Luckily I have not got any fake DVDs yet from eBay as I usually pay more to get them from here or shops on eBay. I recently sent a guy a message asking him if his DVDs were factory sealed and new, he said "stupid question my friend." which told me immediately he was selling pirated copies, which was actually a smart question because it saved me money. He was a total idiot and mad because I could see through it because he is selling these at starting bids of 99 cents which is far too risky for such a set, and are not as popular as other items.

I am a powerseller so I have been around the block enough times to know. So I guess he was upset that I smelled a rat. He lists these a lot, and for what he sells them for there is no way they are legitimate copies as he would go broke for what they go for.

I would avoid this guy at all costs. Read some of his text and judge for yourself, there is more but it is so stupid and uncomprehensible I won't even post it, as is these messages.

Dear babadimer,

Are are these new and factory sealed?

"stupid question my friend"


- babadimer

Dear babadimer,

How is it a stupid question? You list item as new in the main auction but do not say whether new means sealed or viewed once, as far as I know they could be pirated which is most likely the case. You list no info in the description. So yeah "stupid answer friend" as I will take my business elsewhere since you seem to be too "stupid" to answer a simple question.


"im to stupid, get lost looser, if I wait from your business I would leave in park trailer like you"


- babadimer

Dear babadimer,

Wow you sound even more stupid and more incoherent than the first time, I did not think that was even possible. You can't even spell "loser" lol. I don't know what your problem is "loser" but you might want to learn something about customer service and not being a dipshit. OR stop using your daddy's account. Oh and I live in a house not a cardboard box like you. Keep selling pirated copies moron.

Then I stopped responding. Most people don't know how to tell if a copy is pirated, and some people do it very well. I would advise buying only from shops and reputable dealers in general, and ask questions first like I did so you can possibly tell if the seller is a nitwit, or find warning signs and save money like I did here.

Turns out I was right. Avoid this dweeb.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/discuss/view......t=157180

Report them. Sellers of fake Indian artifacts are banned by eBay. This is no different.

Yeah he has been reported several times now, still waiting to see any kind of action.

Doesn't U.S. Customs get involved in cases involving fake Gucci bags, etc?
It's surprising there isn't faster action against these crooks.
eBay wastes no time with fake antiquities. Usually removing them within hours.

I work for a company that has made (non-magic) DVD's and one of my jobs is to get the pirated copies off eBay. As far as I know, you have to be the original owner of the copyright (or Trademark if that's what they're infringing) to have eBay take it down, and we've been successful in every case. I believe the program is called "Vero" or something similar, so do a Google search for those two terms (eBay and Vero) and you should be able to find the appropriate links and forms to fill out.

Also, as far as I know, the sellers have always remained active on eBay, but it may require a number of people to submit complaints for eBay to do anything about those accounts.

~Nidal

When unsure, I do my research and ask a trick question. Suspicious of a DVD set for sale (because the seller was offering multiple copies of the same set), I did my research and found that there were 4 discs in the set, with the first containing computer-readable extras. I asked the seller a vaguely worded question about whether the set included the "secret bonus 5th disc that could be used in the computer". The response I received clearly stated the correct details - that, no, this set only has four discs, but the computer data is included on the first.

I went ahead and purchased and received a brand-new, factory sealed DVD set. I win.

I never buy dvd from person. You can not guarantee if it is a copy. I think book is fine as usually people will not copy it

Ebay is a little responsive when it comes to this type of claims... it seems that they only care for the money they will get out of the transaction (commissions and fees)...

I've also spotted some obvious bootlegs on there. What I do is let the legitimate producer (L&L/YM/etc) know about and send them a link to it via email... they can have it pulled by contatcting ebay.

I also try and let the talent know as well. I just Let both Richard Osterlind and Richard Nongard know of sets that were posted there. I checked back later and both had been pulled.

Cheers
Frank

TO ALL OF THE ABOVE Café MEMBERS: I believe that you are all WAY OFF BASE ON THIS POST! You have elected yourselves JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONERS of this Ebay seller with absolutley NO PROOF OF WRONG DOING!

You have publically accused this person of selling pirated goods when you admit you NEVER EVEN BOUGHT FOR HIM! I have purchased magic items from BABADIMER and the following are FACTS not some fantasy that you have conjured up to make yourself feel better at the expense of others.

* It is true that BABADIMER does not write english in a fluent manner. I have exchanged a few emails with him and often found him hard to understand. I can understand his reacting strongly when someone asks if an item listed as NEW has been played or opened. NEW is NEW. I don't think there is any ambiguity there except in your fearful minds.

* I have purchased a number of DVD auction lots from BABADIMER on Ebay without problem. ALL of the items were ORIGINAL, UNOPENED IN THEIR ORIGINAL SHRINK WRAP, AND INCLUDED ANY AND ALL NECESSARY GIMICKS.

*You have suspicions that because BABADIMER starts all of his auctions at 99 cents that the items must be fraudulent copies. If you would follow the auctions until their conclusions you would see that in many cases they do get bid up to a considerably higher amount. I paid almost $90 for one of his DVD lots that started at 99 cents and felt I did well. It took me many attempts to finally win the bid on the group of the Stars of Magic DVDs he was selling as the winning bid for weeks went higher than I wanted to pay. It should be noted that the Stars of Magic series is being discounted by many sellers including some BRICKS and MORTAR sellers which tells me that either the manufacturer or a distributor is offering them at a BLOWOUT wholesale price to the dealers.

*Another question for you PSYCHICS.....what would you pay for a VHS Magic video these days. I remember when any good one used to be $50 or more. I buy like new VHS magic videos for $2 each or less when they are sold as lots. Some new VHS tapes might now fetch $10. Does that make them pirated items? Of course YOU TRENDY HIGH TECH MAGICIANS WOULD NOT BE CAUGHT DEAD WITH A VHS TAPE which has made VHS tapes very inexpensive......SUPPLY & DEMAND! Have you noticed that BABADIMER is not exactly selling the LATEST, NEWEST, HOT OFF THE PRESS DVDS?

*If YOU KNEW AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU KNOW you would be aware that there have been newspaper and on line articles written explaining to those wanting to be successful on Ebay the advantages of starting an auction at a very low starting price in an effort to attract more bidders than watchers early which usually results in a much higher final selling price.

*refer to ebay item 250658289431 (Lionel train) which was listed last week at 99 cents. It sold for $1026.01 from a reputable Ebay seller.

*Let me state that I have no personal relationship with BABADIMER other than having won a few of his Ebay auctions. I have been on Ebay as a buyer and seller for ten years and am aware that there are a number of people selling phony items in many categories. My first or 2nd post on the Café 2 years ago was done to alert members of a dishonest Ebayer selling fake MASUDA WOWS. I have recently chimed in on other discussions regarding the many MASUDA and ALAKAZAM items that are being sold from overseas as originals.

It is MOST DISTURBING that without even sustaining a financial loss SIRBRAD....BASED SOLELY ON YOUR GUT FEELING and a HEATED EXCHANGE of private emails you feel you have the right or authority to defame this individual on this public forum. You drag reputable dealer PENQUIN MAGIC in to this. You called this man a "DWEEB", you called him a "NITWIT", you called him a "DIPSHxx". Maybe you feel insulated by the internet or the distance from you to Texas. If you had made these kind of inflamatory characterizations about people who live in your area you might have some uninvited guests.

*You better hope this guy doesn't wise up and hire legal counsel specializing in defamation suits. Otherwise all that money you "saved" might be put to other uses.

Mike

Follow-up correction......the 2nd line of paragraph 2 should read: "you admit you NEVER BOUGHT FROM HIM!........."

I see this AM that another member of OUR FRATERNITY and I use that word very loosely left BABADIMER negative feedback over a shipping issue with DVDs that BABADIMER sent media mail.....WHICH IS WHAT HIS EBAY LISTING STATED....but there was postage due. Read BABADIMERS comments that this buyer filed complaints with both Ebay & Paypal over the postage due and lost.

Unfortunately it confirms my observations about quite a few members of the magic fraternity: they are cheap, thin skinned, and short tempered.

Without re-hashing my lenthy post.....It is obvious BABADIMER has a short fuse and is far from elequent in his communications when confronted. If he sells a person a bad item on Ebay.....Ebay has a feedback proceedure to make others aware of it. I do not think that gives NON-BUYERS of his merchandise free reign to trash his reputation in a manner that in my eyes makes you look worse than him.
The negative remarks you left about him will be searchable on google for the whole world to see. Maybe a future client or employer of a family member will find your remarks on google and take offense to you using 4 letter language and decide not to do business with you.

WELCOME TO THE INFORMATION AGE!

If you enjoy buying from him, so be it, but I found his page a couple of days ago without seeing this topic first and almost reported him. He's selling Jay Noblezada's Self Tying Shoelace, but you only get the gimmick with no DVD, packaging, or self respect. That's because he's stolen Jay's hard work and started making the gimmicks himself. He's done the same thing with UltraCinese and everything else that I've seen on his page. Just because someone hasn't bought from him, doesn't mean they can't look at his ads, ask him a legit question, or ask around to others. There are other ways to find out that someone's a thief. He's a thief. It's that simple.

I don't "ENJOY" or "NOT ENJOY" buying from him. That is not the issue. If you would look at his listing for ULTRACINESE on Ebay you would see that there is a DISCLAIMER stating that the item is MADE IN CHINA but the effect is the same as the US made one.

Is this guy selling non-original stuff? It appears he is. BUT all of the CONJECTURE without PROOF from earlier posters is what I have a problem with. No matter wether it is directed at this guy or any one else.

All of the items I bought from him were legit.....no phony paper labels on the DVDs etc.. It seems like many people enjoy playing the role of the VICTIM when they haven't been VICTIMIZED and they don't see danger in doing so in a highly visable public forum.

"Life is like physics......for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

Mike

It's not playing the victim when you jump in to warn your friends about someone trying to scam them. This guy is ripping off one of my good, personal friends and hurting his income. Beyond that, he's representing that he is selling original items, using their names and trademarks to sell his items, which are not original items. That's illegal. It is actually against the law to do that. It's like you saying "hey, guys, I'm selling the new 2011 Dodge Challenger" when what you're selling is something that you've built in your own garage and slapped the Challenger logo on and used all of their promo material to advertise. Even if you have all the materials to make something that's almost identical, When people get it, they're not going to say "Well, it's close enough". No, they want what they've paid for. Yeah, this example's a bit extreme, but it's essentially the same thing. Then again, if you can't see the problem with producing and inferior knockoff based on someone else's hard work, using their image, promo work, name, and other things associated with the original, and then whining like a three year old when someone calls you on it, this probably won't convince you either.

I do agree with that statement though. This is the equal and drastically opposite reaction from people with a love for this artform to the action of someone ripping off our friends, inspirations, or whatever else they want to classify them as being.

Jeff....I am not defending BABADIMER! I am concerned about rip-offs and fakery as you are. Magic is my 2nd hobby......my first is collecting post world war II Lionel trains. I have been a member of the Train Collectors Association for 34 years acting as a Division president and participating on various standards and fraud comittees involved in the weeding out and disciplining of members who sell non original and fraudulent items many of which are sold for thousands of dollars.

My point is one of due process. Someone who has suffered no financial loss and has no PROOF of impropriety against this individual posted slanderous, demeaning, and vulgar remarks based upon suspicion. These suspicions may turn out to be true but those postings represent a risky course of conduct at best.

While it may be true that this Ebay seller is selling non-original items, the initial poster of this thread indicated that he never bought from him. (You can't scream fire in a packed auditorium if there you have no evidence that there is a fire). Why do you think that HEAR SAY is not allowed in a court of law?

I absolutely appreciate your position and your passion BUT even in your post you indicate that this guy is "MAKING" the stuff. You are giving him too much credit. The pirated stuff is being made in China & Taiwann not in Texas.

I see many posters on this forum cite copy right laws based upon what they believe to be true. I think there are a number of posts on that subject matter already in the Café archives adressing the many missunderstandings about those laws.

NO SELF RESPECTING INDIVIDUAL WANTS FRAUDULENT ITEMS INFILTRATING THEIR HOBBIES OR LIVELYHOODS.

By the way......I love the new DODGE CHALLENGERS....how about you?

For what it's worth, I bought something from this same seller. It was clear the it was a counterfeit as soon as I received it (I own another copy of the same product). Reported it to ebay and was refunded my money. However, this seller then sent me emails of a threatening nature that were so bad law enforcement became involved. Several attempts to inform ebay and have them do something about this seller were basically ignored by ebay and he continues to be able to sell. Anyway, be warned. Sirbad's original information is correct.

Here is cheek! I nearly got tricked into buying a fake -

sirus-magic is selling anultracinese on ebay - as an original http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ultracinese-/25066......5d0f7e46 but if you look at his sale history you see he bought it in june (when it was openly listed as a made in china fake) for less that its currently going for.
geeerrrrr - I'm glad I spotted this as I believed it was legit and was about to bid.

This seller is buying legit items from trade suppliers in USA, and also buying fake items from China and marketing both in the same online shop, so if you buy from him, you are taking a risk, however and more importantly if you ask him if products are fake, he becomes abusive, if you ask him any questions, he becomes abusive, he leaves abusive feedback, even on his own feedback, if someone leaves him negative or neautral, he leaves an abusive comment! He should stick to selling genuine items from authorised dealers, and stop selling Chinese knock offs, and he needs to learn customer service skills! Read his feedback, all amusing! If only he knew people were laughing at him, and not taking his abuse seriously!

I have bought from BABADIMER and the products were as advertised. They were originals and not fakes.
From Sir Brad's post it appears he never bought from this seller and decided on his own that the item was counterfeit, which is fine. I think when you go further and claim to the world, as Sir Brad has done on this forum, then you had better be dang sure. If these are legit, you have damaged this man's livelihood with slanderous claims. I'm no lawyer but something like this could cost you a lot of money.

Babadimer does have problems with English, but in my dealings with him I have found him to be legit.