Real or Fake?
 

Ok, so it's one of my friends birthdays (he's turning 40).
He's a huge Joy Division Fan, so I thought I'd try and get him something special.

Browsing the internet, I came across a 'mint' copy of 'A Factory Sampler', Factory Records 2nd official release. It's a double 7" with tracks by Joy Division, John Dowie, Durutti Column and Cabaret Voltaire.

'Ideal' I thought and stumped up the £20 the guy was asking, then waited for the postman.

It arrived yesterday and boy, was I surprised!

The thing looks absolutely brand spanking new! No creases in the pretty fragile folded cover, stickers included, even the paper sleeves that house the singles look brand new. Honestly, this thing looks like it was made yesterday, not 30 years ago.

Then I got to thinking, maybe it was made yesterday.

I've checked it against an original copy that another of my friends has, and it looks identical, same writing in the run off grooves, same matrix numbers, same everything.

Is it possible that someone would go to the trouble of replicating it in such detail? Or have I really bought the mintiest of minty mint copies?

What do you reckon?

I have a feeling it was reissued, but you might be lucky and have a mint orig copy. I'd be surprised if a boot or a reissue would come with the stickers.

consider yourself lucky!

I doubt that it has been re-issued with the same spec's and stickers and stuff.

does factory even re-issue anything at all?

Matrix tells all. You done got lucky.

Double 7 inch, silver gatefold sleeve
UK December 1978
(Factory FAC 2)
Factory Records

[disc one - Aside]
2:50 JOY DIVISION - Digital
3:51 JOY DIVISION - Glass
[disc one - Beside]
4:57 DURUTTI COLUMN - No Communication
3:16 DURUTTI COLUMN - Thin Ice (Detail)

[disc two - Seaside]
1:43 JOHN DOWIE - Acne
1:53 JOHN DOWIE - Idiot
2:27 JOHN DOWIE - Hitler's Liver
[disc two - Decide]
3:15 CABARET VOLTAIRE - Baader Meinhof
3:28 CABARET VOLTAIRE - Sex in Secret

engraved:
~ Everything
~ IS REPAIRABLE
~ EVERYTHING
~ IS BROKEN

That's the one!

Damn! Now I want to keep it! :(

Agree w/demon, Rob and Savage - sounds like you got an orig there. Well done for scoring that - your friend will be really made up when he gets this from you.

I checked on one of the JD discography sites, and there was a reissue of the 12" version, and a counterfeit of the 7", but neither of them look like what I bought.

I hope my friend appreciates it!:)

My other friend's original copy, which he bought new, many years ago, played once and put in a protective plastic cover in a cabinet with the rest of his Factory collection, looks tatty compared to mine.

I really can't believe how new it looks!

its a fake you fool. everybodys just trying to be kind

:p:p :p

yes, kindness....that's the ticket... I'll give you $5 for your "fake".....

You got a mint condition original Factory Sample for £20? That alone would lead me to assume it's fake.
There's a lot of money in good pirates of in-demand rarities, and any information that's available to you to verify whether it's genuine is also available to the people pressing them. Shit, with some of the Love Buzz fakes, you've got to measure the size of the matrix code lettering to the nearest millimetre to be *reasonably* sure it's real or not.

Hell, there's a chance you might have struck lucky with a clueless seller, but a quick look on eBay shows that there's been half a dozen mint/sealed copies with stickers selling for under £20 in the past couple of weeks. To me that's extremely suspicious to say the least.
I'm just glad that even the rarest SY rekkids aren't in enough demand to be attractive to the pirates.

Check the bottom of this page: http://www.joydiv.org/F9.htm

Sure enough, looks like there's some recently-pressed very good fakes kicking about.

some of the fakes have no stickers and are more white than silver.
the really nice fake has a large fold out cover,

 

not the original's type cover.


either way Over $45 for a double 7" is expensive!

Read the bottom of the page I linked to - the new copies come with stickers that are identical aside from they don't have "fasprint" printed on the back. I'll wager good money this is what Florya has.

At the end of the day, if a deal is too good to be true, then 99.9% of the time it isn't true.

Clues! We need more clues!!!

too bad it did not come with some drugs

Rub it with dirt or dust , and it will look more real.

Yup. That's the one. Looks like I have a fake (damn good one tho!):(

Oh well. I'm sure he'll like it anyway, after all it's the thought that counts, or so they say.;)