How Do I Identify A Fake Beatles Mono Box?

Sell it on eBay!

 

Very helpful youtube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPBHT_O2_NU

 

Good clip, although he didn't mention any drop dead easy tells.

It appeared to me that one such tell was there was an inner ring indentation on the fake near the spindle hole, but not on the real copy...

 

Thanks for the link. It was exactly what I needed to confirm that my box is fake. I emailed the seller just now. My experience has been that if I indicate to the seller that if I am not refunded a.s.a.p., I'll have to file a claim with ebay and contact the copyright holder to report the fraud. In three separate cases, the payment was refunded within 24 hours. With two sellers, I was told to just keep the item. The third one refunded $22 extra and asked that I return the fake.

I was 70% certain it might be bogus when I bought it, but the price was high enough that I thought there was a shot it was real. I secretly hoped it was something that "fell off the back of a truck"--legitimate, but a little hot.

Interestingly, the seller has 100% positive feedback with 127 transactions. He sells multiples of about 5 different box sets and no one had posted that their sets were fakes. I took a chance, but I think I'll get the money back. The seller, I hope, will not want the FTC, EMI, ebay or the state AG investigating his practices or goods.

I think any seller caught selling fakes on ebay should be banned.

 

The ink smell, the flimsy plastic sleeves without the paper sleeves, the off-square jackets, the loose jacket tabs and the description of the rainbow ring on MMT were enough for me to know for sure.

 

Mine sound alright, but I don't have the legit set to compare, nor do I have any Beatles CDs to even compare the fakes to those.

 

Be sure to give the seller his first negative, and be sure to be very specific: "Sold me a counterfeit Beatles CD boxed set. Is selling many Beatles boxes. Be careful." or something like that. He can't neg you back, so you don't have to worry. Do not leave feedback, and do not agree to leave feedback, until you have your money back in hand. If he does anything to suggest a quid pro quo arrangement to get your money back, immediately file with PayPal/eBay and let them know (as that's against the rules).

 

Oh, he'll get appropriate feedback.

I'm not sure what you mean about quid pro quo, though. Do you mean if he offers to refund most of my money and let me keep the set, or do you mean if he offers to make it up another way?

I'm convinced that, with sellers of counterfeit goods, I can insist that I be refunded before I return the item. After all, it's only fair. I sent him money, then he sent the set. With a return like this, he sends the money, then I send back the box. I wouldn't expect this with a legit seller, but with a crook, hell yes.

 

No offense, but your contradiction made me laugh. You're implying that it's ok to buy stolen goods but not ok to sell fakes.

I think it's illegal to do both actually.

 

Not a contradiction as I see it. My objection to counterfeit items comes from the awareness that the artists, publishers, copyright holders, legitimate sellers and the public-at-large are all damaged by the practice.

A stolen set represents a damage, of course, but primarily to the victim of the theft and the insurance carrier. I wasn't saying I would gladly accept a stolen item, just that it would be preferable to a knockoff. The price I paid was lower than I would expect to pay for a legit set, but much higher than the current cost of a fake. I thought there might be a possibility of it being purloined. This was before I was made aware of the glut of fakes in circulation.

I see a distinction between fakes and stolen items, and no contradiction in thinking one is OK and the other not. They are two different things. You're misconstruing a weak joke for an intent to deal in stolen goods. Sorry if my attempt at humor led you to believe I support trade in stolen goods. I don't. I would never knowingly possess stolen goods, but I can guarantee you that questionably sourced items are everywhere. And most owners of said items are unaware of that fact.

 

Good news. I received a full refund within 90 minutes of contacting the seller. His first response was that the set was legit, which I adamantly rejected. If you mention ebay, negative feedback, copyright holders, the FTC and the state AG, fraudsters pony right up!
I don't get to keep the set, though. Big whoop.

 

Did you have checked?

 

The person I bought from only has a 6 feedback and has sold a smattering of random items since last October, none of which were Beatle CDs as far as I can tell. Other items they've just sold are The Golden Girls and Charmed on DVD and those looked legit and got positive feedback. Maybe they are on the up and up, or maybe they don't know that they sold a fake. I dunno. I hope if it is a phony that the person will come clean about it. I see from the tracking info that the item will be arriving at my house today. I'll check it at lunch time and give a full report.

 

Yep....it's a fake. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the difference. The real Mono box has some weight to it, you get the idea you could brick someone over the head with it. This one...not so much. Softer cardboard outside. CDs tossed into the box randomly. Reeking of ink. Printing not even CLOSE to looking convincing, at least to my eyes. I pulled 2 CDs. One had a scuff on it, the other had some kinda black, cracking looking thing going on with it. Not sure if it would play. Gave Revolver a spin in the car. Spun too long before finally clicking into track 1. Sound wasn't terrible, but then I have nothing to compare it to. Stong bass, but maybe too much highs? Might have been a little painful. Not 100% sure on that one. Anyway, angry email to seller has been sent. This is a mess and will surely destroy the online market for these box sets. No one is safe.

 

ANYONE who gets a counterfeit owes it to the community to leave a very specific negative feedback describing the fact that seller is shipping countefeit Beatles boxes. Hopefully, enough of these will at least whack-a-mole some of these guys off eBay.

I'd actually recommend emailing EMI/Apple and eBay with a note, while you're at it, although it may not do much good.

 

Yes. Not even close.

 

I was thinking about the flood of fakes and the number of sales to unsuspecting consumers who may never realize they've been swindled. I wonder what the impact on independent record stores will be when all the lost sales are tallied. So many stores are barely making it, and these popular sets were a chance to make a few bucks, but with so many buyers of the fakes, I imagine there are many authentic sets gathering dust on the shelves. Small retailers can't drop their prices much, and although they can return them to the distributor, they lose money.
My attitude now is to spend the money at a good indie store and support the industry at both ends, rather than seek a bargain and watch the hobby lose out.

 

Not true. You are safe if you purchase a legitimate mono box from a legitimate source.

 

I'm torn, kwadguy. I really hate to leave negative feedback. My seller refunded my money, and I'm thinking maybe he is actually unaware of the situation. Just a guy who thought he was getting a deal he could make some money on. His service was quite good, he never avoided dealing with me, resolving my complaint quickly. I advised him to question his source, as continuing to sell fakes might net him some trouble.

I'll email EMI, as you suggested, and ebay. Maybe the FTC, FBI, DoD, MI-5 and Interpol too.

I might email the seller again and tell him that if he doesn't quit selling these, I'll be forced to turn him in. Who knows? He may stop selling this junk.

 

Seller told me to send it back. Plead ignorance. CDs played in car after some delay (at least Revolver did). At home on my system....nothing. Could not be read. Anyway, they're going back. Looks like I picked the wrong week to go Mono box shopping.

 

But I buy EVERYTHING on the secondhand market (well, except for my threads). I like a bargain. I like to get a good deal.

 

I mean, is ANYBODY fooled by this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Beatles-Mon...mdZViewItemQQptZMusic_CDs?hash=item19ba1aa676

 

He's a CON MAN who got caught. You want to let him walk? He'll con the next guy. If I sold you a counterfeit and you complained, you can be darn sure I'd respond quickly, too. No way I want anyone else to know.

Remember: These guys are getting these boxes for about $30 shipped from China, or less. So if 2/3 of all sales are returned, they break even. If 1/3 are returned, they make good money. And if fewer are returned, they make out like a bandit. Those are good odds, considering most people who buy them are clueless...

LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK. There's no shades of gray here. No way the guy thought he was legitimately buying copies for $30. No way he was selling them for $100 if he sourced them legitimately, because there is NO legitimate source @ $100.

You are doing everyone a big disfavor if you don't leave negative feedback. If there is EVER a time negative feedback is deserved--no required--it's now.

I usually don't leave negative feedback. But there are times it's justified and there is no argument otherwise. This is one of those times.

 

Man, I hope the John Lennon autographed Mono Box I ordered isn't a fake...

 

Hmm, and I just ordered one signed by all four Beatles.


A_L