Game lot on ebay included reproductions (was unaware at purchase)

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

I bought a fairly large lot on eBay that was a guy's personal collection. There were pictures of numerous NES and SNES games that he had collected over 35 years, a couple of which were rare/valuable games (Bobble Bobble 2, ChronoTrigger, Earthbound) as well as boxes for game systems. One was a rare SNES/Super Gameboy box.  The lot arrived today and a number of the boxed games in the picture were missing manuals, and the console boxes were just boxes filled with the games - no manuals, styrofoam, etc. I didn't explicitly ask what was in each game so feel I'm certainly at fault for that surprise

As I dug deeper into the lot though I found Bubble Bobble 2 is a reproduction, with a poorly cut out and stuck on label. The Earthbound label looked suspicious as well - it's blurry and theres some plastic sheet residue on the top edge so this looks like a clear replacement too. Looking inside this seems to be a reproduction as well.

I was wondering what people's opinions or experiences are in these situations on eBay. When it comes to claims of Item Not as Described, is there any accounting for assumptions or is the fact that I assumed but did not explictly ask (or it was explicitly stated) whether or not some games were reproductions, or am I unlikely to get any traction?

Edited February 1, 2021 by GharetSaiDe

[Gloves | 11,776]

If they didn't state that there were repros in the lot I imagine they'd side with you, but I have no personal experience with this.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

I've done this before, I bought a fake Mega Man 6 box and a fake Surprise At Dinosaur Peak cartridge. Just follow the process in eBay's Terms Of Service and you'll get your money back no problem. It's all explained on eBay's site better than I can explain it to you here.

[Lincoln | 230]

Counterfeits are always grounds for not as described, so you can get a return based on that. Ebay wont facilitate a partial return afaik. You could try to work that out privately with the seller if you feel its worth it, but if they're not cooperative you'll have to open a cade and return the whole lot.

 

 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

Ebay auto sides with buyers 99% of the time. Open up a case and get your money back. You'll likely have to mail everything back

[TrekMD | 1,399]

If this was not disclosed, Ebay will side with you.  What you were sold is not what was advertised.

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

Thanks for the replies! I wasn't quite sure since all there was to go on was pictures in the listing. I definitely learned my lesson about not being explicit in asking more details before. I'll make sure not to touch anything else now that it's mostly unpacked in case I have to ship it back out to them again.

[twiztor | 850]

don't mention that you opened the games.

i don't know if it's still the case, but eBay used to frown on that part.

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

45 minutes ago, twiztor said:

don't mention that you opened the games.

i don't know if it's still the case, but eBay used to frown on that part.

Ah crap, I most definitely did lol

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

I knew a guy who bought a Little Samson that turned out to be fake, and when he use the pictures of the board to prove it was fake, he was denied his case because he "broke the game" by opening it.  That was years ago, and I don't even think it's an eBay policy.  I think he just got a really ignorant customer service rep.  

[Tanooki | 4,933]

You're fine, you'll just lose everything in the process.

File as a not as described. Mention every bit about what is fake from the outside, not the inside, if you're worried about that opening it will cause an issue.  I've never seen them have a fit over opening a game to prove its a knockoff, but I guess there are idiots in the idiot pool of computer screen queue card hourly readers who all pretend to be Americans on the phone.   If you wish to point it out, say you opened it and found a modern board and chips in there with a current stamp, date, web address, something that's obviously bs.  If not, point out the fake modern plastics, stickers, etc you can see without a kit.

The nice bonus, it's a heavy box, and that prick will have to pay for the return shipping charges out of his account for trying to defraud you on the sale which is more than fair.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

5 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Ebay auto sides with buyers 99% of the time. Open up a case and get your money back. You'll likely have to mail everything back

Automatic? eBay reviews every case manually, there's no automatic decisions made. Each case is determined on the rules set out in their Terms Of Service.

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

I opened the claim and messaged the seller some details. Unfortunately the form for submitting the claim for NAD is pretty limited on how much I can type. In addition to the 2 reprodcution carts, the title stated "CIB Games and CIB Consoles" but 22/50 boxed games were missing manuals, and neither of the systems were CIB. Not only missing styrofoam but the rare SNES Gameboy one had no styrofoam, no manuals/inserts, and no Super Gameboy adapter. Its just a box with a loose SNES thrown in there.  Additionally 2 of the boxes are fake. 

 

While I could have asked more details about each item in the lot, I think the pictures and the title certainly implied these things would be complete unless otherwise mentioned. It was a very costly lot and the value after discovering these is significantly lower than what I paid so I'm happy to stick him with the return shipping if that's what it takes to get the money back, even if I have to pack 100lbs of stuff myself 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

7 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

Automatic? eBay reviews every case manually, there's no automatic decisions made. Each case is determined on the rules set out in their Terms Of Service.

Their review process isn't very thorough, it's not like theyre putting alot of effort into it. Their "process" boils down to "buyer unhappy, give back money." Your lucky if you get a rep who would review anything beyond that. Hence why everyone says they always side with the buyer

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

4 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Their review process isn't very thorough, it's not like theyre putting alot of effort into it. Their "process" boils down to "buyer unhappy, give back money." Your lucky if you get a rep who would review anything beyond that. Hence why everyone says they always side with the buyer

You confirmed my argument that it isn't automatic.

[phart010 | 1,707]

I guess I’m in the minority here, but I think that it’s up to the buyer to ask questions and to ask for photos before buying.
 

The seller probably should have been up front about the repros and which games included manuals to prevent this from happening. A good seller would have done so.
 

But technically, when you place the order, you are agreeing to buy it based on the limited information that is available. If you ask questions BEFORE ordering, then you can add the details of new information to the agreement. But AFTER ordering, it is what it is.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

2 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

You confirmed my argument that it isn't automatic.

Your being pedantic. The point was he will have no problem getting his money back.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

35 minutes ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Your being pedantic. The point was he will have no problem getting his money back.

No, I think it's important information for people to know that eBay doesn't have an automatic decision process in place, they review each case individually and decide based on their terms to which you have access. I wanted to correct this because I see it in other forums as well, people write misinformation that eBay always refunds the money or automatically refunds it without due process.

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

I settled with the guy on a $600 partial refund to cover replacement cost if I were to buy the 2 that were reproductions at the avg sale cost over the last 3 months on ebay, and accepted that as far as CIB I should have asked explicitly but felt assuming the games were authentic was reasonable. He agreed without any hassle, and I don't have to pack up and ship back 100lbs of video games and systems. He claimed ebay told him that they wouldn't side with me, which I didn't believe, but his willingness to settle worked out in my favor. From talking to him I expect he didn't know they were reproductions (its his personal collection over his lifetime) so he took my word for it with the pictures. Thanks to all of you for your input and suggestions!

In the end I still overpaid a bit given the missing manuals and such but they're easy enough to replace and I'll have a nice bunch of CIB games to add to my cart collection  Just the size of the lot overall and all the new stuff I got still makes it pretty exciting.

That said, anybody want to buy a box only for the SNES Super Gameboy set?  Don't think I'll get around to completing that myself unless i miraculously find styrofoam/inserts

Edited February 3, 2021 by GharetSaiDe

[Friendsfa35 | 35]

always ask questions before buying though....
especially for high priced lots or items.
buying blindly from just looking at the pictures, is never a good idea.

often people don't even know what they are selling,
so they just tag it with something.

i've seen lots of sellers who offer loose NES games as CIB ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Clutchcards | 9]

I think you have a more than reasonable case for a refund. In addition, eBay always takes the buyer's side even when a refund isn't just (I know this as a seller). I would def request a refund from the seller and than open a case if the seller doesn't voluntarily start the refund process.

[BreaKBeatZ | 136]

You should say the items were counterfeit instead of saying they were reproductions in your claim. You should also say they don't work.

[GharetSaiDe | 72]

1 minute ago, BreaKBeatZ said:

You should say the items were counterfeit instead of saying they were reproductions in your claim. You should also say they don't work.

That's an interesting distinction. Would you claim counterfeit vs reproductions because it was not marked clearly that the item was a fake, whereas a "reproduction" one might expect to be clear that is the case rather than relying on close inspection/opening of the cart to verify?

[BreaKBeatZ | 136]

Just now, GharetSaiDe said:

That's an interesting distinction. Would you claim counterfeit vs reproductions because it was not marked clearly that the item was a fake, whereas a "reproduction" one might expect to be clear that is the case rather than relying on close inspection/opening of the cart to verify?

It's just a stronger word in my opinion. You don't want to end up with some eBay employee reviewing your case that doesn't understand why a reproduction is bad. It seems like many of them don't understand that these games are collectibles. This guy scammed you, so you should also just go ahead and say the games are broken and don't work. Even if that's not true, I think it's justified as the means to a fair end. 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

That's not so much an interesting distinction, it's dead pan accurate.  Reproduction is a lie made by a bunch of sniveling crooks years ago when it came to making bootleg video games in the modern era (last decade roughly) to try and smooth over their shady activities and sadly it's so so in practice now that the lie is accepted.   It's kind of the wrongly tied to Goebbels quote where if you tell a lie enough it becomes the truth, and it fits well.

These games that are not original, they're exactly that, counterfeit items, bootlegs to others but the same definition in the end and has been called as such going back into the 80s and 90s with video games.

Breakbeatz nailed it, you have to assume the ebay rep is an idiot, even if they aren't, you have to make it black and white because you get the wrong one who isn't smart or doesn't care, it could backfire.  But if you use their terminology which is 'counterfeit goods' which is one of their drop box selections, there's no gray area.