by looking at the playing side of the disc.  ALL factory-pressed CDs will have the disc's catalog number imprinted into this inner ring.  For example, if the catalog number is PRCD 1234, you are almost 100% certain to find "PRCD 1234" somewhere on that inner ring.  If it's not there, chances are you have a pirated CD.  Also, if the CD is missing the correct catalog number and has the number "80" (or "D80") sometimes followed by some other numbers, chances are you are looking at an 80-minute recordable CD.

If you do end up with a counterfeit CD, do your fellow eBay members a favor and leave the seller negative feedback and report him to eBay.  While many sellers will "retaliate" by leaving you negative feedback, eBay is currently going through a restructuring of their feedback system that will hopefully protect us against abusive negative feedback.  Remember when leaving feedback to stick to the facts and be as specific as you can in the allotted space, so that your comment looks more credible to other potential buyers.  For example, "Seller sold me a fake CD and would not refund my money," is much better than "this jerk is a time waster and fraud!"

RED FLAGS (BEFORE YOU BUY)

1) Private Auctions

While it's not always bad when a seller lists an auction as "private"---the buyer's ID is not disclosed to anyone other than the seller---this can be a red flag.  First of all, it blocks other members from viewing the previously sold items on the seller's feedback page.  For instance, if the seller is offering up a very rare CD it would be helpful to know if he just sold six copies of that CD in the past few weeks.  Even the luckiest collectors I know have not been fortunate enough to come across multiple copies of a rare title in years of collecting, let alone within several weeks.  (I'm referring to CDs that sell for larger amounts of money and were only ever available in limited quantities, such as promotional only releases.)  When the auctions are not private, you can view the items that other members have purchased to make sure it wasn't multiple copies of the same CD you're considering bidding on.

2) Vague descriptions given on auction page / poor photos / no photos

Again, this is not always a surefire way to tell, but if the CD is extremely collectible, most reputable sellers will take time to give a decent description and put up some quality photos.  For a disc that normally sells for $5 or $10, I can see how the seller might not get too involved with the description.  It's time consuming to type, upload photos, etc.  If the CD normally goes for $50 to $500, I would expect the seller to take a little more care with the listing.

3) Beware of "Second Chance" offers

If you get a second chance offer on a rare CD, look at what the seller's message reads.  If it says that the high bidder could not pay, WATCH OUT!  I am a seller as well as a buyer, and it is only a rare occasion when the high bidder does not pay.  If you were the second highest bidder, how long did it take for the seller to make you a second chance offer?  Was it the next day or even within a week?  Most sellers will allow the buyer at least five to seven days to make payment, so it's pretty suspicious if you're getting the "high bidder could not pay" second chance offer within a day or two.

If the seller says that he has another copy of the CD, is he offering it to you as the SECOND highest bidder, or were you the THIRD or even FIFTH highest bidder?  Again, you have to ask yourself how rare the CD is and what the chances are that the seller has multiple copies.  If you weren't the second highest bidder, you should be suspicious no matter what the seller's reason is for offering it to you.

4) Check for negative and mutually withdrawn feedback

It's always a good idea to see why someone has left negative feedback, so that you know what you're getting into.  If other buyers have left negative feedback saying that the seller has sold them a fake CD, use caution.  Look for withdrawn feedback, because the comment cannot be removed, even though the feedback score can be.  A high number and percentage of positive feedback is not necessarily a sign that the seller is honest.  Many users have been tricked into thinking they got the real thing when in fact it is a copy.  (See my story below for an example.)

5) Homemade compilations

If you are thinking about buying a compilation CD or a too-good-to-be-true-dirt-cheap collection of discs that you "CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE," there's probably a good reason you can't get them anywhere else.  The seller is most likely just making burned CDs and selling them.  I've seen this happen on several occasions, and I'm sure you can find a bunch of these listings right now.  Check other music web sites such as amazon.com, half.com, discogs.com, and allmusic.com.  If you can't find the title at any one of those four places, chances are there was no such title released officially.  Also watch out for "out of print" titles that are loaded with bonus tracks.  Take a look to see if the "bonus track" version of the CD was ever released.  If not, it's probably a bootleg with questionable quality.

MY EXPERIENCE

I collect quite a bit of old school hip-hop, especially promo CD singles from the early 90s.  One of the discs I had been in search of was listed by a seller in the UK.  Since it was high on my "wish list," I had foolishly ignored some red flags and proceeded to take part in the auction.

First of all, most of this user's items were "private" auctions.  I had no way of knowing which CDs other members had previously purchased.  Second of all, a couple other users had left negative feedback stating that their items were "fake."  Given that this seller still had a 97.7% positive feedback score, I decided to ignore those first two red flags.

At the auction's end, I placed the FIFTH highest bid, which was for $50.00.  Obviously, I was going to have to keep searching for another copy that was in my price range.  But wait!  Within a day or two, the seller offered me a "second chance" offer saying that the original buyer could not pay for the CD.  But, I thought I was the FIFTH highest bidder?  And why was he offering this to me so soon?  It must just be my lucky day.  I ignored yet another red flag and sent him my Paypal payment.

Two weeks later, my CD arrived.  Knowing what to look for, I immediately took it out of the case and flipped it over to see what the information side looked like.  While the top side looked like it had a professional silk-screened label on it, the bottom didn't quite have the same shiny surface as a factory pressed CD.  There was an ever-so-slight green tint that you might not notice if you didn't look very hard.  Also, the inner ring of the CD had "D80 257498573" (or something like that).  This was far from matching the catalog number of PRCD 4044-2.  I realized that I had been scammed.

To make matters worse, I contacted a friend of mine, who is also a collector.  As it turns out, he had purchased a copy of this same CD from the same seller.  While he thought it didn't quite look the same on the bottom as other factory-pressed CDs, it was bootlegged so well that he didn't realize it was a fake.  I had him check the matrix number, and sure enough, it was almost identical to the one I had with "D80."  (If we had both purchased legit copies, the matrix numbers would have been identical.  His copy didn't have the catalog number either, but rather a different batch number.  CD-R manufacturers will put a batch number on the inner ring, since a blank CD doesn't have a catalog number.)

Upon contacting the seller, I was surprised to find that he did reply.  As expected, he claimed that he "did not know it was a fake," but offered to refund my money.  Being a little wiser to his game, I told him I would send them item back after my refund was issued.  I didn't want to lose my money and also the proof that he had scammed me.  Several days went by (and a couple more e-mails inquiring about my refund), but I had yet to receive a reply or a refund.  At this point, I decided to take action through Paypal.  I filed a claim, and they asked me to mail the CD back to the seller.  Once the seller received it, I was supposed to be issued my refund.  It has now been more than a month since I mailed it back, and I have yet to receive my refund or any contact from the seller for that matter.  The dispute is still open with Paypal, but it has been more than 10 days since they last contacted me.  I'm still hoping that my refund will come through, but in the meantime, please pass along my guide to other CD collectors, or (sellers) feel free to put a link to it on your auction pages to educate buyers.

By the way, the CD I purchased was the 2Pac promo CD for "Brenda's Got A Baby"---one of the rarest discs in his catalog.

UPDATE: DON'T EXPECT ANY HELP FROM PAYPAL

My claim with Paypal had been open for nearly two months; however, the resolution center had done little to nothing on my claim.  Everything they had asked of me (providing receipts, proof of shipping, etc.), I submitted to them within 24 hours of their request.  Today, without any notice whatsoever, they closed my claim stating that my "tracking number was invalid."

Unless they know something I don't, I have never heard of a tracking number that can trace a package BETWEEN countries.  I had to ship this from the US to the UK, and I bought the best shipping I could---Registered Mail.  Now, after spending close to $75.00 and several hours of my time, I get NOTHING from Paypal's so-called "buyer protection."  What a scam!  I will be moving most of my business (buying and selling) away from eBay and Paypal.  Buyers beware!