Fake Test pressings
Or how I was stupid enought to get ripped off on Ebay


He certainly seemed to know quite a lot about this. He seemed to be nice. I explained to him why I had my doubts before and got this reply:

“Dear Magnus,
Hello again. That's a very interesting letter. First of all, I totally agree with your doubts about me personally. It does sound too far fetched that the Royal Mail would return a record, then have a strike and then the only place in the UK to be flooded in the middle of summer just happens to be where you ordered your record from. The only thing is that all of those things genuinely happened. I admit it sounds too far fetched, but it really is what happened. As for my PayPal experience, I already told you what happened with the Japanese dealer. He is now under criminal investigation from the police in Japan. PayPal have exonerated me completely and returned the funds that they were holding to my account. So apart from this little spat with Japan I have enjoyed 27 years as a professional record dealer without any problems. As for the white labels, well, yes I have heard of fakes being in circulation. The bands that I know of for sure are METALLICA and AC/DC. I have seen a few of those around. I have never seen a Motorhead one. As for the "bleaching", I must be honest I have never heard of that and to me that sounds like it would completely destroy the vinyl. The majority of fakes are factory pressed items by MADONNA, U2 and a load of rare DANCE MIX 12" singles. These are pressed by the same people who press bootleg and counterfeit items. When you have an original and a fake of the same item together they are easy to tell apart, but the problem is that you usually only see the fake and unless you know what to look for there's not much chance of spotting it. Genuine test pressings will have the exact same matrix numbers and other markings as the normal press. Simply because they are pressed from the same plates. The problem there arises when you get a test pressing that was pressed by EMI (such as your OVERKILL LP) and compare it to a Phonogram pressing. OVERKILL and BOMBER were pressed at 3 different pressing plants, EMI, PHONOGRAM and CBS. Your EMI pressing is completely flat, the Phonogram press has a ridge surrounding the label and a smaller groove about an inch away from the centre hole. The CBS pressings have 3 completely different levels in the surface of the label. The outer part of the label is the highest part and then goes down a level for about an inch before reaching the smallest level surrounding the centre hole. This may all sound gibberish and complicated, but it is the only way I know to identify different pressings. Anyway, as for your record, it was pressed by George Peckham, who has become legend with his "A PORKY PRIME CUT" slogan that he etched into many run-out grooves, and it was pressed on Stamper number 5 at the HAYES pressing plant for EMI at Middlesex near London. There will also be test pressings from Phonogram and CBS even though they all appeared on the BRONZE LABEL. A record label exists in name only and is whoever they get to distribute the record which determines which plant will press it. Then if an album takes off and more copies are needed than one plant can supply, they will ask any of the other major plants to press them. It is a nightmare to determine which is which, but ultimately fascinating as well. Anyway, I hope this info helps and don't hesitate to contact me if you wish any other info.
Thanks again,
All the Best,
Vinnie”

He sure knows a lot, doesn´t he? Now he had me. He gave me a lot of interesting information and seemed to be very nice after all I thought. And then came this email on the 10th of August:

Fake test...(startpage), 2, 3, 4, 5 (this page), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
Ariadnar2006


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