Jumpman Junior Super Game Prototype Cartridge?

[ColecoGamer]

Im partly to blame for not asking here firsst about the authenticity of the cartridge. One thing is for sure: I plan on reading the Auction Central forum more often going forward.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[newcoleco]

Im partly to blame for not asking here firsst about the authenticity of the cartridge. One thing is for sure: I plan on reading the Auction Central forum more often going forward.

 

It's surely a good advice. Sad that many do fall for "rare prototypes" claims, someone should do a PSA, perhaps in a video format, tell his story and show pictures... but I do wonder who has the time and capability to do that.

[ColecoDan]

 

Except he's selling stolen and/or freely available games, where someone soldered an EPROM into a cheap overstock Activision board and shell, which is worth about $5 maximum, added a 5 cent label, and says they're potentially valuable and/or prototypes, and trying to sell them for $50 US.

It is called mail fraud which is a federal offense if he sent it in the USPS mail. These days though nobody usually prosecutes unless it is some big player that they want to take down.

[mr_me]

 

To be honest, it's likely not worth it. The ROM for this hack is already in the public domain (attached).

Not necessarily public domain; if it's a hack of the Epyx game than the copyright likely belongs to whoever owns the rights to the epyx games today. Unless at some point the rights owner specifically put this game into public domain someone selling/making this cartridge on ebay could be charged with software piracy.

[ColecoGamer]

I am about to leave for the Post Office to return ship the game to the seller. I have been doing some thinking about this: if the seller in question is a member of this community (as some have suggested), would he have accepted the return so quickly (or at all, based on his no return policy comments in the item description?) if it were somebody else? I am just wondering about the feedback I should leave once the return transaction is finished. I dont want other unsuspecting buyers to fall prey to the same thing I did.

 

Edited for spelling.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[ColecoGamer]

I return shipped the cartridge via Priority Mail, which includes up to $50 of insurance. I wanted to protect myself from any funny business (i.e. like the seller potentially claiming that the cartridge was damaged in shipment, etc.) All I want is a refund and to be done with this mess.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[lokidchser]

one possibility is to message him that you are aware that his items are indeed not rare prototypes, but basically pirated hacks, and if he doesnt revise his listings, he will be reported to EBay for misleading listings. If he truly is unaware that these are ROM hacks, he should be compliant in changing his descriptions. If he knows what hes selling, he will most likely be less inclined to change them.

[newcoleco]

one possibility is to message him that you are aware that his items are indeed not rare prototypes, but basically pirated hacks, and if he doesnt revise his listings, he will be reported to EBay for misleading listings. If he truly is unaware that these are ROM hacks, he should be compliant in changing his descriptions. If he knows what hes selling, he will most likely be less inclined to change them.

 

Sounds reasonable to me.

[Bmack36]

Just as a side note, i sent a message to him this morning inquiring about kill barney and whether he could send a picture of the pcb.

 

Needless to say I am still waiting...

[ColecoGamer]

Just as a side note, i sent a message to him this morning inquiring about kill barney and whether he could send a picture of the pcb.

 

Needless to say I am still waiting...

I have a feeling that he isnt going to respond to your request, but I could be wrong.

 

Edit: But please let us know if he does.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[TPR]

So I sent a message to the guy asking for a bit more information about his eBay store in general and he told me that he runs this shop:

https://www.facebook.com/Danvers-Coin-Jewelry-Estate-Buyers-114657661902693/

 

I did a bit more digging and found some articles:

http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/danvers-secondhand-shop-owner-defends-his-record-keeping/article_04fbdb72-c5dd-5fcf-91cf-457a5d46f1b7.html

 

https://patch.com/massachusetts/danvers/no-action-taken-against-danvers-coin-jewelry-and-estate-buyers

 

If I had to guess, I'll bet the guy isn't actually a member here and based on his extremely random assortment of things he is selling, might have happened upon all those games he has at an estate sale or some other sort of auction. The stuff he has on his page doesn't say to me "game collector" or "someone who knows how to make a homebrew cart."

 

I'll bet he's just trying to make a quick buck off what he has and probably doesn't care if his methods are shady or not.

 

End of the day, at least he immediately refunded your money.

[ColecoGamer]

Great work, TPR! At least we know the facts surrounding the seller.

[Swami]

It's possible the guy is clueless as a collector and, like many sellers, doesn't want to bother to figure it out; But is just aware enough about such things to know it might be something a collector is interested in.

[ColecoGamer]

Huh, the owners name is Stephen "Spleen" Eck? This would explain why his return address only had Spleen Eck as the contact person; it must be his way of protecting his identity on eBay.

 

Edit: And Spleen Eck is a really strange middle and last name to have to begin with.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[zyzzle]

 

I am about to leave for the Post Office to return ship the game to the seller. I have been doing some thinking about this: if the seller in question is a member of this community (as some have suggested), would he have accepted the return so quickly (or at all, based on his no return policy comments in the item description?) if it were somebody else? I am just wondering about the feedback I should leave once the return transaction is finished. I dont want other unsuspecting buyers to fall prey to the same thing I did.

 

Edited for spelling.

 

 

It is not rocket science. Even with the return accepted and your money refunded, absolutely leave him negative feedback stating that he is dishonest and attempts to defraud people by misrepresenting Public Domain cartridges as rare prototypes.

 

Do not be afraid to call him out on his game, and no, you're not going to hurt anybody's feelings by doing so.

 

Thanks for bringing this to the forum's attention.

 

And, Daniel, you've done nothing wrong. I think you are an absolute saint for giving away all the stuff you have; I've been enjoying your ROM releases for more than 20 years now, and am very grateful and appreciative of what you have done for this community.

[ColecoGamer]

 

 

It is not rocket science. Even with the return accepted and your money refunded, absolutely leave him negative feedback stating that he is dishonest and attempts to defraud people by misrepresenting Public Domain cartridges as rare prototypes.

I have a terrible habit of over analyzing things sometimes. Since he accepted the refund so quickly, I have been debating on whether I should leave a negative or a neutral in his feedback profile. He did one thing right at least.

 

 

Do not be afraid to call him out on his game, and no, you're not going to hurt anybody's feelings by doing so.

Thanks for bringing this to the forum's attention.

He wont be seeing any future sales by me, so it doesnt matter at this point if he gets angry or not. But yes, I understand exactly what you mean.

 

Edit: I am happy to know that my experience helped to expose a seller that may or may not be aware of what he is selling. I am leaning more towards the former being the case rather than the latter, but after what TPR found - either scenario is a possibility .

Edited May 12, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[TPR]

I have a terrible habit of over analyzing things sometimes. Since he accepted the refund so quickly, I have been debating on whether I should leave a negative or a neutral in his feedback profile. He did one thing right at least.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd leave "negative" feedback. IMO what he is selling and how he is selling it is not legit at all and I'm not "okay" with that, BUT, he did do the right thing and refunded it as soon as you brought it to his attention. You can now only hope that maybe with your refund (and I'm assuming you educated him a little bit on what the product was, whether he takes that information into account for his next auctions or not) he might alter the wording on his other auctions or do some research on what he has. Clearly people on eBay don't want to have to keep giving refunds out or risk getting negative feedback so perhaps the guy will do the "right thing?" I'd at least like to hope. I'd say neutral or no feedback depending on how he responds further.

[ColecoGamer]

BUT, he did do the right thing and refunded it as soon as you brought it to his attention.

I agree; I think it counts for something.

 

You can now only hope that maybe with your refund (and I'm assuming you educated him a little bit on what the product was, whether he takes that information into account for his next auctions or not) he might alter the wording on his other auctions or do some research on what he has. Clearly people on eBay don't want to have to keep giving refunds out or risk getting negative feedback so perhaps the guy will do the "right thing?" I'd at least like to hope. I'd say neutral or no feedback depending on how he responds further.

 

I really hope he does. When I started my dispute with the seller, I used the advice given by Bmack36 and others to help write my explanation during the dispute process. (Whether he heeds the advice or not is another story altogether.)

 

Heres what I wrote verbatim:

 

I want a refund. My purchase was for Jumpman Junior for the Colecovision. This is a different game. When I tested the game on my Colecovision console, the games title screen read, JBULMAN Junior. (I have enclosed a screenshot of the games title screen as evidence.)

 

This game is NOT a homebrew, prototype or even a legal, retail game release; its an illegal, copyright infringing hack (and fake) video game cartridge. As a gamer and collector (and even as an eBay buyer), I could never recoup my money on this cartridge because the game/cartridge was pirated.

 

The seller also said the items condition was Very Good. I did NOT receive a manual and box.

 

Thank You.

Edited May 12, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[ColecoGamer]

Well, the package was delivered to the seller this morning before 9am. Let’’s see how long it will take him to refund my money.

[ColecoGamer]

I finally heard back from the seller. Sadly, I caught him in a lie. In his response to me, he says he has no way of testing the game cartridges, but in the auction description, he says the Game displays well. So, yeah... he never mentioned anything about the refund he owes me either.

 

Hi; Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If you are unhappy, just send it back for a refund. I had no way of testing any of these games, but have not had any problems with any that I have sold. I am kind of surprised that you expected a box and manual - since there was no mention of them and none were pictured.... Anyhow, a refund will be issued upon return. Kind regards, - Steady

The seller is trying real hard to feign ignorance here, completely forgetting what he said in the auction about how the cartridge Displays well.

 

What a tangled web this guy weaves.

Edited May 12, 2018 by ColecoGamer

[mumbai]

I finally heard back from the seller. Sadly, I caught him in a lie. In his response to me, he says he ‘has no way of testing the game cartridges’, but in the auction description, he says the ‘Game displays well.’

 

 

I think you may be reading too much into the too-brief descriptions of the seller. I read "displays well" to mean it looks good when showcased, as on a shelf or a display case. My take on it all is that this is that the sales pitch far exceeds the knowledge possessed by the seller about the actual goods.

[ColecoGamer]

I think you may be reading too much into the too-brief descriptions of the seller. I read "displays well" to mean it looks good when showcased, as on a shelf or a display case. My take on it all is that this is that the sales pitch far exceeds the knowledge possessed by the seller about the actual goods.

It’s possible the seller meant it that way, but you have to admit - the way he words everything appears shadey and deliberately vague on purpose. An honest seller would have been more direct with their description, too, by saying the carts were untested, etc. It’s one thing to be clueless about the items you’re selling (it happens), but it’s another when that person makes the possible assumption that what they’re selling could be something more valuable, when it’s not. That’s when it goes from plain ignorance to being a liar.

[Jess Ragan]

I remember getting all excited when I found a VIC-20 game on eBay labeled "Wizard of Wor." It of course was not Wizard of Wor- I think it turned out to be one of those Scott Adams adventure games- and I felt like a fool for mentioning it on the Denial game forum. I feel your pain.

[mumbai]

It’s possible the seller meant it that way, but you have to admit [...]

 

 

You are correct that I am not defending the practice of overpromising and underdelivering.

[Bmack36]

I don't think you could call a cartridge with a handmade label with bad writing something that displays well, assuming the seller is using that phrase to describe the physical attributes of the cartridge.