Purchasing a DVD

[autumnsun2007]

I use ebay to purchase most of my DVDs but finding most of the time the DVD  Region is not mentioned clearly enough, does anyone feel this should be shown in the main title heading? It does deter me  purchasing from on ebay. 

[technthread]

When I used to sell them regularly I would mention if they were NTSC in the title, as the chances are I’d get a UK buyer who doesn’t realise they couldn’t play it. The title would be ‘DVD name’ (NTSC US/Canada) - or something along those lines. 

In all honesty for bog standard PAL region 2 DVD’s I never used to specify the region in the title as it would be rare to get an international buyer on them.

I think the key is for the seller to add a clear photo of the back of the case so the buyer can look for the information and not rely on title or item specifics. One of the regular negative feedbacks I used to see the big media sellers get was due to an incompatible region, often a recurring issue that they didn’t fix on a particular title where the item specifics were wrong. 

You could always get the EAN from the item specifics and do a search online to check the region. If you get a DVD with a different barcode and region than expected you can always return it as an item not as described, the eBay money back guarantee will back you in that event. 

[insidethe93]

Yes it'd help, but certainly it should be in the listing (it isn't always!). It'd help if sellers would routinely give certain info. A particular other platform routinely gives title, format/media type, region, number of discs, language, dubbed, subtitles, as per that platform's own UK seller guide. It'd help buyers, seller and eBay = more sales!

For a buyer wanting to avoid asking the seller and waiting for a reply, I suggest obtaining clues from the listing (text or if a photo is readable enough) e.g.barcode, UPC/EAN/GTIN-13* product identifier code, catalogue number, ASIN*, or publisher name. Search those codes in a barcode look-up or DVD database.

There's unfortunately no single universal public database that'll always give the region for every DVD, as the same title can have multiple releases and multiple region codes depending on country and pressing. It's safsst to identify and look up the specific release, not just the title.

Databases or catalogues: Go-UPC (you need the UPC/EAN/GTIN-13), DVDpedia (looks up titles from keyword search or UPC and pulls info from multiple film sites), google for others. Sony’s region-code guide says the region can be shown by a globe icon on the disc or case.

* UPC = Universal Product Code. EAN = European Article Number. GTI~N-13 = Global Trade Item Number, 13-digit format. ASIN = Another-Platform's Standard Identification Number.

It's not ideal, but where the information's not in a listing, self-help or asking the seller are the options.

[moonlight-rhapsody]

Since getting caught out by a rogue seller, I normally only buy DVDs now if I can see an image of the reverse which clearly shows the region.

My rogue seller had listed the DVD as Region 0, but on receipt it turned out to be Region 1.   I messaged him about a refund, and he tried a few times to get me to keep it at a discount until eventually I had to ask him to stop harassing me.  He continued to list other DVDs as Region 0.  I got a refund from ebay and I noticed soon afterwards that he was no longer a registered member.