Bootleg copy of the Del-Larks Job Opening which is worth £2000+ on the original (which is a different colour to this bootleg)
How to Spot a bootleg record
If you are new to collecting 45s, especially older 50s and 60s 45s such as northern soul, rock and roll, popcorn or even rockabilly then you need to be aware of the existence of bootleg records and you need to know how to spot a bootleg record. A bootleg record is an unauthorised copy or re-pressing of a (usually) rare 45. In some cases they are sold described clearly as reissues (well, when I say 'clearly' it's a relative term - sellers rarely admit they are bootlegs, they usually use euphemisms such as "second issue" "repress" etc). In other cases, the seller either deliberately or through ignorance, leaves it vague as to whether or not the record is a genuine first edition or a bootleg. This is when it can be tricky and potentially very expensive for the novice collector.
What does it matter if they sound the same?
A bootleg will have been pressed up in quantity - often 500 at a time, sometimes more sometimes less. Imagine paying the "full price" for an Elvis Presley Sun 45 (maybe £3000) only to discover you have a repress with a copied label glued on. A bootleg will be worth a few pounds at best, so if you can't tell the difference, you could find yourself seriously out of pocket. Similarly, for many northern soul 45s you see "lookalike" bootlegs which are maybe worth £2-3 being listed which, if original, would be worth £2000+ . Often these bootlegs sell for £100+ because the buyer isn't sure whether they are genuine or not and can't resist "taking a punt". That could be you unless you know how to spot a bootleg record.
So how to spot a bootleg record - what to look for
In some cases it can be a simple matter of comparing a picture of the original against the bootleg. You might find that the bootleg is a different colour or is a different (home made copy) design of the original 45. Also, you might find that the original was only pressed on styrene rather than vinyl, and the reissue is vinyl. That's pretty easy. But what if it's a "lookalike" - where a record has been repressed with full colour scanned labels stuck over them?
Well, all 45rpm records are made with certain characteristics and in the case of rare records, a search on google is likely to throw up information about these. The most common are pressing plant stamps in the original pressings - for example, archer stamps or frankfort wayne stamps. These are machine pressed stamps in the run out grooves of the actual vinyl (the gap between the end of the music and the label) which are very difficult to fake. Secondly, most records have a matrix number in the grooves. Usually this is machine stamped and not scratched in (though there are exceptions). It is often the case that the original will be machine stamped (so the matrix number looks like it was stamped in by a sort of typewriter) and the bootleg will have a number scratched in by hand. Also, there are sometimes little ideosyncracies in the manufacturing process - perhaps the most famous is the Elvis Presley Sun 45s with the famous "pushmarks". Bootlegs or lookalikes without these pushmarks are either bootlegs or later reissues. Only the originals have the pushmarks and are worth the big money amongst Elvis Presley collectors. Knowing how to spot a bootleg record in this case could save you thousands of dollars.
What if I can't afford £2000 for an original 45 - that's ridiculous anyway?
If you have any moral concerns about artists being paid for their work, remember that bootleggers don't pay royalties to the artist. They pocket all of the money themselves. Many artists from the 1950s and 1960s didn't become rich from the fruits of their labour and live in hardship today. Every penny they can earn through the appreciation of their music can make a big difference to them. Yes, buying an original second hand record doesn't help them either - but it's different if someone is actually manufacturing and re-pressing their music for profit - it's only fair that the original artist or rights holder should get a cut. Usually they don't.
However, if you can't afford to buy an original copy of your favorite 45 but you want to have it on vinyl in some form, then it's up to you if you are happy to buy a bootleg so you can have a copy to play. In many cases (though not always) bootlegs have excellent fidelity. The purpose of this article is not to lecture about whether bootlegs are good or bad morally but to make the novice collector simply aware that they exist, and they are not always flagged as bootlegs.
It's also true to say that some people actually collect bootlegs of certain records. In the case of northern soul 45s, many bootlegs were issued in the early to mid 1970's and some soul lovers aren't bothered about buying expensive originals, they just want to buy the records that they had in a box in 1972 and in many cases, these weren't the impossible to find originals, these were the bootlegs that were freely sold at allnighters at the time. They might want to "buy back" the same bootleg copies they had back then, and these could be relatively scarce now, some 40 years on. Again, as long as you know what you are buying (whether original or not) and are happy with the price, it's up to you what you pay.
Bootleg records aren't only made of "old" 45s or LPs either. For example, there are lookalike copies of The Sex Pistols God Save the Queen on A&M in circulation. Again, these are maybe worth £20 out of novelty value whereas the real deal A&M Sex Pistols single is probably worth somewhere around £3000 these days. Maybe more.
Another way to check whether a record is an original or not is to contact the seller directly and if you get a vague response, find a relevant forum and ask on there. If you get a "it's definitely 100% original" response and later find it isn't, you ought to be able to demand a refund through Paypal (though you should ALWAYS do your homework because that doesn't always work out to be as straightforward as it should be). Record collectors of all musical genres tend to be very open about sharing their knowledge and their passion for rare records and will almost always give you sound guidance. Record Collectors also tend to collectively despise sellers who try and fleece them with fake and bootleg records.
Finally, and this is an old adage for life in general, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Sure, there was a time when you could pick up a $2000 rare soul 45 on ebay for $2 but those days are few and far between now because there are so many people scanning for rare records online. That isn't to say you can't get bargains or good deals though because you certainly can. However we hope we have shown you how to spot a bootleg record and this should help you to avoid costly mistakes when buying vinyl records online.