Fri 2008/10/24 16:28
Japan Probe reports that 52% of Japanese don’t have a problem with counterfeit brand goods and pirated movies.A majority of Japanese adults now believe that it is acceptable to buy counterfeit brand goods or pirated music and movies: A survey released Thursday by the Cabinet Office showed 52.4 percent of those polled said buying counterfeit products such as brand name bags, watches, CDs and DVDs is acceptable, up 7.2 percentage points from a previous survey in 2006. Those who replied that counterfeit products should not be bought no matter what declined 7.5 percent to 39.9 percent in the survey conducted in September. The figures are based on replies given by 59 percent of a total of 3,000 people aged 20 or older.Me personally don't have a thing for brand goods - counterfeit or otherwise. I usually try to remove the label or logo if I end up with a brand item. The last thing I remember doing was inking out a Nike logo on a pair of trainers and water bottle holder which I'm using for my armor. Any of you bother with "counterfeit brand goods" or pirated movies on DVD? Photo of Soniko caught listening to a pirated CD from Gelbooru. Ah, and you may notice that the news items now have polls. I'm giving it a test run before I release it to you to create your own polls.
Posted on Fri 2008/10/24 16:28 by
If you are new here, you may want to keep up with more of the same via RSS or Danny's other networks. (dont show again)
Hijacked from Aiko Chan who asks an interesting question - how do you arrange/display your figures?
...(more)
Sun 06/15 20:22 comments (49)
Sasara sent me mail with a photo saying that shes taking the car out for a spin with her new boyfrie...(more)
Thu 11/20 06:24 comments (73)
I have a few SonMay CDs, so I can't exactly speak out against the bootleg industry... ^^;
(ID #344944) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:45
I absolutely despise counterfeiting. If you're aiming to buy counterfeit goods then w/e that's your choice, but most counterfeits are meant to cheat people out of their money thinking they're buying real quality products. Counterfeits are always lower quality with inferior build qualities, I know I'd be extremely pissed if I got bought say...a figure and they sent me a counterfeit that was inferior! I wonder if the Japanese are fine with it since Japan has relatively little counterfeits compared to other countries like the US and China.
(ID #344953) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:50
With Figures it's bit tough - Japan loves limited production runs, and many times a figure (especially resin kits) will be made in tiny production runs and end up only being availabe on auction sites for tens of thousands of yen from hawkers. If a fan wants to get beloved figure it's either buy a recast (which can be excellent in quality if you know where to look) or throw a few hundred dollars for a 70 dollar figure at Yahoo Japan through a proxy (which will charge a % fee on top of that) ;(
(ID #344973) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:05
I have a couple things that are counterfeits, but the real deal is *most of the time* better.
(ID #344948) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:48
Was bit harder finding the Post Comment box this time ^^
(ID #344949) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:49
I wasn't alone I see. lol.
(ID #344955) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:51
Took me a few seconds to find, too...
(ID #344959) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:55
CEO MIrai Inc
point noted - will think about the UI.
(ID #344966) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:00
Personally I like them all at the side, like you currently have.
(ID #344972) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:02
CEO MIrai Inc
Me too but server hosting is costing thousands of dollars per month orz.
(ID #344988) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:20
I figured with your growing popularity and amount of traffic you would have more ability to dictate where adds go?
(ID #345482) Posted on 2008/10/25 03:54
university film student
Me too, when I first saw it earlier. Seems gone now, but I'm not sure. Danny, we understand that the ads help you keep up with server costs, and advertisers pay more for certain places. Don't know if they'd understand, but placing it where it was earlier actually made it LESS likely for me to see it. Usually if it's on the side and not too obstrusive I leave it. But if I can see it...I Adblock the sucker with a Firefox add-on and I end up never seeing it at all.
(ID #344997) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:32
CEO MIrai Inc
Using ad blockers is totally fine ;-)
(ID #345069) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:59
Soniko! My Love! When it comes to counterfeit in the sense of figures, it's a serious no-no for me. For me getting the figure isn't really all about just having the character, it's also about getting money to the creators. As for movies and stuff like that, I barely watch them anyways, so I don't even bother with em. ...this site is really loading up with obtrusive ads, not to mention it's layout is starting to become way too complicated now.
(ID #344954) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:50
Pirated stuff has become such a common thing these days. So the results of the survey isn't such of a surprise.
(ID #344956) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:52
Evil Fanfic Writer
Don't have pirated gundams or figures, and do not want! As for other stuff, I can't think of anything I have actually bought to be pirated.
(ID #344964) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:58
I'm more for the real stuff, but when the counterfeit is pretty similar to the original with a lower price, I'd go for the counterfeit.
(ID #344965) Posted on 2008/10/24 16:59
the survey is extremely unaccurate. asking 3000 people only doesen't prove that buying counterfeit stuff is acceptable. if you randomly ask another 3000 people, the results can be different. it also depends on what part of society they are living in. if these 3000 people are from less developed or poorer areas, this can greatly effect the outcome of the results. for me. i have some counterfeit sega saturn and ps1 games. i don't buy counterfeits anymore simply because i am too lazy and counterfeit games are actually expensive in canada.i don't mind paying for the real thing. as for bags and brandnames. i only buy real brand name stuff. for the price of a nice fake, you can buy yourself a decent pair of pants, shirt or whatever. most people these days just want to show that they are wealthy even though they are not. its all about be "baller" these days. as for dvd's and stuff, all of them are real. sometimes i do get a few free dvd's from frds and stuff that are fake. i usually like the real thing.
(ID #344977) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:06
CG Artist wannabe / Figure Collector / Deadman
I don't have problems with counterfeit/pirated when it comes to CDs, DVDs, wrist watches, but a pirated toys or figures is another thing... what's the reason in saving up cash if I ended up just buying fakies.
(ID #344982) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:11
Hm. Many Chinese I know stock up on cheap knock offs and pirated goods when they go back to the mainland from the states. In contrast, my recently well-off cousin goes to Japan and comes to the US to buy the real stuff. I hear there are some very good counterfeit electronics coming out of Shenzhen, probably from the same factories that make the real stuff. I have no problem buying counterfeit. If there's a warranty or enough of a dip in quality that I wouldn't want to get the fake, I have that option of getting the real deal. I see it analogous to downloading anime or pirated games.
(ID #344983) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:15
Procrastinator Extraordinaire
i would prefer the real thing over a bootleg figures. I haven't encountered any fakes in all my purchases so far. Only pirated goods i ever owned were video games and some music CDs.
(ID #344985) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:16
I just noticed the image of this post is that one figure a few posts back...
(ID #344990) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:24
super sonico
(ID #344991) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:24
Computer Technician / Image Editor
I don't own fakes nor do I buy them or buy pirated goods, nothing beats the original. But I do torrent a few games or cds sometimes when I'm not sure if its worth the purchase, also I'm strickly against those who make a profit with pirated goods.
(ID #344994) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:30
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
I don't really care for branded stuff too poor? lol as for bootleg, think I probably buy by accident before, won't deliberately go seek it ^^; For collectables would prefer original for sure ^^;
(ID #344995) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:30
marvin (Registered on 2006/12/25 00:54)
I despise dodgy figures and gundams. I wonder though has you father ever encounter fake versions of his works? I've seen fake high profile brands but have never encountered fake versions of his works. ^^; btw isn't there a brandless shop in Japan called Muji?
(ID #344998) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:32
marvin (Registered on 2006/12/25 00:54)
although buying pirated stuff is inherently wrong, personally I'd consider getting them if the quality is better than the original. although such instances are quite rare it does happen once in a while.
(ID #345010) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:42
university film student
I didn't vote - does "open-source" count as bootleg? I don't think it does. Hm. Well, anyway, I'm against bootlegs. Copyrights and artists-have-to-eat aside, if I'm going to pay for something I might as well pay for the real thing.
(ID #345000) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:34
Student
Here in the Philippines there are lots of counterfeit goods like DVDs. I actually don't mind having counterfeit goods like DVDs. But for figures it's a big NO!
(ID #345001) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:34
University Student
Have some bootleg DVDs.. ^^; But a big no to fake figures!
(ID #345002) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:35
I'm all for counterfeit, and remember, pirating music is green. Heck, i even use counterfeit jean, i mean, they're not really counterfeit since they're branded, they just happen to look like diesel jeans only with lower grade materials and 1/4 price tag ^^;
(ID #345007) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:40
Unemployed Digital Production Artist
Counterfeit stuff = No Pirated music/movies = Yes
(ID #345013) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:48
now today people already know they are buying fakes that is why they buy them. When we use to go to hong kong and shenzen we use to stock up on fake stuff just to bring back for christmas presents. The whole office is like get us more we want more. most of the people that was buying was all white folks who know they are buying fakes. People dont even try to cheat you now...since everyone know it is fake. Heck i even buy the fake bags and purses for my wife which she loves becuase she wont cry if it gets all dirty and used up. I even got copied gundam and bandai kits if anybody wants them...hahahaha...they are actually preety good. hell even my clone armor is a copy of a copy from china which i paid way too much for. hey Danny you should realy take a trip to hong kong and china even go to KL. so many japanese people buying fake stuff to bring home for resale or gifts. you go to gun street and toy market in hong kong, alot of them supply to japanese stores with chinese copied figmas. Everyday you see them ship by air by the cartons...it will blow your mind.
(ID #345015) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:52
Try to avoid them but I do have some bootleg stuff. It sometime comes down to value for money and availability as other members had already pointed out.
(ID #345017) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:53
Student/Prospective Anime Maker
Definitely not! I'm mixed about this but my vote was a sound no.
(ID #345018) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:54
image is full of EPICWIN.
(ID #345019) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:54
frustrated hikikomori + dual core persona guidance counsellor
Love the new feature cause now you incorporate the Poll in the news items also. Now I can have my Versus post with poll for easy reference. XDD
(ID #345022) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:56
for everyday items as long as they're usable (and don't cause accidents, bodily harm, or poison the user) it's fine...but for quality stuff like figures and tech that's where I draw my line...
(ID #345026) Posted on 2008/10/24 17:59
Piracy means you are NOT loving anime/music/idol/whatever. You're just loving free sh1t. And I think fake figures don't count since there is a significant quality difference between originals and bootlegs. It doesn't apply to CD/DVD though.. can't understand why people don't feel guilty at all stealing other people's works. ..and if that person comes up with the financial reasons. I mean, come on, you have that cool iPod or huge HDTV or few consoles or that giant rack of figures.. don't say you can't afford less-than-300-yen song. So yeah, my vote is heck "no".
(ID #345033) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:10
filmaker
no brand is the best brand...i wouldnt want folks pirating my movies though
(ID #345046) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:34
五〇一軍团 TK8316 Singapore Garrison Public Relations Officer
although buying pirated stuff is wrong, but it is also another way to market the product to a wider audiences. the more people using it the more well known it is right? ^^; as for the polls, it is a welcomed feature for danny's news but am not sure will it be misused (or abused) in members' news (?)...
(ID #345049) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:35
Nyoro-n...
Agree with gordon that piracy will increase exposure... well theres always a good and bad to everything... ^^;
(ID #345066) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:59
Graphic Design student | Receptionist | Otaku
Hmm, I feel bad about owning pirated items but, with the few monopoly-like industries here.. I can't help but take the more affordable option ^^; I do try to support the original items when I can but, otherwise I do own pirated goods. I don't approve of people making money of pirated goods; just being able to share things at a cheaper price is good enough. Fake figurines and other merchandise is a big No.
(ID #345058) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:49
Student and full-time otaku
I guess most of us have 'friends' that can provide us with stuffs ^^
(ID #345065) Posted on 2008/10/24 18:58
well since i am a poor student at the moment i can't really afford "premium" goods. i have a few original movies and games but most of its, as Danny would put it, "Doggy". oh and brand is never really a thing for me. unless we talking electronics... i am a bit of a fan boy with some gizmo's ^^;
(ID #345070) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:00
I think it would be very important to ask them what kind of counterfeit items they would accept. From personal experience I can say that most young japanese people (that I know) would never wear fake brand clothes but I hear that the market for fake gucci bags etc. is booming like crazy. The ギャル-style girls would surely by those to impress but people that really dig fashion over here are as serious as the true Akiba-Kei who goes after limited items and would never accept anything but the real thing.
(ID #345073) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:03
Student
Perhaps almost 90% think people here would rather put a thing on counterfeit goods rather the original brand since people can't afford that much. They are just looking for the quality and they end up having another good. About the piracy, I'm at it.
(ID #345085) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:25
i don't mind counterfeit things. back likes couple of years ago you could definitely tell the fake from real but now fake quality things are just getting better... and sometimes the fake things or better then the real ones, there are only some things which must be real branded things but besides those i don't mind ^^
(ID #345089) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:34
JR. College Student
I have nothing counterfeit mainly because I don't buy anything that can really be counterfeited per-say. Pretty sure the video games I buy from Gamecrazy are real (really) and the vinyl records I buy online are pretty difficult to pirate (read: white labels). If I were to purchase pirated/"fake" hardware or something - as long as it works as well as the intended product, I'm happy. But really I can't think of anything I own that's fake.
(ID #345093) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:45
I totally disproof of bootleg stuff. The reason is that somebody have huge expenses for figuring out how to make something and then somebody else tries to take the profit. The result is that designing something new will not generate a big enough profit compared to the risks involved in development and companies will stop making new great stuff for us. It's a bit different when there aren't any bootleg people who profits from pirated stuff. However the need for profit to cover expenses is still there. If I pirate something, it's usually some dated game that isn't for sale anymore so even if I want to pay for it, I can't. I once saw a guy on TV who had made a movie (he some famous guy). He had discovered that this movie DVD was being downloaded a lot and he couldn't prevent it. His solution was somewhat untraditional since he decided to "leak" his movie into the places where he found his movie already being pirated. However his "new version specially designed for the internet" started like the real movie and then after 30-60 minutes or whatever it switched to him sitting in a chair cursing at people who pirate and telling about the consequenses of pirating.... interesting strategy, but nobody knows if it worked.
(ID #345096) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:48
Dropping computers, starting all over again at Journalism
I'm parcial to it. I guess it depends. I'm against fake figures. Mainly because the fake ones are poorly made, and it's not a mainstream industry... so fake figures can actually cause much damage, making companies close and people loosing lots of money. But on the other hand, I also can't close my eyes to how fake stuff and piracy contributed (read forced) to fair prices on DVDs/CDs, to a clean up on several entertainment industries, and to the publicity and accessibility of some of those to all classes. I think everyone is aware by now that there was a time where we payed more than 2000% the production cost of a music CD. That is pure exploitation, no matter how talented the artist is. A clear evidence of how things are messed up is the boom of all entertainment industries... be it music, movie or games. Tons of people with no talent just trying to seize an opportunity are trying to get on these industries because yes, people still earn lots and lots of money with it. While I do recognize that talented people working on those areas deserves to get more money than the average worker, I think the ammount of money they are allowed to get nowadays is waaay too unbalanced. Like it or not, piracy is making it harder for non-talented people to earn money from that. And then, there's publicity. You don't need to be a genius to know that piracy is partially responsible for the state of games today (an industry that generates more profit than Hollywood). Some movies also only gets popular because of piracy. People watch it, recommend to others, who will go to movies or buy the DVD. And the same for music. But one thing is clear: The solution for piracy is obvious. Lower the price of original stuff... you don't need to beat counterfeit prices, just lower to a FAIR price. And educate consumers. I for one, always buy the games I consider worth. I usually buy all anime/manga that I like and is licensed in Brazil (I even imported some animes from US, which some people will say only a madman would do since it's too expensive). And I still buy music CDs from bands I like, and DVDs from movies, even if I already watched it, mainly to support those who did it.
(ID #345099) Posted on 2008/10/24 19:54
It's nice to see that news can have polls too. I wouldn't mind if it contained a vote count as well as % though, but I guess it can be added. What I really would like to see would be some system to help finding new posts. Say when you look at the front page, you see how many posts each topic has. If it went like (80+5) to tell that now it has 80 and that's 5 more than last time you looked at it, then we don't have to look at posts we already read in order to see if anything changed. Also once you open the topic, it would be nice to see a clear marker of what was added since the last time you checked this topic. I guess saving a timestamp of when you look at a topic and then mark everything newer than that would do it. I guess it would also be possible to work based on post IDs. However I have no idea if it would end up being a resource hog. Another idea would be to have a list of your posts that got replies since you last checked. This way you will notice if somebody replies to the question you asked 2 months ago without checking the post all the time. Maybe this can be done with RSS though. I haven't figured out how that stuff works yet but maybe that's just my problem >.<
(ID #345105) Posted on 2008/10/24 20:03
it is funny to think of what you guys say that you disapprove of all the pirate anime stuff.....how the hell do you think it got so big?!?!?!?! Most of you guys are not old enough to experiance the good old days...old school stuff like going to a comic show and buy vhs tapes for 15 or 10 bucks each or buy 5 and get 1 free.....man people hale off those like 100 tapes each buy...and you know most of those boot leg dealer now run the main company that import or license all the anime you young folks buy in the states or out side of japan...aka tokyo pops. back then we can only get the boot leg stuff....we even had to hi jack time on the college av machine and ask our japanese buddy to sub it off from VHS or laser disk and sold it at the show to pay for our hobby. man make me sick of some you saying you wont buy bootleg....your industry was built on boot leg from the start..........even today most of you rely on bit torrent....instead of buying boot leg you just down load for free....imgine that.
(ID #345107) Posted on 2008/10/24 20:06
This man speaks the truth.
(ID #345667) Posted on 2008/10/25 08:13
damn right it is the truth. even for figmas too. go to any anime shops in socal...the real anime shop ...not those whity anime shops. and you will find that most of the dvd they sell are all pirated copies and all the latest title. heck go to any japanese mall in cali and you will find that they too sell the copy stuff...you can even rent it. as for figmas. man the taiwanese been copying those way before mainland chinese. i remenber i use to buy so many resin kits at ximandin and put a big dent in my card. (must remenber to buy more next time..)
(ID #348540) Posted on 2008/10/27 23:53
Hmm, original collectibles I own are figures and plamo only (some of my plamos are bootleg though). All of my pc and ps2 games, software are pirated one. For things like clothes, shoes etc, when buying them, i didn't bother with the brands at all, as long as its looks ok to me, i'll buy (heck, I even didnt know the brand of clothes in my wardrobe)
(ID #345119) Posted on 2008/10/24 20:25
Brands do nothing for me. I do have some "copied" movies and music from friends, but nothing from an "official" bootlegger. I tend to go out and buy the originals anyway if I really enjoy the stuff I copied, and the rest is thrown in the bin.
(ID #345131) Posted on 2008/10/24 20:53
Student, Otaku, She-Geek(Sheek lol)
If the dodgy material refers to fansubs aswell(which is should technically), then yes. But my friend downloads soooo many movies...and I kinda yoinked some stuff from him... However I've never bought a counterfeit movie, or fake product of any kind.
(ID #345135) Posted on 2008/10/24 21:04
good point. I guess fansubs should be included. However I still see bootleg stuff as something you buy and I never bought any fansubs. I'm not even sure it have ever been possible here.
(ID #345144) Posted on 2008/10/24 21:23
Close-protection officer/Martial artist
Bootleg films mostly. Never did get into the fake electronics or anything.
(ID #345155) Posted on 2008/10/24 21:47
You don't want exploding batteries or leaking capacitors? Sometimes buying something cheap can be more expensive than you imagine. I read about a Chinese man, who had a counterfeit battery in his mobile phone. He had the phone in his breast pocket and the battery exploded and he was killed by fragments hitting his heart. Some people "just" lose fingers.
(ID #345185) Posted on 2008/10/24 22:47
Programmer Trainee
Well, for figures I will hate myself for having one unless am using it to test what to look for. For anime...it depends. If I really like an anime I will consider buying originals once I have the cash, but other than that I figure I'll just stick with streaming or something and support it by buying other merchandise.
(ID #345159) Posted on 2008/10/24 21:52
I don't like the knockoffs but it is a little tough to blame someone for not wanting to pay $20 for a movie that was in the theaters 6 months ago, or $600 for an attractive handbag that likely cost only a small fraction of that to make.
(ID #345162) Posted on 2008/10/24 21:55
Fresh Diploma Grad... enlistee.. soon
When i'm younger, buying pirated stuff is the only way of owning a computer game that i always wanted... but my policy now is, i rather download then buy softwares and videos... When i buy i buy original which is most of the time for game software and Video... Will switch to full buying when i actually have my own stable income... After all i have learned that for electronics, software and etc, the things deserves to be bought/paid for.
(ID #345177) Posted on 2008/10/24 22:27
It totally depends on that type of goods we're talking about here. For physical goods wise, I believe in "u get what u paid for" so in general, the original goods are of better quality. however, when it comes to anime, I find that fansubbers are generally doing a far better job than what I could get off the shelf.
(ID #345193) Posted on 2008/10/24 22:55
Let's see... I've got my: -DVD's -Games -Brand-name clothing -Coach accessories -Rolex watch Hasn't been a problem for me. The poor guys in other countries need to make a living, you know?
(ID #345198) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:03
Polls of news items is a good idea. And about brand goods, I don't care very much about brands, but I don't go out of my way to remove branding either.
(ID #345206) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:10
For me if the product greatly depends on aesthetic sense such as Anime Figures - no counterfeit on the market can match up the quality of work of the real deal. But for Digitize media where quality can't be measure since it's just 1 or 0 meaning not subjective - it more become acceptable to most of us. This goes to digitize movie in CD, DVD movies musics and digitize device such as players of sort. Also in Textile where quality of signature brands and counterfeits level of quality gap is not far. This is thanks to the liberalize textile industry which is very bullish.
(ID #345209) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:12
Branding for me seems to be just a way to flaunt the fact that you can afford things. I've no problem with counterfeits - as long as their limited to stuff that aren't crucial, like electrical wires, machine/electronic components, and the like.
(ID #345219) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:22
I hate fake goods.. I heavily condemns them in my books
(ID #345233) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:36
i'd go for pirated movies, since some of them aren;t that worth it really (so many movies yet so many bad 1) and i dunno why, old torrent (1 or 2 years old) is really hard to be DL'ed >.<, and movie bytes are BIG, somewhere around 2 or 3 gig -_- so i just bought those DVD and it only cost 0,6 U$(6000 rupiah) here =) i'm not into music as for japanese figure & stuff, i'd go for original, since this is a major factor, and most bootleg of this stuff is REALLY UGLY
(ID #345239) Posted on 2008/10/24 23:41
Now that I earn my own keep - I try to the best of my abilities to buy original goods. I feel bad for the people who created them and prefer to reward their brilliance and hard work.
(ID #345271) Posted on 2008/10/25 00:04
Webdev, internet contents, music
I'm against people getting money for other people's work. That means I'm against sellers lying to buyers, but I'm also against the JASRAC, SGAE, and many rights management agencies who are doing it wrong,
(ID #345272) Posted on 2008/10/25 00:05
Mechanical Engineering student
LOL Looks like the Japanese are becoming just like the Filipinos. Here, almost everyone buys pirated stuff; mostly DVDs and expensive accessories like bags and shoes. If this keeps up in Japan, the Philippines will have a new export! LOL XD
(ID #345277) Posted on 2008/10/25 00:12
Counterfeit, They're popular because they're cheap. If the real producer can lower their prices to cut off the bootleggers, then real products will sell. However it would then not be favorable for the producer's profit. What a capitalistic world we live in lol
(ID #345280) Posted on 2008/10/25 00:16
Hmm I dont mind one way or another. I might buy counterfeit goods but tend to stick to real deals, just because then I can be sure of the quality. Dont have any problem with movies and stuff like that though (software in general), I download everything but I wouldnt buy pirated stuff though. If I bought something like that I would love to own the real thing as I would get it for more than just the movie/software in it. In the end I think I dont disapprove buying counterfeit goods but generally dont do so myself, I have to have some trust in the quality :)
(ID #345299) Posted on 2008/10/25 00:42
Engineering Student
Never have bought a counterfeit figure, and probably never will. I have however bought a couple anime series on bootleg DVDs. I only did this because it was pretty much impossible to find them for sale because Geneon US went out of business >_<
(ID #345311) Posted on 2008/10/25 01:00
The only "illegal" thing that I own, is my pirated copy of Mother 3. And that's only because Nintendo refused to localize the darn thing. Everything else I own, is legit.
(ID #345321) Posted on 2008/10/25 01:16
I remember buying once a Spider-man action figure with SPADER-MAN written on the box. Does that count?
(ID #345323) Posted on 2008/10/25 01:20
keroro platoon member
actually piracy is very common here, especially CDs and DVDs you can find more pirated versions and the original ones >.<
(ID #345347) Posted on 2008/10/25 01:51
Polytechnic Senior, Bronze Lifesaving Trainee, Mech Designer, Pokemon Indexer.
As long as any item doesn't crash and burn after three uses, I'm fine with it.
(ID #345357) Posted on 2008/10/25 02:01
working to pay for figures etc.
I wouldn't buy pirated figures because they are invariably crap. However the whole pirated brand name goods thing is intresting, because it shows how important "image" is nowadays - the usual brand name goods (supposedly, because I hate them with deep sincerity) show what taste/wealth the wearer has, without said wearer actually being tasteful or wealthy. In some ways it actually publicises the brands themselves. Mind you, you could also go around in a T-shirt or whatever with "(insert brand name here") is a pile of reeking ordure" - or a bag with it on - and although its an insult it would STILL be good publicity for the brands.
(ID #345359) Posted on 2008/10/25 02:03
Rocketboy (Registered on 2007/09/01 15:59)
When it comes down to Piracy vs. Counterfeit/Bootlet, I will always side with Piracy.
(ID #345383) Posted on 2008/10/25 02:26
Pori Student
Real genuine figures, pirated/ bootleg everthing else for me XD
(ID #345425) Posted on 2008/10/25 03:07
Part trooper, part -timer, 100% loser...
Seems like most of the people use pirated stuff... I don't really care about pirated or branded goods... Branded goods look like the pirated ones, just more expensive...
(ID #345433) Posted on 2008/10/25 03:14
Student
Good quality products often comes with a considerable price. That's probably the reason why I don't mind paying for branded goods.
(ID #345507) Posted on 2008/10/25 04:23
I have some fake items like gadgets and figure.The original items cost high while the fake ones are low cost and copy the style of items, i mad when someone give some figures are not original and easily broken. Would i love or hate china?
(ID #345518) Posted on 2008/10/25 04:47
I don't care about brands, as long as the product I find is of good quality I'll buy. Of course there are some things I won't buy counterfeits of (bootleg figures, DVD boxes...) mostly because I know the quality is not the same as with the original.
(ID #345569) Posted on 2008/10/25 05:55
Ex-Soldier / NEET
No fakes for me, Original ftw^^ How do you remove the Apple from your hardware, Danny? xD
(ID #345616) Posted on 2008/10/25 06:52
But sometimes you can't tell the fake from the real thing so I don't know. For instance, my economics teacher once told the class about the time he bought a counterfeit tie in Saudi Arabia while teaching over there, not looking at the brand. One of the students pointed out it looked like an authentic Gucci tie, but it turned out to be fake.
(ID #345675) Posted on 2008/10/25 08:41
Ninja / Engineer / Sensei / 魔法少女 (What!?! I can't be, I'm a guy...)
I have fakes. If I really wanted the real thing, I would just go and get it. It's always nice to have a cheaper alternative sometimes. ^^
(ID #345680) Posted on 2008/10/25 08:44
before the internet existed I didnt really know the difference between authentic JP goods and Taiwanese licensed goods. But apparently now I know taiwan doesnt license any goods... w but I never buy counterfeit items by choice, though i have received 2 figures this year from ebay that were counterfeit
(ID #345692) Posted on 2008/10/25 08:57
I try my best to avoid fakes. For figures it's not as big a deal, but a counterfeit set of brakes on your car is bad news, or a badly made piece of electronics that could catch fire. I barely trust real brands to do the QA necessary for products, I am convinced that the fakers don't get anywhere near proper QA. So, for me, I try my best to get genuine things only. I am probably not always successful. Even big name shops sometimes slip up and let something through.
(ID #345771) Posted on 2008/10/25 10:40
I know a girl who has "friends" in the Yakuza. She sees counterfeiting as part of a "value stream" where the counterfeiters play a "necessary" part. I was a bit shocked to listen to her justify the practice. But, according to the survey here, the thinking is not so uncommon.
(ID #345816) Posted on 2008/10/25 11:32
If I have counterfeit stuff, or pirated stuff, it's either that I didn't know about it or *ahem* didn't exactly pay for it. . .
(ID #345822) Posted on 2008/10/25 11:35
Grocery Store Clerk
It is big problem because it put companies out of business. Also I know how expensive music and movies are in Japan. they have to lower there prices instead of (words of one of my co-workers) hiking up the prices.
(ID #345914) Posted on 2008/10/25 13:07
Online Shop
I did buy some bootleg stuffs in the past, but not as of late because I became more of the anime purist I suppose. I try my best not to buy counterfeit stuffs and it's funny to find some bootleg stuffs in Bookoff here in USA lol. People must sell them and some employees might not noticed that they are counterfeit items and I try not to end of with one @_@
(ID #345956) Posted on 2008/10/25 14:13
Here in Mexico there is no distribution of anime at all. So the only way we can watch all the series is buying "pirated" disks subtitled by fansubs. Our government over protect the "american way of see the life" and dont want us to watch other "influences". As with the anime, we cant have figures, gashapon, etc., and I tell you with all the knowledge, because I own a gashapon shop. So even if I didnt sell anime bootlegs or other "pirated" items, I support the fansubbed dvds.
(ID #345982) Posted on 2008/10/25 14:47
I don't think it matters. The system will balance itself. If counterfeiting and piracy cause an original maker to collapse, then the counterfeiters and pirates will collapse too.
(ID #346159) Posted on 2008/10/25 19:05
The counterfeiters can always look for the next target company to rip off. So the ones there are on the losing end are ultimately the original makers.
(ID #346173) Posted on 2008/10/25 19:12
former Emperor of Britannia
For me its like this. If you like the product then to show them your thanks buy the original merchandise.
(ID #346230) Posted on 2008/10/25 20:23
Kendo Kid / 大学生
After working at a movie theater I kinda feel for people who don't want things pirated. Well, I got to see any movie I wanted to before it officially comes out so I'm priviledged.
(ID #347038) Posted on 2008/10/26 11:43
although i try to support original items as much as i can afford, but the price of those original items are ridiculously overpriced after the currency conversion... considering the lifestyle our ppl live in, most of them cant afford this items... therefore the popularity of pirated goods increases... i think malaysia is 1 of the top countries that sells pirated stuff, right?
(ID #347252) Posted on 2008/10/26 15:52
As much as I like the original stuffs, sometimes it's hard to find with one with good quality (uncensored) ones in Indonesia.. Most DVDs or games are pirated there.. The original movies only come in VCD which is of horrible quality, and it's mostly censored at a ridiculous amount! Lolz.. But I'm happy with the originals here in Sydney.. For CD, I would never ever get the pirated ones.. Lower sound quality = ear pain xD the same goes for figures.. There's no way I'm getting fake figures! Now you can't do anything with PS3 games can you? No choice but to get the originals ^^;
(ID #347331) Posted on 2008/10/26 16:48
i bought a gundam astraea type f from hong kong and i just realised it was fake cause it didn't have the stand it was suppoesed to come with
(ID #348973) Posted on 2008/10/28 09:41
Self Employee NEET
Fake figure and model kit is a BIG NO! I have seen lot of fake figure and model kit, and all of it is crap. I saw LOT of Nendoroid figures in EBAY, very cheap. But when I check carefuly the screen shot, I even can guessing if that one is a bootleg (not to mention the feedback saying "this guy selling bootleg Nendoroid!") As for CD and DVD, i must admit i buy fansub VCD for my Anime hobby (even it aleady texted "NOT FOR SALE"). But that reason because during that time, the Internet speed is still like a snail movement. But now, my net cafe which i currently visit using fast speed internet and local community of fansub anime upload server (download less than 15 minute), i NEVER buy any pirate CD or DVD anymore. If only anime and game sountrack are licensed and sold in Indonesia.... my wish.....
(ID #349244) Posted on 2008/10/28 15:10
i'll never tri to counter fit but they are cheeper
(ID #351305) Posted on 2008/10/30 07:22
I used to buy a bunch of pirated dvds and stuff when I was younger but then when Iwent to a con i learned what they were and how they affect the industry I still fill dirty from my old pile of pirated dvds though I'm completely for name brand and supporting the industry i think i might be getting ripped off with some cd's
(ID #353016) Posted on 2008/10/31 11:20
I FEEL ASLEEP
There's different types of branded material, of course. I used to do what Danny mentioned; removing Nike or Adidas logos from things that I had. Nowadays I won't buy them anyway. However, I have an England football shirt which is branded by Umbro and, of course, by the England football team. Were I to buy a Chelsea football shirt it would be branded by Adidas, Chelsea FC and Samsung. In all of those cases, I wouldn't mind because I am showing support for something. So, to condense that into a more digestible comment: I wouldn't bother buying fake generic sportswear or general brand names because they're usually seen as tacky anyway. When you get older than about 15, you realise that it's seen as cooler to wear more original clothing rather than obviously churned-out crap like a Nike t-shirt. However, were I intentionally buying something like a football shirt, I'd want it to be the real thing. However, when it comes to pirated games... Let's just say that I haven't actually paid for a game in well over a year. Not since Rogue Galaxy came out, more or less. Same as albums - now all my music is downloaded (for free) though I do still buy some vinyl records.
(ID #357626) Posted on 2008/11/04 08:08
I FEEL ASLEEP
I should just say that one of the reasons I personally don't have anything against pirating games is that if I download and burn a PS2 game, it's only as damaging to "the industry" as me buying it pre-owned from any high street store (or a site like eBay) or as me borrowing it off a friend. Both of those things are legal yet they give exactly the same amount of money to the industry as pirating the game does. The gaming industry wants to stop pre-owned sales for this reason but the governments of the world are resisting their requests.
(ID #357630) Posted on 2008/11/04 08:14
Don't have alot of counterfeits ~ Lol
(ID #483103) Posted on 2009/02/11 03:39
i such a cd and dvd freak i never dowload have to have everthing on disk.
(ID #486402) Posted on 2009/02/13 05:29
Got a few Miya and Allion anime CDs here and there, including a few bootleg anime DVDs. (stopped buying them like 4 years ago, last CD I bought was in '07 and it was the Fafner: Right of Left OST. Then again, thank God for those Anime Legends/Complete Series sets) Never did buy any bootleg movies because of the quality (half of my realtives' DVD collections are mostly bootleg movies before they're released on DVD). I'll stick with the real deal, thank you. (whether if it's on DVD or Blu-ray even though I'm not a movie person) And a big fat "hell no" to knock-off models or figures. (I'm fine with keychains though)
(ID #560916) Posted on 2009/04/13 15:23
before 31 marc a must buy them (dvd'd) now... i need more hardisk (now i have good internet connection). And the quality is good at download, compare with hijack dvd (it really2 worst). modeling? i always buy original coz at my place fake and real not cheap. So buy real thing is best choice.
(ID #561443) Posted on 2009/04/13 22:43
I myself don't really have problems about it. Just don't want to be cheated when buying the real stuff. Bcuz the counterfeit ones are cheaper right? so when buying those stuff usually we know it because its way cheaper than the real stuff.
(ID #563270) Posted on 2009/04/15 04:23
I personally find counterfetis annoying and troublesome at times. There are times when I make a purchase at full price only later to find out it's a cheap rip-off. And when you try to return the item, they usually refuse or give you store-credit so you're forced to use the money that you spent on an expensive imitation to spend on another expensive imitation. *Sigh*, and you'd think I'd learn my lesson after buying 5 bootleg figures are +$70 a piece.
(ID #601846) Posted on 2009/05/12 14:20
In Finland there is a bakery called www.eromanga.info.
Apparently sells non ero bread.
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