Ways to protect yourself while buying at Fanime.

[dealerJason]

Hello folks!
Dealerjason here reminding you all to protect yourself when it comes to buying merchandise in Fanime's Dealer's room.  Dealerdave and myself can only do so much so we need you to make sure that you are protecting yourselves.  Here are some helpful hints:

1. Before you buy, make sure you know their return policy.
If they say "All Sales are Final", that means you give them your money, that is it!  So, make sure you really want it and you want it for that price

2. Check the merchandise before you hand over the money.
-Don't blindly buy that Naruto headband with out making sure that it
    a. Is what you really want
    b. Has the proper copyrights and stickers so you know you are
        buying quality stuff

3.   Have you have shopped and have gotten the best price you can get?

4. Don't support Bootlegs!
You know that Cutey Honey movie is not out yet and that Kung Fu Hustle is not available in an All Region format, so why buy it?  I would never give someone money for something they copied from a DVD or from the internet especially when they want 9 times more than what it cost them to make it.  So, don't let the bootleggers win!  Check to make sure your DVD's and Merchandise have all the proper copyrights!

I hope this helps you folks.  As the enforcer of Fanime's Policies, I will be putting more up here to help you out!  Spend your money wisely and make sure you are happy with EVERYTHING you buy!

Happy Shopping!

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner
dealerjason

[yukie utsumi]

What about stuffed animals and plushies? I really want something from stuido ghibli (Totoro, Catbus, etc). Should we look for tags or just inspect the quality?

[VictimX]

What about cels, I'd like to get one or two do they fake those or are they marked fan work?

[dealerJason]

To get a legit Ghibli item, just check for the Miyazaki copy right.  If it is there along with the other stickers, it should be good.  Once again, research plays a huge role.

Cells, are extremely hard to make sure of.  I have been told legit cells have the following:

1. Good cells usually are drawn rougher.  Remember, they work fast, their work won't be perfect.

2. It comes with a sketch of the cell to prove the cell came from the same artist.

3. It has a Letter of authenticity.

But for cells, this still is not guarantee you a legit item.  Just exercise caution, do your research, and make sure you buy from those with excellent reputations.

dealerjason

[E-Chan]

And, while it's always tempting to buy the bootlegs because they're cheaper remember a few things:

- They tend to be of lower quality (dvd's will have bugs, or bad subs, or really bad dubs)
- What they're selling for $30, cost the bootlegger $2 prolly.
- It's illegal here in the states.
- The artists... well, they're not getting the money. (Yeah, same ol' internet-download thing... but really, consider, Miyazaki, he puts so much work into things, and you're not even letting money trickle through the company to him, personally? geez.)

[Sage_Yuffie]

how can i even tell if its a bootleg or not?
Personally, I really don't mind a bootleg, as long as it plays on my computer.

i don't even know what Cutey Honey is, and if it is even 'legally' out, but sometimes if a friend asks for it, and i buy it for em, how do i know if its legit?

PS. i'm the Fanime mule!  :P
I go to my friends in my town who are unfortunate enough to not beable to come due to no ride or not enough funds or no job leave and they give me money, i keep count of it, i buy from the lists they give me.

[dealerJason]

Imagine making something that made so much money, but you never got any of it because they stole it from you.  That is what bootlegging is.

Battle Royale was a world wide success.  People love the movie, go to conventions to see the movie, and even buy the movie.  It has made millions!

The problem is that the company that originally put it out barely saw a dime of the International money.  Why? Because all those millions of dollars were spent on bootlegged copies of the movie.  A bootlegger gives nothing back to the people who made the film.  

To make sure you are getting the best for your money, buy from reputable dealers, make sure it is not Region 0 or all region if it is a new release,  check for misspellings and lack of a copyright on the box. and if it is REALLY cheap, (20 or less) it is a bootleg.

You should always care if it is a bootleg.  You want to pay someone 20 dollars for something they got for free?

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner

[Tony]

Probably the best way to describe buying bootlegs is: you're getting ripped off and helping parasites.

You're getting ripped off because that bootleg DVD - even though it might be half the price - probably costs 10% of what you pay to manufacture it. It would be like asking a friend to burn a $1 CDR and he charges you 10 bucks for it. Why pay for something that cost so little - and was so easy - to produce?

Ah, but the same logic applies to real stuff, you say? Why pay $30 for a DVD that cost $3 to manufacture?

That's because there's much more to the real DVD that just manufacturing it; when you're paying for the real deal, you are directly funding the people who made that series for you. You're helping pay the artists, writers, producers, and voice actors. (And you can bet that very little of your $30 is pure profit. No one is "sticking it to the industry" by buying bootlegs; voice-actors aren't making $10 million per episode.)

Copying DVDs is incredibly easy. So while a legit copy pays for all the people who made it, buying a bootleg basically means you're paying for someone to hit "record" on a burner. Do you really want to pay someone $20 when all they did was push a button?

[Ayanami Rei First Child]

Personally I view bootlegs as being WORSE then fansubs. Why you ask? Because as least with fansubs you can save for anime you REALLY like.....OR to get the manga which helps support the artist in another way. For series like Cutey Honey that HAVE DVDs there's no excuse because YOU CAN  BUY IMPORTS!! Just make sure to get a DVD player or program for your compy that'll PLAY IMPORTS! If you buy bootlegers you support people who leech money off the REAL supporters!! @.@

[Hired_Blade_Kage]

Personally I view bootlegs as being WORSE then fansubs. Why you ask? Because as least with fansubs you can save for anime you REALLY like.....OR to get the manga which helps support the artist in another way. For series like Cutey Honey that HAVE DVDs there's no excuse because YOU CAN  BUY IMPORTS!! Just make sure to get a DVD player or program for your compy that'll PLAY IMPORTS! If you buy bootlegers you support people who leech money off the REAL supporters!! @.@

True to that! Remember the wise words of the Full Metal Panic! Copyright warnings! or Tess will shove a Tomahawk missle down your chimmney!! dun think she won't!! XD

But seriously, I like fansubs, and often buy legit manga.. >.> Bootlegs are just crap anyways...

[sykoeent]

To get a legit Ghibli item, just check for the Miyazaki copy right.  If it is there along with the other stickers, it should be good.  Once again, research plays a huge role.

Cells, are extremely hard to make sure of.  I have been told legit cells have the following:

1. Good cells usually are drawn rougher.  Remember, they work fast, their work won't be perfect.

2. It comes with a sketch of the cell to prove the cell came from the same artist.

3. It has a Letter of authenticity.

But for cells, this still is not guarantee you a legit item.  Just exercise caution, do your research, and make sure you buy from those with excellent reputations.

dealerjason

Actually... these are good points. BUT there are dealers who do sell authentic cells... problem is they're stolen property. If you can live with that on your conscience... go for it. I for one didn't know any better until Naoko Takeuchi (spelling?), creator of Sailor Moon, announced to the crowd that she will NOT sign the cells the fans bought from the convention cos they were stolen from her studio. So, now I have a stolen cell... well, many stolen cells... but whatevers.

[sykoeent]

Ooo ok Bootlegged anime.... or otherwise known as Anime DVD's from Taiwan... You knowI'm an impatient guy and during my lack of internet days of my post college hunt for a job, what better way to conserve money than buy a bootleg, right? Well... After watching Please Teacher! and falling in love with the story and art, Onegai Twins! come own... in bootleg form... I buy it and watch it. Disk 2 goes in and right at a cliffhanger... dvd dies... not the player, the dvd. How much does that suck?

[Absolute0]

Ooo ok Bootlegged anime.... or otherwise known as Anime DVD's from Taiwan... You knowI'm an impatient guy and during my lack of internet days of my post college hunt for a job, what better way to conserve money than buy a bootleg, right? Well... After watching Please Teacher! and falling in love with the story and art, Onegai Twins! come own... in bootleg form... I buy it and watch it. Disk 2 goes in and right at a cliffhanger... dvd dies... not the player, the dvd. How much does that suck?

OWNED BY PIRACY.

Karma, Karma.

[Magical Senpai]

10 Ways to tell your DVD set is a bootleg - Courtesy of WJ at the Virtual Infusion fourms.

[MzreYuen]

Can anyone tell me why the dealer room seems to get smaller and smaller? i this is my third year going and the dealer room was so small this year.

Mzre Yuen @ TaoToys booth

[Megumi]

Ooo ok Bootlegged anime.... or otherwise known as Anime DVD's from Taiwan... You knowI'm an impatient guy and during my lack of internet days of my post college hunt for a job, what better way to conserve money than buy a bootleg, right? Well... After watching Please Teacher! and falling in love with the story and art, Onegai Twins! come own... in bootleg form... I buy it and watch it. Disk 2 goes in and right at a cliffhanger... dvd dies... not the player, the dvd. How much does that suck?

OWNED BY PIRACY.

Karma, Karma.

I once bought a Saiyuki CD that was bootleg. The only reason I found out is because the songs on the CD that were supposed to be the TV sized versions were the full versions, so I had like 4-5 of the same songs on the CD twice -__- So I've now learned that any CD that has EVER ANIME as a logo is bootleg.

[Jelly Soup]

Can anyone tell me why the dealer room seems to get smaller and smaller? i this is my third year going and the dealer room was so small this year.

Mzre Yuen @ TaoToys booth

It just seems small. The same amount of dealers are there (or more, someone correct me), but there's a lot more walking space.

Sidenote: Will Tony be attending this year? I forgot to ask that last time I saw him.

[LordKefka]

Here is something I wrote up regarding bootleg DVDs in case anyone cares. Basically the main things to look out for I guess:

One, Two, or Three? What is the correct number?

Most of the time an Anime DVD contains around 3 to 4 episodes. So in other words, if it is a 26 episode Anime, you would expect (generally) 6 to 7 DVDs. Most 13 episode Anime series contain 4 DVDs. This is one of the most obvious things to know when looking to buy Anime DVDs. When there are 3 DVDs for something that is 26 episodes or 1 or 2 DVDs for 13 episodes series, then most likely it is bootlegged. Although there are times where some DVDs contain 5 episodes. But knowing the Region Code of the DVD should be the next thing to understand.

There should only be ONE type of DVD…right?

There are 8 Regions for DVDs including Region 0 or Region Free to Region 7. For example, Region 1 is North America, Canada. Region 2 is Japan and so forth. The Region to look out for when trying to distinguish the different between bootlegs and real DVDs is “Region 0″ or “Region Free.” This is the Hong Kong Regional Code. When you see an Anime DVD that says Region 0 or Region Free, 99.9% of the time it is a bootleg. However, there are Region 0 films that are NOT bootleg (exp. Initial D:LA). But when it comes down to Anime, avoid buying any of them that has to do with Region 0/Free. So why is Region 2,3,4 brought in? That is because people may mistaken for example, region 2 and 4 as bootleg. For North American people, buy ONLY Region 1! Next subject is the language package.

A language barrier?

If there is Chinese subtitles in a DVD, then chances are it is a bootleg. Most simply it is because Region 1 DVDs are Billingual or sometimes Trillingual and subtitles are usually just English. Just remember to avoid Chinese subtitles DVDs. Next point is the artwork of the DVD.

“Covering” the truth

Most of the time, the company that license an Anime will have an artwork that is universally seen at all stores. To find what the REAL artwork looks like go to sites such as Deepdiscountdvds.com, Rightstuf.com, or www.animeondvd.com. So before buying the DVD, make sure you can compare the artwork the person is selling with a trusted store. Even Bestbuy’s website will help you with this because there are no stores (other than pawn shops and second hand stores) that will sell bootlegs. Also in most cases, bootleg DVDs do not copy the DVD artwork from legitiment DVDs. Final point is, be careful of the price.

Truth or a lie?

Most people have probably heard the saying, Iif it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Well, it’s the same thing when it comes to eBay. If at any point you think the price is way too good, have your doubts in mind. If anything, ask the person who is selling questions about the item. Do not be afraid to be blunt with how to talk to them. Bootleg dealers will find any way to get you to think what they sell if real by saying “factory sealed” and such. But in reality, anyone can “factory seal” a set of DVDs with plastic wrappers and a hairdryer.

[Cowpunk]

On update to add.

The first post in this thread said the Cutie Honey live action movie was not available on legit DVD.

It now is from Bandai.

[Chihiro]

At Fanime 07, I bought a Toshiro plushy (BLEACH) and a month or so later, his hair split in half ._.
I had to sow it back together. The plushy itself was in tact.
Do I contact them about the plushy? Or just leave it alone? >.<