How do I report sales of bootlegs being listed under legitimate DVDs on Half.com?
PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2006 4:00 pm
by Bobtheduck
There used to be a feature on half.com that let you ask the buyer questions, and the questions and answers would show up on the page... That seems to have disappeared... In addition to that, when trying to report a violation, you can say only whether you think it did or didn't, not why... I doubt the average half.com staff member is going to realize that, hey, 4 discs for a set that is supposed to be 8 is bootleg... I doubt they'd look into it to realize that the real sets are 8, and will have no problem with the 4 disk (HK bootleg or digisub) set being sold... This is so annoying...
PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2006 5:47 pm
by Rogie
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a feasible way of reporting it. I've been a half.com seller for years, and it's always irked me that I have to "compete" with the prices of bootleggers. However, I have found that if I explicitly state that what I'm selling is the official North American, Region 1 release, then people trust me more and tend to buy from me more. I also describe exactly what is included if it's not brand new; in other words, that I'm including the disc, its case, its front case insert, and any inserts within the case. The more info, the more trustworthy.
So buyers just have to be knowledgeable about it, and many unfortunately just have to buy one or two before they catch on and are able to differentiate between official products and bootlegs.
The problem is that you cannot technically take legal action (or any action via Half.com) against bootleggers, because they do indeed describe their products as they truly are, disc count and all. Only if they say that it's region 1 and official are they lying and misrepresenting their products.
It's basically a policy of educate yourself and be sure to only buy from sellers who provide tons of info about their products. I know you do that, Bob, and are just trying to report these dishonest sellers. Unfortunately, no official action can be taken against the bootleggers, unless Half.com deems the problem worth their time to do something themselves.