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!!!*PIRATICAL & ILLEGAL ACTIVITY ON EBAY BY SELLER 'MICROPROVINCIA'/DAVID WONG*!!!

Hello!... A well intended warning to all the fellow forum members on Soundtrack Collector. I am very, very angry!... I won an eBay auction for a used film soundtrack cd of "THE OMEGA MAN" from a new seller David Wong under the user ID 'microprovincia'. The item # is 4784196524. The cd received is not one of the original 3000 limited cd's manufactured by FSM record label. With a quick first glance it looks fine. With closer inspection one notices the cd is such a clever fake and bogus pirated CD-R! It is not even a bootleg. It is an exact bad copy of the FSM original with even the FSM copyright information, address, etc. on it. Unfortunately I was dunced and completely ripped off! In the item's description the seller had not informed the bidders he was selling a CD-R but instead stated the cd is a silver pressed original cd. Yes, it is silver colored all-right but it is not the real thing! It is a silver colored CD-R with even an exact plastic copy of the original cd red label placed on the CD-R itself. The front insert or booklet is an obvious bad copy of the original booklet printed on real thick paper that hardly fits in the cd jewel case. The back insert is another bad copy of the original back insert as well. The seller microprovincia has deliberately sold this bogus and fake cd as an original to myself and most probably to a previous buyer from Italy since this seller became an eBay member and now the cd is up for auction again ending in a few hours with a private listing of potential bidders! It seems that this guy is cleverly making or acquiring fakes and sells them as originals. From what I remember several other supposedly very rare out of print cd's are showing up again in his current auctions along with The Omega Man cd. No wonder PayPal is not accepted. I will try to take my case to the fullest action I can. As I stated before, I am extremely angry! I consider myself a serious film music fan and collector like a lot of us are in this website and I will not tolerate anyone selling me a cd film soundtrack as the real thing were in fact it is an illegal pirated CD-R copy especially at the price that I paid. Please people, just be careful and BEWARE of this seller's auctions in case you do shop from eBay and other potential charlatans as well! Do not get burned like I did! Thank you for taking the time to read my hot charcoaled message!! GRRRRRR!!!...

serifiot, December 8, 2005; 5:39 PM

Answers

to rid ebay from this scum and similar sellers, set up a new account, and bid right at the death then leave feedback straight away, im sure 99 percent of the people on here know the real deal from just the auction details alone, "private collector to collector deal", "archival copy","real siver pressed cd".....2 disc ltd editions etc etc, ................the are indicators in their own right but this is should pretty much be the 1st place you lokk to check if a particular soundtrack is available in the form the seller is stating, although this still wud not of helped the Omega Man guy.

anthonynputson, December 8, 2005; 8:57 PM


i asked this seller the following regarding a predator he has for sale. "which number of 3000 is this please? be useful to add it to your auction details as there is a lot of copys in the world, and maybe some actual photos of the item data side of the cd etc etc, maybe the same with the omega man". we all know this isnt hand numbered of course but maybe the seller will fall foul of this and tell me its 2344 or somn!! all his bids are now private where they were not before, he has already sold another omega man for over 100 bucks!! poor sucker.

anthonynputson, December 8, 2005; 9:07 PM


Hi jela/email! I purchased my cd including shipping plus BidPay expenses well over USD$100.00. I did e-mail the buyer in Italy. I have not received a response as of yet. Yes it's true, all his 6 feedbacks like you stated are positive so far, 3 from sellers and 3 from buyers. Anyway, when I first made my purchase back in October his feedback from buyers was null. I am pretty sure the first Omega Man cd he sold to the buyer in Italy is a fake too. The buyer must have not noticed. The CD-R is a quite clever and dubious job at a glance. Look at the so called rare titles his other buyers bought by looking at his feedback. The same stuff is being auctioned right now. Look at the Whitney Houston promo cd and the Andy Gibb live recording cd right now including The Omega Man. How many of the same rare titles does one have to keep selling over and over? The first Omega cd was the Italian buyer, the second one was me (I have not left feedback yet), and the third one is the one being auctioned right now. The two last auctions were listed as original including the one today. The cd I received was not! The biddings have turned private were in the previous two Omega auctions they were not. Why? He does not take PayPal only BidPay. I think he is trying to protect his ass. His listings are supposedly rare, promos, very hard to find used cd's. The ones he has previously sold to his customers are being auctioned again. He is listed with eBay in Florida and sends his stuff from Peru. David Wong from Peru sounds funny. It's okay though, no problem. Our world is big and very diverse. He does not accept PayPal only BidPay and cheques or cash. This does not say much either but man how do you acquire used Omega cd's constantly? Even big sellers cannot do that. Don't forget the Omega Man cd was a limited pressing and is now out of print, quite rare, and quite expensive. If his Omega cd's being sold were new it would sound more convincing. Think about it. Anyone could have bought several copies of Omega Man before they were sold out from the FSM website to sell on eBay brand new/sealed and make a profit but to keep selling used cd's of the same rare title? My concern is that I was fooled and that my cd is a fake. It is weird actually looking at it. I should not have paid the amount that I paid for something that is a pirate copy. The seller did not mention anything about a CD-R. He was not an honest seller with me and his tactics will surely one day backfire like fireworks right smack up his ass....!!

serifiot, December 8, 2005; 10:16 PM


I'm always sorry to hear that someone's taken advantage of yet another soundtrack music lover. We are all sort of the geeky kid in the schoolyard who gets picked on because of our glasses. I have learned to be very careful buying lp's on Ebay because, as opposed to CD's which are so easily counterfited, the occasional rare album just never shows up at my doorstep after I'd sent the money in good faith.

I'd like to know how much you were willing to spend on this CD because SAE has one, a real one, right now, sealed for US$250.

weavercp, December 9, 2005; 12:08 AM


microprovincia, has done it again. They just sold an Omega Man cd for $71 U.S. on e-bay item 4803570666.

I also bid on an Omega Man a few weeks ago. Didn't win. Don't remember the seller. But they then offered to sell it to me anyway. Glad I ignored their offer. Might have been this S.O.B. too.

df789, December 9, 2005; 4:51 AM


Very sorry to hear of this, but why not email Lukas Kendall at Film Score Monthly. It's his companies copy right that has been broken & he can have this guy closed down on Ebay as he has sold a pirate copy of 1 of Lukas's cds.

I'm not sure if he can help you with your money back, but by his actions Ebay may have to take action to help you.

anything must be worth a try.

I wish you luck in this matter.

regards Andrew

ajbjmdb, December 9, 2005; 5:46 AM


Thank you for all the support and suggestions! I have contacted Mr. Kendall of FSM. The eBay community forum is not a bad idea either. I have also notified eBay and seller of the counterfeit cd I received. Of course so far the seller microprovincia is ignoring my e-mail. I encountered a federal government site for reporting copyright infringment and musical piracy but in my frustrtion I lost it. Hopefully I'll find my way through again. I can be quite stubborn. Any insight or any website for reporting copyright violations is welcomed. Hopefully eBay will refund me all (I doubt it!) or some of the money wasted on this counterfeit cd. They could be quite bureaucratic to the point were one totally gives up. I wish they made things simpler. I believe if eBay buyers do form some type of coalition this activity could be deterred. I am not trying to act as a law enforcer on eBay but simply make people, especially on this forum, more aware. I mean of course I myself am aware to a certain extent that illegal activities do exist on eBay but... it happened. After acquiring some type of experience from all the transactions made one might think they've become immune to bogus sellers. I guess shit happens even to the most... Ciao!

serifiot, December 9, 2005; 5:42 PM


Great last post !!!! very positive indeed !!!! the people like us who makes noises the better !!! lets be honest in grander scale of things, ebay.com and .co.uk are still riddled !!!! and yes, lets hope guys n galls from ebay are watching us !!

anthonynputson, December 10, 2005; 1:23 AM


Thanks again jela for your support and encouragement. Good for you that you fought your claim to the fullest possible extent. The good thing that happened is that you regained your honor back. The person might not have been caught but that is another issue all together. Going back to this Omega issue... Do you know what's scary? The damn cd-r sounds okay. Of course that does not justify what happened though but it is just a thought. One note though. Track 18 - Dutch Takes Over- is followed by a long pause and then suddenly a children's choir rehearsing 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm' follows. I do not know if this is normal and part of the original FSM cd track 18. Also the back insert is almost flawless. The color gives it away though after close inspection and most definitely the perforated left side were the composer's picture is printed. The perforations are clearly copies. Also it does not have a barcode and the TCM logo is not printed. I don't know if these are missing from the original FSM Omega back inserts. Perhaps some original FSM cd's do have them and some do not. My "Born Free" FSM cd does though. The booklet is made of thick printing paper, too thick, and it hardly fits in the jewel case and the printing job is sloppy, not at all... should I say... illegaly professional! The cd itself is silver colored and even has the red plastic (or is it laser?) label on it with all the FSM copyright information, address, etc. The red label is not bad. It seems a little too thick though and has a strong smell! It probably is ink. What really gives it away are the #'s on the playing side. It is not like a factory manufactured FSM cd at all. It does not have FSM engraved on it. Anyway, can you believe I'm actually sitting here and grading this counterfeit? Nothing like the real FSM cd jela!... Absolutely not!!

serifiot, December 10, 2005; 1:57 AM


The 'old MacDonald' bit on the cd is on the orginal, which also proves your liner notes are not complete & tha it is a pirate. It staes in the booklet, last paragraph of the 'producers notes' headed 'It's a Family Affair' & I quote;

'while producing this album, we did uncover something unexpected yet recognizable. If you journey past the end of the last track you'll find it - a peek into the world of Ron Grainer & The Omega man' - Lukas Kendall

There is no TCM logo on the back of the cd.

I really do hope you win your fight. If you need any other details of the release, I'd be happy to try to help out.

regards andrew

ajbjmdb, December 10, 2005; 3:28 AM


Thanks! Is there a barcode?

serifiot, December 10, 2005; 3:36 AM


No there is no bar code on the orginal.

regard s

andrew

ajbjmdb, December 10, 2005; 4:24 AM


I see... It is an exact counterfeit duplicate. The cd does not have the FSM engraved on the silver colored playing side though like the other authentic FSM cd's do.

serifiot, December 10, 2005; 4:38 AM

SEVERAL THINGS....

1. At least you contacted Ebay officials regarding this....Good.

2. Did you also contact BidPay officials?

3. I saw this seller has only been an Ebay member since August and only has 7 feedbacks....Personally, I would NEVER bid on or buy something froms omeone with so few feedbacks....REGARDLESS.

4. Just a hint: DId you even think of emailing him first before bidding? Even though he advertised it as an ORIGINAL disc, it wouldn't have hurt to contact him first.

For the person who keeps replying with ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS....Would you please stop typing that way? It's annoyingly difficult to read, and uppercase letters is considered shouting in internet lingo.

kriegerg69, December 14, 2005; 6:33 AM


Hello! Yes, eBay has been informed. I also did contact BidPay but in their e-mail response they take absolutely no responsibility and any involvement in the outcome of the transaction. They are simply used as a third party to make and deliver payment. Quite convenient for seller microprovincia. As I mentioned in initial thread above microprovencia/Mr. David Wong does not accept Paypal. You are absolutely right my friend. Feedback should be looked at and highly considered as a decisive action on bidding. I always look at seller's feedback. When I bid and won the auction this seller had no buyer's feedback. Don't ask me why I got myself involved. I was blinded by greed and stupidity! I already do own a brand new/sealed authentic copy of 'The Omega Man' which already had cost me a bundle and simply wanted to buy another used copy to have and to own so as to keep the brand new/sealed copy in my collection untouched. Anyway, if that makes any sense in a madman's world who loves and collects film music please do let me know. Looking back I was acting too fast. I had a bad gut feeling from the beginning but unfortunately I proceeded. 'The Omega Man' has turned out to be the most expensive piece of music I ever purchased. You asked me if I had first e-mailed microprovincia to ask him... to ask him what? If the cd you are auctioning dear seller is a pirate cd? Do you think he would have responded to such a question? If he did, his answer would have been an emphatic no... go ahead bid with confidence. He had described the item up for auction as a used original silver pressed cd and as far as I know I was bidding on an authentic, used Omega copy not a CD-R. Now I know better... unfortunately the hard way! My main concerns are first to hopefully receive some type of refund from eBay and second to have this seller microprovincia suspended permanently and to have all potential bidders/buyers on the watch for such charlatans! I've come to realise through this thick head of mine that these sellers are thriving on eBay in all sorts of transactions. Please beware! Let me say that it's not exactly bliss to go through the whole process of explaining to ebay and its whole world of bureaucracy but on the contrary a pain and headache. I have also e-mailed Mr. Kendall, the president of FSM to inform him of the seller's activity. Hopefully he is taking action and will be having this current auction (4rth time around!) of 'The Omega Man' counterfeit, CD-R stopped. I also e-mailed and are in contact with the first buyer before me who also had won this cd and who had left a positive feedback since they had not realised that the cd they received was indeed a clever counterfeit until I informed him. They are now taking their own action and hopefully two voices are better than one! That's it for the moment...

serifiot, December 14, 2005; 1:22 PM


Ok,

I think it's about time everybody stands up and moves against this guy... I hate people collecting money for cheap copies of legally available stuff. I have sent a "fraud alert" email to eBay, stating the problem with this guy. This will surely not help as such, but if *everybody* on this board does the same, they will surely realise that something must be wrong with this guy.

C'mon, fellows, this just takes about 5 minutes of your time and we surely will give him a hard time ripping other people (like ourselves...) off. This must be stopped. Feel free to write an email directly to him as well.

Best,
Burnie


blinddoc, December 14, 2005; 10:41 PM


Thanks a lot blinddoc for your support!... I just again e-mailed the president of FSM Mr. Kendall to inform him of the fourth pirate Omega cd being currently auctioned on eBay by seller microprovincia. I just hope he does something by at least contacting eBay and having this particular Omega auction cancelled. According to eBay, for the time being the copyright owner is the only entity that could grant sufficient proof to have this auction cancelled. I also just gave microprovincia my first ever negative feedback. I hate doing this but in this particular case I was left with no choice. I hope the other potential bidders see my negative feedback left and refrain from bidding. I also hope the present bidders withdraw their bid. ALL of microprovincia's cd's up for auction are pirate cd's!

serifiot, December 14, 2005; 11:57 PM


I was just notified by FSM's Mr. Kendall that he has just notified eBay seller 'microprovincia'. We'll see what happens.

serifiot, December 15, 2005; 12:35 AM


I am so f*****g angry!!!!! I have just recieved my Predator soundtrack and its fake!!! Microprovincia (David Wong) has conned me too. What a complete a-hole!!!!!

If only I had found this website earlier.

Well, the guy wrote his address, which I'm not 100% sure is correct, on the packaging and it is:

David Wong
Apartado 11-142
Dewali
Peru

I will do my best get my money back from motherf*****!

alex.zelx, January 18, 2006; 11:39 PM


Good luck!... I trully understand how you feel. I'm still waiting to get some type of refund from eBay. This guy is unfortunately still selling counterfeit CD-R's under a different ID.

serifiot, January 19, 2006; 1:02 AM


Is he now? What is Microprovincia's new eBay username?

alex.zelx, January 19, 2006; 4:32 PM


Is he now? What is Microprovincia's new eBay username?

alex.zelx, January 19, 2006; 4:33 PM


Read the threads following this one.

serifiot, January 19, 2006; 11:47 PM

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