Are bootleg soundtracks allowed to be sold on eBay?

[NukaCola]

I bought the Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter soundtrack off eBay for $7 or so, and then I realized once I got it that it was a bootleg. I did a bit of research and people say that the bootleggers that do this (SMILE FACE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS" from Taiwan) offer high-quality bootlegs. Nevertheless, I kept the album, haven't opened it at all. After a month now it'd made me wonder: is this even allowed on eBay? $7 wasn't too big of a deal for me and I was a bit disappointed, but it's also due to my own ignorance in believing that I could get such an album for $7...what's everyone's opinion on this?

I'll be submitting the bootleg info to the archives shortly.

[LiquidAcid]

It's not allowed. IIRC this is handled by the: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_an d_Artistic_Works

Taiwan of course hasn't signed it, therefore they can do what they want - inside their country. So it's perfectly legal as long as they don't export the bootlegs - which they do (of course *g*).

[LuxKiller65]

We've (almost) all been through buying a pirate someday. It can make sense in those cases where the original is too expensive for our pockets though, so I wouldn't be too worried. 7$ is all right, the problem is when sellers either claim it's an original and it isn't, or worse when they sell pirates at the same price or even more than the originals, that's just lame. They make money on people's ignorance, and sometimes they don't even know they have fakes (unless they paid 1$ each CD, in which case they should be smart enough to realise it).

[NukaCola]

Here's where I bought it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=370104653252

[Myrkul]

I feel sorry for you. At least it was not expensive.

But i also see, the seller wrote down on the description, the catalog number of this bootleg "KA-057-058"..
My question is, did you know what these numbers were for before you bought it?
If you knew it correspond to cat #, did you do a search to see if they corresponded to anything safe ?

The scan itself would not be enough i think.. even if that smily face on the obi looks very suspucious (publisher: smile face..)


In general.. just avoid the auctions if you (have the luck to) see any of these logos
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3559/bootleglabels.jpg

[KeyLogic]

I know for a fact that there are many persons that are selling bootlegs on eBay and exporting them to other countries. Like Myrkul stated, always check to see if the user posted a catalog number for the album or individual discs, you can compare this to the catalog number posted here on VGMdb.

If you want to be sure that the disc(s) received are original copies, you of course first check the album case or spine card. You might be able to contact the user and ask that (s)he provide (unique) high quality scans so that you can see this information. If you've bought the album and broken the factory seal, check the inner-ring on the underside of the disc, this should also have the catalog number for that particular disc.

[NukaCola]

Well, I didn't give much thought to the label number or the smiley face, not to mention the different color of the album art..but the thing is still sealed. I don't know if it's even worth opening a dispute over. Whatever, I'll keep it, forever sealed :)

[KeyLogic]

You might be able to return it and get your money back but I heard that it's a bit of an annoying process.