# Am I going to be ripped off on this Kenshin DVD? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087 "2005-01-16T21:42:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/1 "2005-01-16T21:42:24Z")
Alright, I’m planning on buying some Kenshin. Each of the three season DVDs usually cost about $130. I threw “Rurouni Kenshin DVD” into Google, and found a site offering all 95 episodes for $100. That’s all three seasons for about a quarter of their regular price. I’m sorely tempted. The site is [www.chstore.net](http://www.chstore.net), and it seems reasonably reliable–it’s affiliated with Yahoo! Am I going to be scammed if I buy these? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/2 "2005-01-16T21:47:45Z")
I forgot to mention that the DVD collection is on sale: 50% off. Still, $200 is quite a bit cheaper than one can find it anywhere else. I mean, I know the box and everything won’t be good quality, but so long as the DVDs work, that’s all I really care about. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/3 "2005-01-16T21:53:10Z")
It’s Region Free and from a company I don’t recognise, looking at the picture of the boxes. I’d be wary of it being pirated, and thus of potentially bad quality. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/4 "2005-01-16T22:07:07Z")
Okay, it seems that the collection is called “Rurouni Kenshin Perfect Collection.” Looking at eBay and employing my Google-fu, I see that you can actually get it cheaper than the $99 they’re selling it for at that site. I’d look around at reviews of it to see if it’s completely legit before buying. It is a huge price discount, and that would make me a little wary. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/5 "2005-01-16T22:23:56Z")
All the reviews I’ve found are very positive: good dubbing, picture, and subtitles. I found one guy who said that it was “an R1 Rip.” What is that? ---
**Author:** ![Trailer\_Park\_Casanova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@Trailer\_Park\_Casanova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trailer_Park_Casanova)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/6 "2005-01-16T22:25:48Z")
If you’re a Kinison fan, theirs a cd going around of a guy that immitates him called : Sam Kinnison in hell. Stuff like Oh! Oh! Oh!, I just tripped over Vic Morrows head!! Oh! Oh! Oh! ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/7 "2005-01-16T22:28:11Z")
It’s a Hong Kong bootleg. Here’s a [bootleg faq](http://www.jazzmess.com/merch/bootlegfaq.html) all about 'em. The quality of the bootlegs can be excellent (I accidentally bought a Cowboy Bebop set off Ebay before I knew the difference) but it’s still a bootleg and you’re still buying stolen content. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/8 "2005-01-16T22:31:41Z")
Check out the site, but I don’t think price alone is a sign that you’ll be ripped off. My brother bought the _Visions of Escaflowne_ DVDs individually from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) and paid about $250 for the entire series. A year later, I bought the _Escaflowne_ perfect collection (all 28 episodes, plus the movie) from Discount Anime [DVD.com](http://DVD.com) for $52. My DVDs work just as well as my brother’s, and I paid $200 less. I did find a list of [customer reviews](http://shopping.yahoo.com/merchrating/user_rv.html;_ylt=AumkoOabAroUdStSUA4stjBDmmYB;_ylu=X3oDMTBscWNjbnU1BF9zAzIzNTAxMzc5BHNlYwNzdG9yZQ--?merchant_id=1017233) for [chstore.net](http://chstore.net). That might help you decide whether you want to do business with this company. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/9 "2005-01-16T22:48:08Z")
Elch. If what **tremorviolet** says is true, then I’m unhappy. I can’t find any other good box-sets of Kenshin. The only one that has more than three discs (12 episodes) is the “Premium Box Set” which I’m not going to buy because it doesn’t come in cases. Who’d release an anime series in cardboard sleeves, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-be-ripped-off-on-this-kenshin-dvd/285087/10 "2005-01-17T02:31:57Z")
I bit back my desire to save money and I paid $180 for a bundle set of the first six DVDs (24 episodes), with “Trust” and “Betrayal” thrown in.