I am writing this guide to help buyers spot cds that are bootleg and pirated from China.  (I am chinese myself and by no way stating that all CDs from China are bootleg, but many of them are, the official CDs from China should be very similiar to releases to the rest of the world with the amount of songs, and cover artwork of the cds)

Hopefully, this guide will help you filter out what is an official release and what is not.  Most of the rules can be used for imports from other countries too.

These bootlegs  look really good, they look like the real thing and most of them come from asian countries and many of them are hard to decifer from the original thing.  They will claim it is an import, when it is just a "well made" bootleg.

Some things to keep in mind and/or do when bidding/buying a CD:
1.  Ask to see pictures of the any artwork/case and etc.  Chances are there are spelling mistakes especially with english songs. Sometimes the artwork looks odd, the colors are odd since it is a photocopy or computer made.   LOTS OF CDs FROM CHINA HAVE THAT CIRCULAR SHINY STICKER ON IT. THIS DOESNOT MEAN IT IS ORIGINAL OR AUTHENTIC. SOMETIMES RETAILERS CANT DECIFER REAL FROM FAKE. For Example, my dad went to WAL-MART on his last trip to China, you would think the CDs would be real. When I looked at the ones he bought a few of them were fake. Who would have thought a large retailer, would sell bootlegs??  Bootlegs are openly sold in China so there are plenty of them.

2.  Some buyers in order to collect everything pertaining to their favorite artist will bid on anything and everything that looks like it is RARE. If you see pics from a magazine shoot, other pics of the artist used as the cover for the CD, chances are it is fake. DO YOUR RESEARCH. REAL VERSIONS OF THE CD ARTWORK CAN USUALLY BE FOUND ON THEIR RECORD COMPANY WEBSITE.

3.  The CDs case/artwork should state what record label/company released the CD.  If it does not it, chances are it is not an official release from a record company. THIS ONLY HELPS SOMETIMES BECAUSE MANY OF THE BOOTLEGS HAVE CAUGHT ON AND BRANDED RECORD COMPANY LOGOS ON THE BOXES.

4.  If it truely is an Asian import CD (especially if from Hong Kong, China, or Taiwan), on the back of the CD disc itself, there should be the letters "IFPI" and some numbers printed really small on the disc.  (of course, if the CD is  used, you can ask to seller to see pic of the back of the CD disc.)

5.  If the CD has songs that are not suppose to be on the album, chances are it is a bootleg.  (For example, when Britney Spears 3rd album "Britney" came out, I saw a CD from China that is 2 discs and had all the songs from the "Baby...One More Time" Album and "Oops...I did it again" album.) Anything that does not seem like an official release probably is not.  IMPORTS ARE GREAT THEY HAVE OTHER/BONUS/UNRELEASED SONGS OR FREE GIFTS OTHER U.S RELEASES DON'T HAVE, BUT DON'T EXPECT SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A COMPILATION ALBUM.

6. Easiest thing to do is go to the artist's website and look to see their discography, consult the record company's website, if looking for an import try going to the overseas version of a record company's website.  Sony, EMI, Universal, and etc all have overseas websites. Or consult a reputable website that sells imports.

7. There are usually spelling mistakes.

 8. Look at the packaging! To counteract bootlegs many local Asian artists release CDs with very interesting packaging.  The packaging is usually large and not the normal cd size jewel case.  They usually come with many free gifts like coupons from sponsors, photobooklet, large case that does not fit in a normal CD rack.

9. When in doubt, ask questions. 

Don't support those that sell bootleg, pirated CDs.  The profit is almost always 100%. It only costs a few cents for the bootleggers to make these CDs. DON'T KEEP THEM IN BUSINESS.