east2westOG said:
promos dont have barcodes..
actually that's not always true.
retail cd and vinyl singles and albums, and sometimes cassette albums are given out to radio and industry outlets for promotion, and they are the exact same product as a regular item you'd buy in the store - barcode, sealed sometimes, full art, etc. the difference is that they will have a hole punch through the barcode, a line through the barcode, a sawcut in the spine, a drill hole through the barcode, a gold stamp on the cover and the disc, or a sticker on the front of the jewel case (usually with red print).
the first indication that this item was a fake was that it was being sold from latvia, which is known for being a major piracy sector of the world. they press up tapes and cd's that look almost identical to retail, but they're not. you have to look for hte little things... 2pac's name was never spelled 2 Pac on his releases (with the extra space), the spine font and design doesn't match the rest, etc... they did a real good job making it appear legit to the untrained eye, down to the damaged sticker (from "age" i assume) on the cover.
