Bootleg DVDs

[cirerita]

oh my! over $140 for this 5 DVD set... a bootleg DVD!
http://cgi.ebay.com/CHARLES-BUKOWSK...9124299829QQcategoryZ2295QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[mjp]

Yeah, I always feel like reporting those bootleg auctions, but when I've reported auctions to eBay for other things in the past I've never seen any results.

The cynic in me assumes that they don't like to close down auctions because they have to refund the fees (and they make no $ on the potential sale).

Maybe if a lot of users reported something...

 

[bospress.net]

Hi mjp,
I have reported shills and they do nothing. The reason, of course, is that the more the item goes for, the more they make.

The only way to get these bootlegs off of ebay is to go through the VeRo program. The problem is that to do this, you would have to be Linda Lee Bukowski or Ecco. The Vero members are given carte blanche to close down auctions. Basically, if you are a certified Vero member, you send an e-mail to ebay saying that the item is a copyright infringement and they shut it down. If the person relists it, they suspend them. They take this VERY seriously. This would clean up this whole problem in a week or two.

As bad as the bootlegs are, the shirts are far worse. Horrible quality images and rediculous statements. The images where the photographer is Montfort or Ulvis Alberts are ones that those photographers could join the vero program and have them shut down as they own the copyright of the image. I know that Montfrot is in Chekloslovakia and Ulvis does not seem bothered.

Anyone else have any ideas? If anyone has a contact at Ecco, it would be worth trying. I suspect, though, that they are not all that worried about this and it is more of an annoyance to us than anyone.


Bill

 

[mjp]

I know that Montfrot is in Chekloslovakia and Ulvis does not seem bothered.

I heard from Ulvis Albert's son not too long ago, and he gave me the impression his father wasn't doing so well, and the son was selling off some publications to get some money together for his Ulvis.

I know the guys who are coming out with the DVD's of the final two readings are concerned with this kind of thing, and I could probably convince them to set up the Vero account with eBay. One of them is very concerned about bootlegging, and eBay is the prime outlet for bootleggers these days. Linda would be a tougher nut to crack though. She is certainly angry about bootlegs, so it wouldn't be difficult to get her behind something like that, but she's not very connected, so she wouldn't be able to do any reporting, etc.

Things like Barfly and The Bukowski Tapes, I'm not sure the owners care much at this point (well, I'm sure Canon films doesn't approve of it, but they aren't selling Barfly, so...), but I know bootlegging will hurt these new releases if it isn't contained. It's not a huge market in the best of situations, so bootleggers taking away even a small percentage of sales can discourage future releases.

I wonder if Dullaghan is doing anything about the Born Into This bootlegs on eBay?

 

[bospress.net]

I heard from Ulvis Albert's son not too long ago, and he gave me the impression his father wasn't doing so well, and the son was selling off some publications to get some money together for his Ulvis.

HI mjp,
What is wrong with Ulvis? He is a good friend of mine. I have not heard from him in a few weeks, but last I heard, he was in Latvia working on a book, Poker Face II. I had not heard that he had any health issues. Please let me know. I'm concerned.


Thanks, Bill

 

[mjp]

Oh - no worries, this was many months ago. I guess I used "recently" pretty loosely, sorry.

His son was selling the limited edition Mother Road Publications Bukowski posters made from the Alberts photo of Bukowski standing in front of his refrigerator in Hollywood. I don't think that the sale was for health reasons, he was trying to raise money. I assumed the elder Alberts was experiencing some tight times financially. I didn't ask for details.

 

[bospress.net]

Hi mjp,
Well, that is good. Yes, Ulvis is in Riga, Latvia working on a new book of poker images. Should be great.

I am the only seller for many of these images by Ulvis Alberts. This includes the famous Bukowski and Tom Waits photos. I also have a bunch of silver gelatin prints here for sale. Many have never been published and are amazing. These are not only Buk and Tom Waits, but Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Allen Ginsburg, Cheech & Chong and many more from a career that spanned over 4 decades. Please contact me if you are interested. Checks can be made payable to Ulvis Alberts.

Also, yes, I do have copies of Bukowski in front of the fridge, signed by the photographer. I may still have an artists proof or two here. I'd need to check.

All best,
Bill

 

[mjp]

I asked Joan Gannij about that day, because obviously her famous photo of Bukowski and his female friend (who he referred to in letters as "a whore" or "just some junky", but wasn't that a sister of Pamela "Cupcakes" Brandes or someone else? Not sure, I know she was a known person, not some random street woman) was taken the same day, and practically the same time as the Alberts refrigerator shot from the Mother Road poster. But she never confirmed that they were both there, or why they were both photographing him that day. She's also selling some prints or books and was more interested in talking about them. Which was fine.

Anyway, I've seen the prints you are repping on eBay and they are nice work. Do you sell them through other channels? Seems like it would be a simple matter to sell them online...

 

[hank solo]

I wonder if Dullaghan is doing anything about the Born Into This bootlegs on eBay?

I wonder... When I had received a second copy (Genuine) of the Australian Born Into This and sold it on ebay, I was contacted by Mr Dullaghan. At that time he came on very strong, suggesting that any attempt to distribute his work without copyright would put me in all sorts of legal trouble. Well, I explained that it was just a spare and the only one i had and he said, ok, fair enough.

But then when some other ebay user ripped off my advert completely, and started selling the DVD en Masse, he didn't seem to do anything. I was concerned as the ad was a straight rip of mine and this guy seemed to sell about 20 copies. I emailed Mr Dullaghan and heard nothing more, so I guess it was not so easy for him to actually take any action.

Most recently I emailed him again about these new bootleg sets that are including Born. Well, no reply so he's either changed emails, given up trying or I don't know what...

Some might argue that on one hand bootlegs can be useful to help fill those gaps, but I agree that they're likely to kill demand for things like the new (old) readings DVDs [any idea how long we have to wait for these now?]

Guess you just have to hope that collectors will always want the original.

 

[mjp]

Some might argue that on one hand bootlegs can be useful to help fill those gaps, but I agree that they're likely to kill demand for things like the new (old) readings DVDs [any idea how long we have to wait for these now?]

It isn't so much that they kill demand, but rather that they make it difficult to make any money with a legit release to a small audience, which makes it less likely that the people who own such things will go to the trouble of releasing them commercially. Why would you bother if your potential audience is, say only five or ten thousand, and a couple thousand of them will buy cheaper bootlegs?

The profit from something like five or ten thousand DVD's is not going to make anyone rich, so these types of things are almost always labors of love. I know that's the case with the release of the two final readings. The people behind it have no illusions of becoming rich, they just want to present the material in a high quality package.

To answer the question of when they will be released, I haven't spoken to any of the principals in a month or so, but at that time the target was summer, possibly as early as July: https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?t=13

 

[zoom man]

The profit from something like five or ten thousand DVD's is not going to make anyone rich, so these types of things are almost always labors of love. I know that's the case with the release of the two final readings. The people behind it have no illusions of becoming rich, they just want to present the material in a high quality package.https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?t=13

Sounds like Jerry letting all the dead-heads tape the concerts,......
I think he never wanted them to be available for sale,
But on a trade-this-concert-for-that-concert basis.
Of course, that is ideally.
And it does happen that way,.... sometimes.
And you got to respect the artists' intention........

 

[bospress.net]

I asked Joan Gannij about that day, because obviously her famous photo of Bukowski and his female friend (who he referred to in letters as "a whore" or "just some junky", but wasn't that a sister of Pamela "Cupcakes" Brandes or someone else? Not sure, I know she was a known person, not some random street woman) was taken the same day, and practically the same time as the Alberts refrigerator shot from the Mother Road poster. But she never confirmed that they were both there, or why they were both photographing him that day. She's also selling some prints or books and was more interested in talking about them. Which was fine.

Anyone interested in the story that I heard on this, please contact me offline at bill@bospress.net. I have the full story, but cannot, for legal reasons, post if in a forum.
Bill

 

[Ebay Police]

Report Dodgy Ebay Sales