Can anyone help me verify this "sealed" Mega Man Starforce 2 DS game I just got?

[retro.magnus | 136]

I bought this off of eBay and just got in. I purchased two of them. One of them has some damage on the art behind the shrink wrap ( https://imgur.com/a/dPxGamG ) which initially made me skeptical. You can also see the ESRB E has jagged edges, as well as the UPC. Anyone with knowledge on DS games have a clue if this is a reseal, reprint of art & reseal, or altogether fake? I'm going to return them either way because the damage to the art is a pretty clear giveaway.

The Ebay seller was dealtavern & I think they are a part of  https://www.game4less.com & https://gamequestdirect.com . From my research GQD has manufactured some re-released games.. So assuming DT & G4L/GQD are coming from the same warehouse they have some stuff that is brand new for sure. But what that means the have the OEM equipment to re-seal games. Which is what I am thinking happened to the one I linked above fro the damage to the art behind the shrink. 

My biggest concern here is knowing one of these that I bought is a reseal from the damage, how many of the games they're selling are reseals?  If they have the OEM equipment to seal stuff, they could hypothetically just be sealing stuff that's been returned or in mint condition. 

 

EDIT: I was told no DS games were shrink wrapped originally, but Y folds. Anyone know if this is accurate? 

Edited May 15, 2020 by epiczail
added context

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

I have zero expertise but have seen this brought up before on forums and social media, specifically that people have Capcom games without Y-folds. Searching for sealed Mega Man DS games I see a lot of games with the same type of seal, which obviously doesn't mean they're not all reseals. Following this thread to see if someone has real expertise though.

[retro.magnus | 136]

So I got the other games in from the same seller today. One being Dragon quest V ( https://imgur.com/a/xH4iMq5 ) afaik this one looks legit, no wear on the art, y folds also look good. I know when WATA grades stuff they callout Third Party RTB seams (not 100% sure what that is) but I have been looking around and I am lead to believe there were 3DS & DS games that didn't have Y folds. Looking on eBay at certain games, 99% of them either all have Y-fold or shrink. 

I haven't messaged the seller yet as I was trying to get more info before messaging them. But the MM game has to be a reseal & knowing that fact makes me weary about anything else from them, no matter how legit they look. The seller does have a few neg feedback saying games were resealed so I'm not the first. 

 

EDIT: How's it going @DefaultGen sold some PS1 games to you a bit ago. Knew your avatar/name was familiar. Cheers!

Edited May 15, 2020 by epiczail

[RH | 4,897]

1 hour ago, epiczail said:

So I got the other games in from the same seller today. One being Dragon quest V ( https://imgur.com/a/xH4iMq5 ) afaik this one looks legit, no wear on the art, y folds also look good. I know when WATA grades stuff they callout Third Party RTB seams (not 100% sure what that is) but I have been looking around and I am lead to believe there were 3DS & DS games that didn't have Y folds. Looking on eBay at certain games, 99% of them either all have Y-fold or shrink. 

I haven't messaged the seller yet as I was trying to get more info before messaging them. But the MM game has to be a reseal & knowing that fact makes me weary about anything else from them, no matter how legit they look. The seller does have a few neg feedback saying games were resealed so I'm not the first. 

 

EDIT: How's it going @DefaultGen sold some PS1 games to you a bit ago. Knew your avatar/name was familiar. Cheers!

I bought a few DQ IV and V's direct from SE when they clearanced them.  Your copy looks legit to me.  I'm going to follow this thread.  I've never seen a DS game that was sealed with what looked like a really bad reseal, but I'm interested in knowing if all games were, or should have had, exclusively y-folds.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

1 hour ago, epiczail said:

EDIT: How's it going @DefaultGen sold some PS1 games to you a bit ago. Knew your avatar/name was familiar. Cheers!

Hey buddy! All the way back in February, before the dark times!

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

1 hour ago, RH said:

I bought a few DQ IV and V's direct from SE when they clearanced them.  Your copy looks legit to me.  I'm going to follow this thread.  I've never seen a DS game that was sealed with what looked like a really bad reseal, but I'm interested in knowing if all games were, or should have had, exclusively y-folds.

I'm pretty sure Dragon Quest IX also came with this weird seal, although the eBay copies have a regular seal, so maybe I'm crazy.

Edited May 15, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[retro.magnus | 136]

Yeah this is all what I’ve been reading/seeing for DS and 3DS seals. I found this as well about a switch game having non Y fold seal and people being skeptical. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/204217-disgaea-5-complete/75818183 
 

My next question is have any of y’all bought from Deal Tavern before or know anything about them? I’m still wondering what happened with the copy of MM with the damage to the Art 

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I looked through my DS games and I have four sealed games without the Y-fold. I bought them all new from big retailers and they should be legit. Interestingly, they have seams on different sides. I probably had quite a few more, but I generally open all my games, even if I'm not going to play them.

 

[RH | 4,897]

That Spectrobes game is a pretty clear indicator that some were sealed this way.  The sticker on the packaging is the tale-tell sign.  There's no way a counterfeiter would take the time to use such poor shrinkwrap, but then slap a reproduction sticker on the shrinkwrap.

[GPX | 1,369]

From what I can see, there are several possibilities:

1. Could be reseals (eg. done at the shops/collector’s home).

2. Actually factory seals, perhaps a shrink-wrap variant, without Y-folds.

3. Distributor seals - possible factory seals broken by the distributors, then inserting extra promotional pamphlets, and then resealed by the distributors with shrink-wrap.

4. Fake game with non-legit seal.

Basically the only way to tell is when:

1. Buyer breaks the seal and checks the contents. 

or

2. Send the game off for authentication/grading and see what the outcome.

[retro.magnus | 136]

Yeah what I'm thinking happened with the Mega Man game is DealTavern/gamequestdirect eitther opened them & resealed with OEM shrink wrap or DT purchased the game like that and having a shit ton of inventory (as they do) they're not checking every single game to make sure the is no damage on the art etc..

At least I'm hoping that's the case & they aren't knowingly selling reseals to people. Thanks for the help all! Good to know that not all DS games are Y fold.

[tidaldreams | 654]

I have a few DS games with those type of seals that were bought from major retailers in Canada.