Many as.....les on ebay!

Hi e.kane.
I informed the seller these were fakes and he replied:
Like I said,
They came from a reputable auction house whom I know and trust.
Should I trust them or you whom I do not know?
What are your credentials please?
I have investigated your claims and find no substance to them so far, not to say I am dismissing them off hand but I have no facts to back up what you are saying.
Many thanks

I sent him this:
Thanks for your reply, it's good to know you are at least concerned.
I've been collecting records for over 40 years. Many years ago I too was caught out by some of these and have since taken it upon myself to save other collectors and sellers grief and agro.
The clearest clue for me is in your second from last picture (here attached again in close-up) of the matrix number from FTATR. You can clearly see the edge of the label is rough cut and that under it is a darkened rough surface.
Evil do-ers scrub the original labels off, die the remnents black with ink or similar, and stick white labels on. Very easy to see and you'll feel the label edge with your fingernail. Try it with a normal LP and you'll not feel the lip of the label hooking on your finger nail.
The DDDDC Lp looks exactly the same, though I'd need a clearer pic of the label edges to confirm this.
Again, sorry. One might "get away with it" as unfortunately many newer collectors are not as savvy as they need to be. But if the buyer realises the deception, especially a foreign buyer, then it's a pain for you and them and Ebay...
Thanks for your time and understanding.

And attached a close up crop of his posted pic.


No further communication since then.

I have a genuine UK FTATR test press, and it does not look like this. I also still have a DDDDC rip-off I got caught out by years ago, and it looks exactly like these.
Do yourself a favour and steer clear.

Sorry, can't help with that one - all 21st century pressings look the same to me, official, pirate, even bootlegs don't look any different these days. A test press of a pirate would look just the same as an official releases test press as the processes (and sometimes the factories) are the same.

You're most welcome, I'm glad I could save at least one poor soul!
Looks like the seller is going for the "get away with it" option, so someone has lost at least the postage and return, if not the enitre sum. On two scratched records no one will ever want again - at least if my campaigning gets through to collectors.

The next fake:

[Link to eBay item]