Okay, now back in October 2009, I bought the first season of The Life & Times of Tim off ebay, on DVD. It seriously is the real deal, definately can't be pirated unless the piraters have access to a DVD press. The case and cover are actually studio quality, and the DVD's inside had normal printing on them. If it were pirated, it would have the purple-coloured disc side, but this is the normal silver reflective side, indicating it was pressed from a DVD press. It is most definately the real deal- I know how to spot a fake.

However, just after I bought it, I looked it up and the DVD was OFFICIALLY supposed to be released in February 2010. I showed the disc to people who were dumbfounded: that can't be a fake.

What would have happened? Could to studio have sold copies early? Could someone INSIDE the studio have stolen some and sold them for themselves?
It's just something I've been thinking about recently.

I ordered it from the USA at the time (I'm in Australia) and it's encoded to Region 1. It was a normal price, like $30 or something, so no high cost.

Thanks!