Buyer Beware: Omega Bootleg TJB CDs

[Mike Blakesley]

Point of information: I changed the title of this thread to reflect that it's really about bootleg CDs. The original title was "Buyer Beware: Herb Alpert/TJB CD reissues" which might have led some casual readers to think there was a concern with the Shout!Factory releases.

 

[Dave]

Good idea, Mike! Even though I think I did like this Thread titled:

Herb Alpert CD Reissues on the Omega Label!​

..., or something like that, BETTER...!



Dave

 

[bob]

hi people, I was just on ebay 4/28.and typed in herb alpert, and that same guy has again the summertime cd for $25.55 the ending time is 1 hr 36 mins.
bob

 

[bob knack]

I see the guy has a Baja CD on sale now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BAJA-MARIMBA-BA...goryZ307QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Look at his feedback. It is so frustrating seeing the amounts of money this CROOK is getting for Alpert CDs that aren't available to buy legitimately. $117.50 for THE BRASS ARE COMIN?

He sold two copies of VOLUME 2 for over $120 each.

I can't believe Herb or his organization doesn't care enough to stop this nonsense. And, it's surprising that none of the feedbacks have noted that these are ILLEGAL BOOTLEGS.

Unless it's too small-potatoes to worry about. In that case, maybe we should start "A&M Corner Records" and really cash in. (Kidding, of course!)

 

[Rudy]

Herb's office just needs to fill out a required form at eBay, then they can take are of these bogus auctions with one phone call or e-mail. That was the policy a few years ago, anyway, in regard to copyrighted items.

There was a case a few years ago where the music artist didn't complain, but the photographer of the album cover photo did, and the auction got pulled. (Might have been a Jim McCrary photo.) Whatever it takes!

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Is this Omega crook the same guy who was mentioned at the start of this thread? Because now his feedback is 100% positive. I know the old feedback disappears after 12 months, so right now he's "pristine."

 

[Rudy]

Or, did he use a different ID last time around? The feedback number seems kind of low, too, for as many pirated products as he's selling online.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I think this is the third different person to use Omega, or at least the third different name. When I get back from vacation I'll e-mail Randy Alpert and send him a list of what's been on eBay and he can get in touch with Herb's people and let them handle it (if Steve hasn't already done so).




Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I must say, it's tempting to buy one of those goofy things just to see how bad (or how good?) they are. I'll bet my homemade packages of WARM, VOL 2 and TBAC look better.

 

[Rudy]

I have one hunch here: this Omega Records could be a separate company, and these eBay sellers are clueless that what they are selling is pirated product. IOW, Omega very well may have set up shop in Brazil (not that this means they are legit), but the sellers may not know. Slim chance, but still, we can stop the sellers if proper eBay copyright procedure is followed, but that still won't shut down the actual place that is making these discs if, in fact, it IS a physical location. My gut instinct is that it's just someone using a CD burner and an inkjet printer. We just have to look at all the options.

 

[lonely bull]

I have been watching these items for some time on eBay - it's interesting to see that the seller is usually in the U.K yet most of the winning bidders are from the U.S - does this mean that Herb is not very popular in the U.K or that U.S buyers are not concerned about abusing reputable record companies rights and copywrights and therefore profits? Your thoughts please?

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think the situation is more that people who are paying those prices don't realize they're buying from a bootlegger.

Not everyone is as knowledgeable about this stuff as we are. If I wasn't a member of this forum, and didn't have the "insider's" view of the music biz that I do, and if I spotted those listings on eBay, I'd be bidding as fast as I could.

 

[Dave]

I swear why doesn't this "Omega Man" just get legal licensing somehow, then??!!

Seems as though as if he can pull off his "product" as "the real deal", and make it seem that way, "Custom Label", and all (albeit it being "too good to be true") then why not???



Dave

--Playing "The Devil's Advocate" here, of course...!!!

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

I sent an e-mail to Barry Korkin at U-Music to see if they ever licensed any of their masters to such a label. But, I think I already know the answer.

 

[Rudy]

I think the situation is more that people who are paying those prices don't realize they're buying from a bootlegger.

Not everyone is as knowledgeable about this stuff as we are. If I wasn't a member of this forum, and didn't have the "insider's" view of the music biz that I do, and if I spotted those listings on eBay, I'd be bidding as fast as I could.

One thing would hold me back: NONE of the legitimate CD sites (Amazon, CD Universe, etc.) list these titles, even as imports. That should be everyone's first clue that these are not legitimate releases, as you will see legit CDs on at least a few sites when they are released. I often check all of the overseas versions of Amazon, along with other vendors (like hmv.co.jp) to see what availability is.

A few years ago, I was watching for the movie Arabesque to come out on DVD. Amazon announced it one day, but after hitting all of the other DVD sites, I could find no mention of it, and I was suspicious. A week or so later, the listing was gone from Amazon: someone had put up a pirated version of it.

Lesson: do your homework. If the major CD resellers both in the US and abroad do not list it, that should be clue #1 that it's not legitimate.

 

[Mr Bill]

Is this Omega crook the same guy who was mentioned at the start of this thread? Because now his feedback is 100% positive. I know the old feedback disappears after 12 months, so right now he's "pristine."

So why don't we post feedbacks on this guy? I don't have an eBay account (nor can I from a Navy Ship system), or I would have done it by now!

--Mr Bill

 

[Rudy]

You need to win the auction first before you post feedback...

 

[Vince]

Hi,
If you go to the GEMM.COM website and type in "Antiques Music" under seller name, you will find that there are thousands of CD "re-issues" on the Omega label, including the Baja Marimba Band. Years ago, I ordered three Omega CDs from this GEMM seller directly thinking that I had discovered some rare, out-of-print CDs (they were not A&M artists). They looked quite legit when I got them--just like you would expect an import CD to look. They were shrink-wrapped with beautifully reproduced album covers and backs. There is the Omega logo with lots of licensing & copyright fine print in Portuguese. It is not until you play the CD that you notice, if you listen very carefully, they are electronically cleaned-up copies of vinyl discs. The three CDs I received actually sound quite good!

My point is, there is probably no negative feedback because most people never listen closely enough to tell that these are bootlegs. The E-Bay sellers never open the shrink wrap, and you simply cannot tell by looking at the package that they are not legitimate. Omega sold the Herb Alpert bootlegs through GEMM for only about $15.00 each until he ran out, so the E-Bay sellers really struck gold! (He still has some Volume 2 CDs left.)

The package containing my three CDs came from Brazil. Only a few of us have left GEMM feedback indicating that these were CD-Rs. Most were quite happy with their purchases. Fortunately, I am wiser now, but at least my wisdom did not come at E-Bay prices!

Vince

 

[Dave]

"Burned CD's" of original albums turn up a lot at some of my used Record Stores; saw Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, for example--...Xerox-copied photos and all!!!

I guess it's fair-play, 'cept that the Artist is not making JACK!!!



Dave

 

[TonyCurrie]

I bid for a copy of "The Brass Are Comin'". After I'd been outbid (I bid low because I didn't intend to win it) the cheeky seller emailed to offer me a "second chance" as he just happened to have another "brand-new sealed copy".

This is nothing less than counterfeiting, and here in the UK the authorities are really cracking down on it. Never mind getting ebay to remove the items, this requires a police raid.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Omega Records are imported from the great country known as ItsAFakkah! If it's not licensed from Herb Alpert or A&M, run fast.

 

[alpertfan]

When these posts first came up, I decided to do some investigating, and I typed in "Omega Records". Surprise, surprise! I could find no website, nor any reference to them or their "output". (I had thought that just maybe, even though they're a bogus company, that they'd actually have a website, acting as though they're legit).

If you go to CD Baby, you will see a disc with the title EDDIE KENDRICK, DAVID RUFFIN, DENNIS EDWARDS-LIVE IN LAS VEGAS! Next to "Format" is "CD-R". This is supposedly from a live performance at the Sands in Vegas in March of 1991.

 

[Dave]

...When these posts first came up, I decided to do some investigating, and I typed in "Omega Records"... ...I could find no website, nor any reference to them or their "output"...

Out'ta Business, Already??? I thought this outfit was doing good...!

--And would'a suggested a "Fastube" Conveyor set-up for getting their stuff out if it were doing REAL GOOD...!



Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I typed in "Omega Records". Surprise, surprise! I could find no website, nor any reference to them or their "output".

If you read back further in this thread, you'll find a few guesses as to the origin of that name. I turned up a software company that makes click'n'pop removal software called Omega...I guessed that was where it came from. It's fer-sure not a real legitimate company. Anything you see on that "label" is a bootleg.