How often do you open cartridges to see if they are real when buying online?

[austin532 | 467]

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this. I will open a game not only to see if it's real but to clean it as well.

[Gloves | 11,760]

I tend not to. I buy CIB, and primarily from trusted individuals.

[austin532 | 467]

If someone were to fake a game it would be easier to get away with it on a cheap game IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some fake SMB/Duck Hunts out in the wild.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

I do to clean them anyway.

[Jeevan | 8,909]

honestly haven't opened a single game, but i just started collecting............Most i have bought off NA when I joined if it was an expensive one.  Others I go cib with high feedback on wherever i purchase.  I might just start doing it to do it though, but I really kinda worry about it since I haven't really done it before.  Just don't wanna break anything.  Also, Need to learn to replace batteries sometime in the future.  Any good tutorials for this?

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

I tend to open most, but usually it's not to see if they are real. Primary, it's to clean them, but I also like to look at the electronics and read the date codes.

[PineappleLawnchair | 88]

Damn near every time. Course that doesn't help all the time, like the one time i bought a copy of Phantasy Star, and it turned out someone switched out the board with Miracle Warriors instead.

 

[ifightdragons | 234]

Always open to thoroughly clean anyway.

[themisfit138 | 523]

Just like most of the comments so far. I always open them to clean. 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,055]

Every single game that can be opened, I open upon arrival. They get thoroughly cleaned in and out before they ever go into a console. (Don't kid yourselves the whole q-tip and alcohol thing is NOT an adequate cleaning method. Thats like jumping in a shower, getting wet, and saying your clean without and soap or getting into the nooks and folds.)

Aint no ones dirty contacts are goin into my slot!

So I guess I check to see if they're real every time just by cleaning them.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

I always do, but like most of the responses already, I do it more to clean out the inside of the shells and polish the pins than checking to see if they are real. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I only open them if they cost more than $100 and/or need a good brass polishing.

[cj_robot | 540]

Wow, interesting. I've never opened a cartridge I've bought. I would always clean the connectors, as well as the cartridge itself (stickers, dirt, etc) and test each game I got, but never opened any. Guess I never considered that they might be fake, but it's been almost a decade since I've collected anything, so maybe it wasn't a thing back then.

[Richardhead | 2,813]

I open every game I get just because I can. Cleaning it and seeing it’s not a fake is a bonus

[Hammerfestus | 3,820]

Honestly I only open games that are worth a bit.  I clean contacts but I’m not sure I see the point usually or have the nerve to hose my boards down with 409.  There’s no profit in faking games below a certain price threshold so I don’t worry about it.

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

Nah, I'm lazy and I don't really buy the expensive titles.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

The first 500?  All of them.  Since then I've only cleaned the troublesome pins and spot checked the expensive carts

[Lincoln | 230]

I voted expensive only because those are the ones I always check but any cart I sit down to play I'll clean properly the first time which usually requires opening

[austin532 | 467]

6 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Every single game that can be opened, I open upon arrival. They get thoroughly cleaned in and out before they ever go into a console. (Don't kid yourselves the whole q-tip and alcohol thing is NOT an adequate cleaning method. Thats like jumping in a shower, getting wet, and saying your clean without and soap or getting into the nooks and folds.)

What other methods do you recommend?

[Lincoln | 230]

2 hours ago, austin532 said:

What other methods do you recommend?

thread with some good info here.

ceramic stovetop cleaner is the generally accepted suggestion. there are a handful of others that are divisive.

 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,055]

2 hours ago, austin532 said:

What other methods do you recommend?

Regardless of any type method, the minimum needs to be to open the game to have full access to the connectors to see what your working with. A quick q-tipping ain't gonna get that "dried soda" gunk out from between pins if you don't open it, and I wouldn't want that kind of stuff in my console.

Personally, I take a eraser to the pins then a tooth brush with alcohol, then dry with a microfiber cloth. 

[Estil | 1,261]

How exactly do you clean the console's cartridge contacts in a top loader system?  I mean I figure those should be clean too right?

[Tulpa | 3,488]

8 minutes ago, Estil said:

How exactly do you clean the console's cartridge contacts in a top loader system?  I mean I figure those should be clean too right?

You disassemble the toploader and take it out. It's not that hard. https://stillplayingnes.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/cleaning-the-nes-101-top-loader/

Alternatively, if you just want do a regular cleaning, you can grab a credit card (or something similar, like a plastic gift card) and a coffee filter (or similar paper/cloth piece), spray some alcohol on it, and insert it into the connector a few times. Do that like weekly and it should remove any dust or whatever that might get in from regular playing.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Tulpa

[Tanooki | 4,929]

Always have since I got a kit a decade ago, before that where things came from I knew the stuff wasn't going to be shady.  It wasn't to make sure of fraud, I wanted to be able to properly clean stuff so it was more about that than being scammed, but if I'm opening to clean it, clearly I can see if it's a fraud.

[mbd39 | 2,017]

I don't waste money on games expensive enough to have to do that.  If a game is that expensive then fuck it I'll just play on an emulator. I'm not a collector.