I have bought a few RARE out-of-print, expensive CDs on Ebay lately, and i`m pretty sure they`re originals, but i wanna know for certain. Can anyone tell me if there is any way AT ALL to find out if they are original or fake?
[Edited 12/19/05 3:55am]

Well, if they're not CD-R's, there's a point in favor.

And where did you buy them from? If they're from an Asian market, they could be fakes (they can make the most amazing fakes, esp. in HK).

Third, look for scans of the product on the net and compare.....or post 'em here!
[Edited 12/17/05 13:50pm]

Well there is one seller who continually has a Vanity 6 cd for sale on Ebay so after a while it has become pretty obvious they are fakes.

VoicesCarry said:

None of them are from the Asian market, and the sellers all had VERY good feedback. Do you know where i can find scans?
Thank you for posting

I got a Vanity 6 cd that isn't a fake. I can tell just by the printing style of EVERYTHING.

CinisterCee said:

Someone posted on here that the Vanity 6 fakes are awesome and nearly impossible to tell the difference.

I'm not at all sure of this but some of those old Warner Brother cd's had the WB imprint on the case and I'm pretty sure the fakes wouldn't.

lovemachine said:

I'm just comparing it to What Time Is It?, and 1999.

CinisterCee said:

Are those cd's first printings? If 1999 was a first print edition it wouldn't include DMSR.

I know that. I'm talking about the way all Warner Bros 80s disc faces are.

ie. Purple Rain looks the same too.

I`m embarrased to say this, i have just scanned some pictures, but i haven`t got a clue on how i can post them... Can anyone explain it to me in an easy way?

Icicle said:

You can open an account on myspace.com, upload your photos to your myspace site and them post them here like any other image.

Icicle said:

TinyPic.com is good.

However... Some of the fakes have really good covers anyway.

The easiest way to tell if a CD is fake is -

01. Most CDRs have a serial number printed or etched on the clear inner-circle of the disc. Factory pressed CDs don't have any markings on the clear inner-circle.

See this PDF for an example - http://www.riaa.com/issue...ochure.pdf

02. Hold the actual disc up to an ordinary household lightbulb. Cheap CDRs are quite transparent whereas a factory-pressed disc is more opaque.

03. Look at the alignment of the graphics - specifically the spine. The bootleggers can get a bit shoddy when it comes to ensuring the graphics actually fit the papers inserts. The spines on bootleg CDs are nearly always off-centre.

Theres plenty of fake CDs doing the round.

Most common seem to be Vanity 6 MPLS and Apollonia 6.

Okay, here`s one of the CDs






[Edited 12/19/05 3:53am]

[Edited 12/19/05 12:16pm]

Look real to me. The first one is supposed to be a promo, right?

VoicesCarry said:

I don`t think so. Guess how much i paid for it? (The first one)

Icicle said:

Well, it is a promo. "Prohibida su venta" designates it as such. I have no idea how much these are worth

VoicesCarry said:

I payed about $110 for it, i didn`t know it was a promo

First CD pressings of old Motown albums - very nice.

VoicesCarry said:

is it an original?

Icicle said:

Yes, these all look original.

Yeah nice scoops.

The first one looks weird... and I'm not familiar with the album either.

The rest look like official Motown shit.

CinisterCee said:

Lots of Spanish pressings look like that.

VoicesCarry said:

I was worried about the black inner-circle on the first cd

Icicle said:

I wouldn't worry about that; it looks like a territorial variant of the disc design. The back looks authentic. There are lots of unique Motown/Uni pressings all over Europe, so if you find something unique from there it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bootleg.

VoicesCarry said:

Okay, i guess it`s easy to reveal a fake cd by looking at the actual disc, like Justin stated. Thank you for helping me clear it up, it`s very comferting knowing they are authentic.