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Got To Be Careful On eBay.
Topic Started: Oct 27 2010, 02:26 AM (418 Views)
thinkfreemind
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So, last week, I won an auction on eBay for some Pokemon games. Having never played a Pokemon game, I knew next to nothing about them, but I thought I was getting a good deal. A couple days after winning and paying for the auction, I decided to have another look at the listing and the seller, and noticed that they now had yet another listing of the exact same Pokemon games that I just purchased. How is this possible?

These games are counterfeit! :angry:

After suspecting that the games were likely fake, I studied over the listing picture to find some sort of supporting evidence. The first thing I did was a Google search of the games to take a look at the labels, and I found out that the labels were indeed different from the real games. Not only were the background designs different, but the ESRB logo was a bit off as well.

I then decided to do even more research into counterfeit GBA games, which I discovered is a huge problem on Ebay. I honestly had no idea it had gotten this bad, because of the few GBA games I had previously purchased on eBay, all were legit and complete, though that didn't stop me from going back and checking all of my loose carts against a sample that I had purchased factory sealed at a store. After doing plenty of research online, I learned all about how to spot a fake GBA game.

Some of the differences between a real and fake are...
1. Different label art / Crooked labels / Stretched label art / Type font doesn't look right / Nintendo seal isn't shiny, etc...
2. Information on the back of the cart is missing or doesn't look correct.
3. Copyright stamp is missing from the board (seen when looking into the bottom of cart, above the pins).
4. The battery is a cheap watch battery / Game saves disappear.
5. There is no number pressed into the label (like 17, etc...). This can be seen when held at an angle to the light.

That last one is the most important and easiest to check. When I had received the games this weekend, I went through this handy list of information to confirm that the games were fake. Aside from some small font type differences (like the ESRB logo), there was no immediate way to tell that the game was a fake just by looking at it alone. Only when compared to a real game is the difference in label art is noticed. The fake game even had the copyright information on the board! However, the battery, which could be seen through the clear plastic was a cheap watch battery. Also, the numbers pressed into the label (that indicate from which factory the cart was made) was missing. That number is the tiniest of details, so I have learned (and my case was no exception) that is the most easily missed.

I had contacted the seller even before I received the items with my suspicions that they were counterfeit. He responded that they were games owned by his children, that he was selling. To which I replied that given the fact that he was selling the exact same thing again, did he expect me to believe that lie? His response was within minutes, then saying that he would refund my money upon my sending the games back.

I sent the games back yesterday, with delivery confirmation, so that I can have proof that he received them. As his auction stated that refunds will be given upon sending the items back, he should give my money back. If he doesn't pay me back, handling this the easy way, I will contact Paypal with all of the information I have collected. Either way, I'm getting a refund one way or another. Also, I have not yet left feedback for him yet, however I can guarantee that it will be negative and with mention of the counterfeiting. Basically, if he decides to get flaky with my refund, I will report him to Paypal and eBay. :whip:
Edited by thinkfreemind, Oct 27 2010, 05:34 AM.
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nate
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Sarah bought Pokemon Ruby on eBay a while back and it was counterfeit. :(
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thinkfreemind
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Did she get her money back?

If I had spent $15 this wouldn't be such an issue, but I spent $50. :damnyou!:
Edited by thinkfreemind, Oct 27 2010, 05:44 AM.
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nate
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thinkfreemind
Oct 27 2010, 05:43 AM
Did she get her money back?

If I had spent $15 this wouldn't be such an issue, but I spent $50. :damnyou!:
Nah, this was a while back before we were eBay savvy.
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kknd
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Ya, sorry to hear this...

Nintendo has been fighting those counterfeit carts for a while, there's one more thing that people usually do (not sure if they still do this), apparently they send you the game's box unfolded, that's a major sign of counterfeit gba cart.

where was the seller from? like Hong Kong or China or something like that right?
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DarkCloudLives

I hope you went through paypal and let them and Ebay know. Otherwise you are doing nothing for yourself or for the thousands of others who fall into a trap like that.
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Strife
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If they work just like legit copies I don't think I really see the issue here-other than spending $50 on them. How much $ are we talking per game?
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Hevroth
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you seriously have never played a pokemon game? man blue was the first rpg i ever played :joker:
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goodlucksaturday
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Where dreams come to come true.
Strife
Oct 27 2010, 09:18 AM
If they work just like legit copies I don't think I really see the issue here-other than spending $50 on them. How much $ are we talking per game?
Only issue I can really see involves collecting purposes and being "clean" in regards to that. It's also possible, as with most counterfeit material, the actual game may not be as...I guess "sharp" visually as the original, but I can't say for sure.
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nate
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Counterfeit carts erase themselves.

kknd- I always sent the box unfolded. I HATE people who leave the box folded because that gets absolutely mangled in the mail. Plus, ours came with a folded box. ;)
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thinkfreemind
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Strife: Nate is right. The biggest problem with counterfeit carts is not that they wont play, but that because of the cheap watch batteries inside, they either wont save, or the saves will erase if the cart gets bumped. Also, I payed $10 per game.

Kknd: Nope, Oregon. There were no boxes, just loose carts.

Hevroth: Nope, I have never played a Pokemon game. I have always avoided this series, but when I saw an auction for the games, I thought what the heck?! Well, it figures that I'd get ripped off.

DCL: I intend to leave negative feedback, mentioning the counterfeit games. However, I do not want to do this until I get my money back, in the interest of actually getting my money back of course. Depending on how that goes, will determine just how I respond in regards to reporting him to eBay and Paypal, etc... Most likely, I will report him anyways.
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Ragnarok
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Everything, everything, EVERYTHING!
Gotta be careful when buying any cartridge game off ebay. This also includes DS games. They can fake the box and everything. Most of the time they are from sellers located in Honk Kong, etc and seem to be deals too good to be true.
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kknd
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nate
Oct 27 2010, 03:39 PM
Counterfeit carts erase themselves.

kknd- I always sent the box unfolded. I HATE people who leave the box folded because that gets absolutely mangled in the mail. Plus, ours came with a folded box. ;)
that's not a problem, but when the box looks like it has never been folded before, now that's when we start wondering if we received a legit cart.
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kknd
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thinkfreemind
Oct 27 2010, 05:54 PM
Kknd: Nope, Oregon. There were no boxes, just loose carts.

wow... looks like they got smarter over the years... :P
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thinkfreemind
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kknd
Oct 27 2010, 10:11 PM
thinkfreemind
Oct 27 2010, 05:54 PM
Kknd: Nope, Oregon. There were no boxes, just loose carts.
wow... looks like they got smarter over the years... :P
It could be that people here are working for/with foreign counterfeiters to sell these games. I don't know.

I mean, I wouldn't have bid on the auction if it said "ships from China", or Israel, etc...
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