Everytime I buy something online, something goes absolutely wrong!!!

[lynx]

If they always gave the same feedback but different from other members I could understand it. But giving exactly the same feedback as another member, for the same class of goods, the likelihood of that is virtually nil unless they are the same person or have some sort of cartel running.

I think you should inform Ebay's customer services about this, it is far more likely to get their attention as it smells more like organised fraud.

[muchspl3]

First, let me start off by saying this.... SHIT!

There, now that I've gotten that out, let me go on...

Like a week ago, I bought something off eBay. I won Super Mario Advance 4 for my Gameboy Advance SP in an auction. Now, knowing this was eBay, I was sure to pay attention to the user's feedback. Up until now, he has 100% feedback, nothing negative. He's also sold GBA SP games only, up until right now.

So I bought Super Mario Advance 4 for $14 (with shipping), which was good, the game costs $24 used. So I'm happy, I got it for $14, and I waited one week. Today the game arrives. And guess what? I open the package to find a bootleg copy of the damn game!!!

The label on the cartridge is literally home-made! It's like a sticker with a stretched image on it, it looks like it was obviously made with some label-making program at home! The stupid thing came off easily!

When I turn on the game, I get the following message:

Reading...
Saved data corrupted.
Game OK.
File 1 OK.
Blah blah blah OK OK OK.

It looks to me like he got a flash rom cartridge (empty GBA cartridge), and put the Super Mario rom on it. I normally wouldn't have a problem with it being bootleg and stuff, but the game is messed up. I ran into a ton of problems trying to save my game. This sucks, half the time I save my game, it disappears after it turn my GBA off and back on.

How the hell did he sell 20 something bootleg games to eBay users and no one noticed??? Everytime I buy something online, something goes horribly wrong!

[brotherdoobie]

I dig what you're saying. But you have ways of getting your money back. So to get your money back and pull one on Gamestop, you would be no better than the original seller.

File with Paypal if you used them.
If paid with a money order, file a fraud case. (Federal charge using postal service)
If paid with a credit card, contest the charge as it is total misrepresentation in his discription.

May want to go as far as reporting him/her to Nintendo for pirating. (just don't tell them of your habits )

I don't want my money back because in the description he said he'd refund the money for the game, but not the shipping. The game was $6, the shipping was $8. The shipping was more than the game. Plus I can't get a refund, he isn't returning my emails.

I can't file with paypal, because I used my friend's eBay/PayPal account (I don't have one) and it's too much of a hassle for him. I used his account to buy it, and then I paid him in cash.

Report him to Nintendo? Eh, too much of a hassle also, I don't even know where the guy is, somewhere in Hong Kong.

@lynx
Damn, your right. There could be severe consequences if I get caught.

Shit, oh well. Guess I just lost $14 on a defective game...

You might as well chalk it up as a loss kid. A lesson learned,and besides
think of all the programs,you haven't paid a dime for. You prolly,got a copy of Photoshop Creative Suite 2...or something like it,lying around on your hard drive. What would that cost you,twelve hundred dollars or so?
Not bad 'eh?

Peace bd

[Celerystalksme]

I hope i dont get ripped off with all the sega saturn gear im getting...i haven't used my saturn in ages...but couldn't pass up the chance to get virtua cop 1 & 2 and the laser gun...plus command & conquer...

[sArA]

Sorry bout your trouble RTJ......I have been pretty lucky with Ebay so far :crossedfingers:


@Celerystalksme...hi there, nice to see you still popping in from time to time

[Barbarossa]

I am always incredibly suspicious of anything on EBay from Hong kong. Especially when it's clearly mass-sellers, and not individuals.

I bought a bluetooth dongle from a HK seller, and although I am very happy with it, the seller made me pay a postal insurance which I didn't want to pay, which pissed me off somewhat.

These people are wrecking EBay IMO.

[manker]

I bought a bluetooth dongle from a HK seller

Bloody hell, matey. Next you'll be telling us it was multi-speed.

This is a family forum

[Peerzy]

Just don't do anything with the cart/ After the 10th day you use the Ebay feature which then is linked to his Paypal account. He can either give you a full refund or leave a statement. If he does niether after another 10 days they freeze his paypal and ebay account automatically untill he pays you back (Shipping and all)

If he leaves a statement Ebay and Paypal read up on both. Im sure if you give them a piccy of the crappy cart they'll side with you and you get a full refund. After a while he'll just end up paying up cause you can't create a new paypal account and use the same credit card. Meaning he would have to change banks just to be able to setup direct debit on the new paypal account. Hardly worth the few dollars the cart cost.

I'm thinking about buying the game from Gamestop used, walking out of the store, swapping them and going back in asking for a refund saying I got a bootleg. What are the chances of it working?

2 wrongs don't make a right.

3 Rights make a left though

I've also brought some dodgy HK shyte. Mine was teh new Chelski shirt tho. Got my full money back and got to keep the fake shirt (Which was perfect except it didn't have the little silvery authenticatiy on the bottom of the shirt)

Just stick with the system, he'll end up refunding you the full price (including shipping paypal gives him the choice to refund the whole ammount or nothing and his account stays froozen.) and you'll get to keep what he sent you.


Most of the time the buyer is in a better position than the seller. If they don't send it recorded (signed for) delivery and have over charged you, skanked you in anyway claim it never arrived. You either get a second one or your money back.

[Rip The Jacker]

His feedback just gets better and better.

Take a look at two real GBA games I already own:



And the game he sent:



See the difference?

@Peerzy
I'm going to use the open a dispute ebay feature today... see what happens...

[Snee]

I had a look at a japanese cartridge I had at home, and while it did have the model number your cartridges have in the lower right corner (it's in the upper right corner on that tho'), it doesn't have the golden nintendo thing and that. And I'm still pretty sure it isn't fake.

Japanese and other asian cartridges look a bit different in my experience (have seen it before on old gameboy cartridges), but there should a model number. And maybe a two-digit number etched somewhere on the label.

Is the label glossy or not? And also, just out of interest, does it still say nintendo on the back?



(Not the one I have)

The text in the upper left corner is probably the same on all japanese cartridges, the nintendo text on the bottom isn't always there (it's there to say who made the game I think, mario is obviously made by nintendo). And, if you look closely to the right there's an "11" etched into the label next to the logo (mine, a wrestling game, has a "41" etched into the label).

Can't find an original chinese one, but I'm betting it still should have the number etched into the label if it's real, and some kind of logo, like the japanese ones have on the upper left, and it should def have some kind of model number.

^Might come in handy if you have to prove it's fake.