My Ultimate Yogi set from Amazon was bootlegged

[Becky]

I feel so bad to have to post this but I wanted to give everyone a heads up. Back in early November I posted to Bargain Watch and GD that UY was $64.99 plus free shipping from a seller called Shoestring Bandit. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who jumped on it.

Well when I received it, it sure looked authentic but within a month some of my discs started freezing. I emailed Amazon and they told me to return the whole thing for a refund or replacement, but I'm in the middle of the rotation and didn't want to part with it.

A few weeks ago I had a credit on Opensky and purchased another set of UY directly from Udaya. When it came on Monday, I could tell right away that the set I got on Amazon was fake. I emailed Amazon and they said it was too late for me to return the set I bought in November. So I emailed them back and told them that I respectfully disagree with them and want my money returned because these are bootlegged DVDs, plus the seller is no longer on Amazon. Within one hour, they sent me a return mailing label for UPS.

I sent the fake set back that same Monday, and they received it on Wednesday and by Friday I had my money refunded back to my credit card. The reason they posted for the refund "Received too late".

Anyway, I'm so sorry to anyone else that ordered UY from Shoestring bandit. I would email Amazon and respectfully demand your money back. Be sure to let them know that these are bootlegged.

I also wanted to bring it to everyone's attention while theultimateyogi.com is having their 30% off sale (VALENTINE).

[LoveVA]

I just checked my Amazon order history and my UY set is also from Shoestring Bandit. So far, my discs have played fine. How can you tell, visually, that they are fake? Anything I should look for?

[catcrazy]

Wow, crazy. I almost bought that set but then I found an even cheaper one on EBay, I haven't really used it much because I bought it as a backup set to my original UY set. I was a little suspicious when I got it because each DVD had plastic over them in the case, but otherwise look exactly like the first set. I wondered why they had so many sets to sell for 35.00. I'm not even sure of the sellers name. Did yours have plastic on each dvd? My original set did not.

[LoveVA]

Originally Posted by catcrazy

Wow, crazy. I almost bought that set but then I found an even cheaper one on EBay, I haven't really used it much because I bought it as a backup set to my original UY set. I was a little suspious when I got it because each DVD had plastic over them in the case, but otherwise look exactly like the first set. I wondered why they had so many sets to sell for 35.00. I'm not even sure of the sellers name. Did yours have plastic on each dvd? My original set did not.

Mine has plastic over each DVD. I figured it was just to make it easier to slide the DVDs in and out of each slot. And it does make it easier.

[PhyllisG]

Mine also had thin sort of plastic covers over each DVD but it was bought from Nicolegr*t something and I paid $55. They look legit to me and were listed as used--forget the condition--and the box looked used but the DVDs are fine. Also I see the seller has a five star rating for over 900 sales.
Should I worry?

[Becky]

My set from Amazon came with each disc in a plastic sleeves too. The set from Udaya did not have plastic sleeves on the discs.

Also, the set from Udaya comes in a sturdy box rather than just an outer sleeve. The little booklet and calendar from Udaya are definitely made of a sturdier higher quality paper in that I can open and close the calendar without it ripping, like the set from Amazon. And the discs from Udaya slide smoothly in and out of their slots, unlike the set from Amazon. Most importantly, the discs don't freeze or skip.

If you read the feedback for Shoestring Bandit, there is a lady that posted her Ultimate Yogi set was fake too. Shortly after her feedback, Shoestring Bandit stopped selling on Amazon.

Bootleggers are getting better at making things look authentic and if it wasn't for getting another set from Udaya, I never would have known.

[LoveVA]

Originally Posted by Becky

My set from Amazon came with each disc in a plastic sleeves too. The set from Udaya did not have plastic sleeves on the discs.

Also, the set from Udaya comes in a sturdy box rather than just an outer sleeve. The little booklet and calendar from Udaya are definitely made of a sturdier higher quality paper in that I can open and close the calendar without it ripping, like the set from Amazon. And the discs from Udaya slide smoothly in and out of their slots, unlike the set from Amazon. Most importantly, the discs don't freeze or skip.

If you read the feedback for Shoestring Bandit, there is a lady that posted her Ultimate Yogi set was fake too. Shortly after her feedback, Shoestring Bandit stopped selling on Amazon.

Bootleggers are getting better at making things look authentic and if it wasn't for getting another set from Udaya, I never would have known.

Well, if mine is a bootlegged copy, it's a pretty impressive bootleg. My calendar and booklet are made of very sturdy paper. Is there something on the discs that would give me clue about the origins of the set?

I can't remember if mine came with a box or not. I could have thrown it away.

[jpenar]

I ordered mine in November too from a Beanie Man, paid 64.99, and my DVD's also have plastic over each DVD. I've only used 2 of the DVD's and they seemed to have played ok.

[Becky]

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the box. The set I got from Amazon came in an outer sleeve rather than a sturdy box. It was supposedly brand new and was completely sealed. When I took the seal off, all the discs were in little plastic sleeves inside the slots. The discs were extremely difficult to slide in and out without catching on the cardboard, even after nearly two months of using them, whereas the discs from Udaya slide smoothly in and out of their slots from day one.

The back of the discs from Amazon were printed "Ultimate Yogi" in two spots on the back plastic part of each disc. The discs from Udaya are printed and numbered "The Ultimate Yogi Disc 1", "The Ultimate Yogi Disc 2" etc. in only one spot on the back plastic part of each disc.

Like I said, without comparing the two sets, I was completely fooled by the set from Amazon.

Phyllis, I think if you purchased it used from someone with good feedback, it's probably legit.

[LoveVA]

Originally Posted by Becky

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the box. The set I got from Amazon came in an outer sleeve rather than a sturdy box. It was supposedly brand new and was completely sealed. When I took the seal off, all the discs were in little plastic sleeves inside the slots. The discs were extremely difficult to slide in and out without catching on the cardboard, even after nearly two months of using them, whereas the discs from Udaya slide smoothly in and out of their slots from day one.

The back of the discs from Amazon were printed "Ultimate Yogi" in two spots on the back plastic part of each disc. The discs from Udaya are printed and numbered "The Ultimate Yogi Disc 1", "The Ultimate Yogi Disc 2" etc. in only one spot on the back plastic part of each disc.

Like I said, without comparing the two sets, I was completely fooled by the set from Amazon.

Phyllis, I think if you purchased it used from someone with good feedback, it's probably legit.

OK, I checked my discs. They say "The Ultimate Yogi Disc 1,2,3, etc" on each disk on two spots on the plastic part. They also say "D9A" or "D9B".