We are retro software & hardware enthusiasts, as you well know.
A huge part of our time is spent trawling through eBay auctions looking for the next item on our rather extensive 'want' list.
We occasionally hit the jackpot in terms of Price / Desire / Condition, however sometimes we just plain luck out.
Example;
It's nearing midnight and I see an auction ending within minutes offering me a large number of Sega Saturn games - there have been a small number of bids on the auction and the price is well below what I expect. I delve into the description to find out what's wrong with the games - the picture is a top down shot of all of the games in their boxes. I can see from the picture that one game (A game I already own a mint copy of) has a slightly damaged top corner, but I cannot see any other markings or blemishes.
The description states each games name and that each is fully boxed with manual.
A good sign I thought, so I bid. I bid £6.00... tick, tick, tick.. auction ended. I win! Wooooo!
I paid instantly, as I always do and off I trotted, to dream sweet dreams.
A couple of days later the postie turns up at the door with a package, he apologises for the mess it's in and says that I couldn't really expect anything less from the way it was packed.
Here is exactly how I received my games bundle:
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It was a horror show.
The 'box' was actually paper, a little thicker than writing paper, it was sealed by a few strips of brown tape around one side. Inside the 'box' was an ASDA carrier bag with my games in. The games were stacked in two rows, creating a pivot point in the 'box' which had caused this inevitable rip.
Inside the ASDA protective inner-lining of this well thought out packaging were my games.
The first almost made me shed a tear for the poor domestic abuse the game had suffered. It had tape down the spine, holding the box together, it was scuffed and in poor condition. The box when held up to the light contained the etchings of a phone number from where this clown of a seller had used it as some sort of desk. The disc was scratched so badly I can barely make out my own sorry looking face in it.
That was game number one. I had seven more to grit my teeth through.
The second game, the one with the box with a slightly damaged corner, identified in the auction photo - was actually in pretty fine shape...... FOR A GAME WHICH HAD BEEN LEFT OUT IN THE SUN...... ON THE EQUATOR....
The spine was faded beyond recognition, however the face was perfect! Opening up the box I discovered a near mint disc & instructions. It even contained some advertising garbage.
Strange how this game was in superb condition you might think... well you'd be wrong. The game in question is Daytona Champion Circuit Edition.
It'd probably been played once and thrown on a shelf - the best place for it really.
The poor treatment of the games carries on through the remaining six games and I have yet to receive a reply from the ranty message I sent the seller, but let's just say they will be about as happy receiving my mail as I was at receiving a paper box with an ASDA carrier bag sticking out of it.
If you are thinking of selling something on eBay please don't be a dishonest ratbag, please.
Eventually I'm going to start getting eBay rage and start sending you moist things by way of your return address.
so unlucky and such a shame, happened to me before and its gutting. You wonder what the seller was thinking. Doesnt cost much more to protect them, could have even boxed them in a cornflake box and would have done the treat.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this happens all too often on auction sites and recourse is limited because the auction site make money no matter what happens, so don't really care. Sending moist things through the post might just get you locked up though ;)
ReplyDeletethat's a major annoyance with buying games off ebay. i collect n64 games and i have won some mint looking boxed games only for the seller to post them in a padded envelope and my postman ram it through my letterbox. by the time I've opened it the box is badly crushed and like you said, there's not a lot you can do about it.
ReplyDeleteI received some games just before Xmas, a big bundle apparently all CIB... When they arrived several discs were missing... After some very good communication from the seller and an offer of a refund (which would have left him well out of pocket) I made a counter offer of him looking for the games after enjoying Xmas... I basically let him off because he was good with his after sales communication... I was happy and didn't want him to have an argument on his hands before Christmas...
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