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06-13-08, 02:11 PM | |
Community Manager
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Northern VA, USA
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Public Service Announcement: Beware of Counterfeit DVDs!
VFers must be increasingly vigilant when purchasing DVDs on the secondary market. There are increasing numbers of counterfeit copies floating around, many sold on eBay, some on the Amazon.com marketplace. Many very professional looking counterfeits have started to turn up on our video exchange, and the person trading the DVD may not be aware it is counterfeit. I have therefore assembled some tips to increase awareness here at VF about what pirated DVDs look like and how to avoid them in the first place.
If you are not 100% certain of the authenticity of a workout you own and want to trade based on what you read in this post, don't trade it. If you bought it on eBay, Amazon Marketplace or elsewhere and you think it's fake, report it to the site where you purchased it. Identifying bootlegs: There are a lot of bootleg DVDs, especially Cathe DVDs, milling about lately due to a number of eBay sellers selling pirated copies, many made in China, where it is inexpensive to produce very professional looking counterfeit DVDs that are difficult to distinguish from the originals. The following titles seem to be particularly popular with these bootleggers: Cathe Friedrich: Power Hour+, Rhythmic Step+, Timesaver, Push Pull/Supersets and Hardcore Extreme are the most commonly pirated, but bootlegs of Cardio Kicks/Circuit Max and Bootcamp/Muscle Endurance are also out there. Turbo Kicks and Body Pump: these are only officially allowed to be sold to certified Turbo Kicks/Body Pump instructors. Note that because of these restrictions, VFers are not allowed to trade these titles on the exchange. Les Mills actively pursues individuals and Web sites that try to sell/trade even legitimate copies of these workouts to third parties. Nonetheless, I'm listing them because many of our members may be seeking these titles on eBay, and many of those on eBay are bootlegs. Turbo Jam At least one of these has shown up on the VF exchange, and it was very difficult to distinguish from an original. NOTE If you would like me to add other workout DVD titles that you know are frequently pirated and sold on eBay, please drop me a pm or email so I can add it to the list. Here are some of the confirmed differences between legitimate Cathe DVDs and the bootleg versions contributed by VFers Tammy T and kauaigirl, who have compared legal versions and bootlegs side by side and have consulted with the folks at Cathe.com. Cathe also has published some information on how to tell if a Cathe DVD is legit and what code #s to look for on this page on Cathe.com:
General tips on avoiding counterfeit DVDs or identifying counterfeit DVDs:
These Web links appear to have some good information on spotting counterfeit DVDs/sellers: http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-BECOM...00000000954388 http://reviews.ebay.com/WHERE-TO-FIL...00000001387718 http://reviews.ebay.com/BOOTLEGS-HOW...00000000997642 http://ebay.about.com/od/mistakestoavoid/a/ma_fakes.htm If you have more useful links or tips to add to this list, email or pm me. If you wish to trade a legitimate workout that happens to be on the "frequently bootlegged" list above, unfortunately you should expect increased scrutiny from potential trading partners, so be polite if you are asked questions about where the DVD came from. If you purchased your DVD from a legitimate source, such as Cathe.com or Collage, you may wish to indicate that in your trade listing. If you purchased on eBay or from an Amazon marketplace seller, be prepared to provide a link to the auction or listing where you purchased the DVD. Please understand that if someone asks you for details about where you purchased the item, that doesn't mean they are accusing you of knowingly trading a bootleg--since these fakes can be so difficult to recognize, they are just following the advice in this post. If you are trying to obtain one of the titles that are frequently pirated, it is OK to (politely) ask the person with the DVD some questions about where the DVD came from, and to refer the person to this thread to explain why you are asking and how to look for clues for a bootleg if you find out the workout had been purchased on the secondhand market. IMPORTANT: Anyone who unknowingly trades a counterfeit DVD will be asked to undo the trade if that has not already been done (both parties get their original workouts back). Anyone who KNOWINGLY trades a counterfeit DVD will be barred from participating on the Exchange. Again, if you have reason to suspect a workout you own might not be a legitimate copy of the workout, please do not trade it on the exchange. If you suspect that you have received a counterfeit DVD in a trade, contact the other trader to find out where the DVD came from and to "undo" the trade if necessary. If you are unsure about one of your DVDs that you wish to trade, contact one of the exchange moderators and/or try comparing notes with a VFer who bought the same DVD new from a reputable vendor. You also might try to contact the instructor directly for tips on telling the difference between the genuine version and an illegal copy. I hope this post helps to increase awareness about this problem. Please feel free to pass along any more information that you feel would be useful in helping our community members avoid pirated DVDs. Thanks, Wendy
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Wendy Niemi Kremer Community Manager DISCLOSURE: I have a professional relationship with a seller or producer of fitness videos or products. For details, please see my profile. Last edited by WWWendy; 08-21-09 at 11:45 AM. Reason: added link to Cathe.com page on identifying legit DVDs |
Tags |
bootlegs, counterfeit, exchange, faq, tips, trading |
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