I buy a good number of Japanese cd's, mostly on ebay and I'm sure some of them are counterfeit. The only way I can think of to avoid it is to not buy any from any sellers from China. But how can you really tell? I don't buy from any Russia or Ukraine sellers, but does buying from a seller in China automatically mean it's counterfeit? Does buying from a Japanese seller automatically make it legit? You can't tell until you receive the disc and then, good luck dealing with a seller in China if it's counterfeit. When I receive a disc, is there any quick way to tell if it's legit or counterfeit?

I would not trust some Japanese sellers, they are now using China to copy their expensive CDs and pretending they are made in Japan. When you consider how much some of these are such as the Japan only deluxe edition of The Who - A Quick One, I am not surprised they are not trying to make a quick dollar here and there.
I go to China often as I am married to a Chinese girl and have seen whats out there in China, I can imagine what is also made and sold on to other countries as an original.
Trying to stop this counterfitting is a waste of time because Senior Chinese Officials are involved in these dodgy business.
Greed is a big thing in South East Asia.

I personally have seem some Russian counterfeits that looked awfully close to the real thing. I would have problems telling the difference.
Buying from CD Japan or Jim/Roxanne if he ever gets back in the biz is probably your safest bet.

I also don't THINK they can counterfeit the Japan SACD's due to there being so few SACD pressing plants.

What exactly is a counterfeit? Is China just copying the Made In Japan disc at one of their factories and replicating the artwork? In theory, would it not sound like the Made In Japan disc if they were just copying it? Other than it not being a genuine Made In Japan disc, are counterfeits really that terrible?--and I'm not making an argument for them, I'm just asking.

Coincidentally, the deluxe edition of the Who's A Quick One is being rereleased (in a little less deluxe packaging, I am lead to believe) in a couple of weeks for those looking for it:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UICY-94804

I too am leary about buying Japanese CDs from eBay and other after-market sellers because it's hard to tell if they're legit. I never buy anything that's worth a fortune, so I am probably okay.
Or so I assure myself.

I've gotten to the point where, if the seller is from China, my guard goes up, even though they explain in their descriptions that they don't sell bootlegs, it's made in Japan, etc. The seller themusicspecialist on ebay says they can't mention Japan in their description if it isn't a Japanese disc, but, really--what's stopping them?

IMO, if the seller is in China, it's a pirate. Consider it a given.

Sadly i have to agree.

I don't buy too many Japan discs.....usually only if the album is unavailable anywhere else, or has bonus tracks unavailable anywhere else.

Have used CD Japan, Amazon Japan, and did buy from Jim/Roxanne.

The only times I ever used Ebay - most recently for Paul Weller Sonik Kicks - I used a seller named eiselvis who is from Japan and has a 100% rating. I trust getting a legit CD.

I trust CDJapan.

Charles. good point I would believe Amazon Japan should be fine in most cases especially if you're buying direct from Amazon.

JD, here's an example of what I strongly believe is a Chinese counterfeit. All I have to base that on is the price is $10-$15 lower than I've seen elsewhere (& I've really been looking for an "affordable" copy of this one) & the seller is in China.

It's not supposed to be possible to counterfeit an SACD but....................

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0907946023

CD Japan are all good but unbelievably expensive.

You can also use a site called minilps.net that has a function for only searching through legit dealers of Japanese product. They are an invaluable resource and also have a really enlightening FAQ on counterfeits and how to spot them. I use the "fake-free search" function on this site all the time.

I find cd japan to be lower than most that I compare them to, which is usually cd banq and 3rd party sellers on ebay. Their shipping is a bit pricey, however.

Geff, I hafta admit, that *looks* like a fake, or maybe it's just a poor scan. The seller has a 100% feedback rating though. I just wish there was a way you could know PRIOR to ordering, not when it's in your hand, but I'm gonna check out that site that was posted after your reply, Geff. Sounds interesting.

Thanks! I'll check them out. I would really like to know how to id the pirates.

You can't always go by the price that they're asking. With the dollar weak against the yen, (79 yen/dollar) the list price on a SHM SACD is around $54.. or what you would pay from CDJapan. When I was in business, I had a 20% discount which would bring my cost down to about $43.40........ If you could deal directly with JVC or Warner Japan or Universal, I'm sure the discount would be around 45-50% if not a little more. There are a few distributors in Japan that offer 40% or more off of list, BUT, they won't deal international. and most do not speak English. You need to have a middle man in Japan to order, buy/pay, and arrange shipping to the U.S. Chances are, the legit Chinese dealers could very well have contacts in Japan, and they are getting a much better discount, and if the Yuan/Yen exchange rate is better, they are winners all the way around.

I just checked exchange rates and the Chinese Yuan/Japan Yen/ US Dollar are almost exactly the same, so there's no advantage in exchange rates....... oh well, like anybody would give a rats ass......

I just don't trust China! (I admit I have a big grudge from the pet food issues of a couple years back). And I have seen a number of Russian counterfeits.