PSA: That 'rare' promo CD you found is probably a bootleg

I see people posting grainy photos of those late 90s promo CDs in here all the time, asking if they're worth something. But most of them are fake. I bought a supposed rare Smashing Pumpkins promo off eBay in 2018 for $40 and it turned out to be a CD-R with a printed label. After that I started checking the matrix codes in the inner ring of the disc. Real pressed CDs have a specific code from the factory, bootlegs usually have a blank ring or a handwritten number. Same with the inserts, fake ones have blurry text from being scanned and reprinted. Has anyone else gotten burned on one of these?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesmason8d ago

That's just how things are now with anything collectible. You can't even buy a vintage t-shirt off Etsy without wondering if the tag was sewn in last week.

wells.morgan8d ago

Blame the YouTube resellers who taught everyone how to spot fakes.