Tonight I became aware of "Asian Collector's Editions" of popular
television shows and movies being sold on ebay, eg X-Files, Sopranos.
These DVDs are being sold as new and in sealed packaging, but bearing
asian characters on the box as well as featuring additional Chinese
subtitles. These asian titles appear to be selling for 1/4 of the
North American equivalents, and they maintain that they are Region 1
compliant. It seems far too good to be true; I worry that they are
pirated or that the whole thing is a hoax. Could you set my mind at
ease or warn me away?

Check out:

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=luckyhappy7&sort=3&page=1&rows=50&since=-1&showpics=1&stab=0

or

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=shop101q&completed=0&sort=3&since=-1

Hello leftist-ga!

Well, you have basically answered the question yourself. The old adage
'If something seems too good to be true, it usually is." definitely
applies to these DVD sets. DVD piracy is incredibly rampant in Asia.
Some estimates claim that almost 80% of DVDs sold in Southeast Asia
are pirated. I think that's a little steep, but probably not far from
the truth.

If you look at the auctions you linked to, a few troubling facts come
to light. Although the seller's information indicates they are based
in Canada, they state in the item descriptions the DVD's will be
shipped from Hong Kong. This is a dead giveaway.

The following article describes in detail how pirate DVD rings operate
to circumvent Canadian anti-piracy law (as well as avoiding high
import fees by claiming the DVD's are blank!)

http://www.langara.bc.ca/prm/2003/dvd.html

Though the DVD's are listed as being 'Region 1', the fact that they
have Chinese characters adorning the boxes is suspect. Japan is a
Region 2 territory and the rest of Asia is Region 3. Generally
speaking, no legit Region 1 DVD release will have Chinese characters
on it. (Although Tai Seng, a very popular importer of Hong Kong and
Chinese cinema, will occasionally release legit R1 DVD's with Chinese
Characters on them). These discs are probably Region 0 (meaning, no
regional coding whatsoever) that will work on ANY DVD player...from
any region.

http://www.taiseng.com/

I'm not saying you won't get what you pay for. If you win the auction,
you will probably get the DVD set you asked for. But generally
speaking, the video will be of inferior quality, and there is a good
chance there will be non-removable Chinese or Taiwanese subtitles. I
have seen some very good Asian bootlegs, but these are nearly always
in the minority.

As I stated at the outset, if you see an Ebay auction like this and
you get any bad vibes regarding the legitimacy of the product, then do
a little research.

A very good site detailing various Regional DVD releases is ReWind.
You can check here to see all available DVD's from any region, and
compare various versions of the same DVD. If it's not here, then
chances are it's not legit.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

I hope this has helped you with your decision. 

Sincerey,
Musashidam-ga

Google search terms:

asian pirated dvd

Thanks to the researcher. This generally gives me a sense of what I
was dealing with, although it did not absolutely answer my question
(hence 4*s)

I know that the Monk DVD I purchased from LuckyHappy7, one of the
eBayers listed in your question, had excellent video quality, although
the packaging was not to American standards.

I bought a DS9 boxed set from LuckyHappy7.  The DVDs all had flaws
making about 1/4 of the whole set unwatchable.  Buyer beware.

I randomly found this.....I just purchased all 3 seasons of Roswell on
DVD with chinese on them...and they are claimed to be an 'asian
collector's edition". In fact, here the link to the ebay site where I
got them.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6357922742&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

I have no idea if they are pirated, but as mentioned above, it does
seem fishy these are 'region 1' DVD's.....

I did figure out a good way to tell if something is pirated or not.....
When you watch your DVD, try to record it to a vhs....if you are able
to do that then its more than likely pirated....real authentic DVD's
wont allow you to copy  from dvd to vhs.....(not any I have seen
anyway.)