What do you do when you buy a cartridge that doesn't work from a seller who seems on the level?

[+jgkspsx]

I just got a copy of Micro Machines 2 for the Game Gear from the UK. It doesn't work. I've tried everything - cleaning, cleaning again, plugging in my Game Gear (Codemasters games often require high battery charge to start up), using Deoxit contact cleaner, cleaning again, using Deoxit Gold contact enhancer, cleaning again. The contacts look beautiful, although the board edge looks perhaps excessively beveled.I've tried it in my Game Gear and my Analogue Mega SG with GG adapter. Both of which can play every one of my ~150 Game Gear games, and both of which play MM2 just fine from a GG Everdrive. So I don't think it's the systems.

 

The seller claims it worked fine, but I'm not 100% sure that he actually tested it before shippingi t. He has been on eBay for 12 years and has 4000+ feedback, which is absolutely spotless - not a single negative review.

 

The seller refunded all of the item cost (10 pounds, about $14) without making me return it, since return shipping would be so expensive. But even after the refund, I am out $26 on shipping. (I think many UK eBay sellers tend to overpay on shipping to the US. Some of them seem to manage to get light items here for 7 pounds. I think it's the cost of tracking, but that hardly seems worth it for a cheap item.) I am finding it hard to decide what I should do about feedback.

 

I suspect the feedback I get here will be, don't leave feedback or leave positive feedback. I'm inclined in that direction - a no-return full refund is pretty great service. But I am a bit put out at paying $26 for nothing. It was already a bit much to ask for a fairly common game. His perfect feedback record was part of the reason I was willing to put trust in him to begin with to try to avoid the possibility of this type of situation.

 

What do you think might have happened? Do you think it's possible the cartridge got killed in transit? Zapped, physically shaken apart? I've only ever had one truly dead Game Gear game out of the hundreds I've bought over the years, and again the seller swore it worked before shipping. Because of the Codemasters cartridge design, I can't open it up and look at it without potentially destroying the case (I think it's glued together). Or so you think he just didn't test it before listing it, even though it said multiple times in the description that it was tested?

[mumbai]

6 minutes ago, jgkspsx said:

The seller refunded all of the item cost (10 pounds, about $14) without making me return it, since return shipping would be so expensive. But even after the refund, I am out $26 on shipping. [...] [A] no-return full refund is pretty great service. But I am a bit put out at paying $26 for nothing.

Being left $26 in the hole with a non-functional game is neither a "full refund" nor "pretty great service" for an item listed to be in "good used working condition" imho -- though you don't state the discussion that led to the seller-granted remedy for an item received in a state other than described. I suspect that back-and-forth holds the key to which feedback is most appropriate to leave. For unstated reasons, you accepted the current state of affairs.

 

Whether the cartridge was thoroughly tested prior to sale is anyone's guess and likely a futile exercise to suss out.

[Tanooki]

It's possible it wasn't tested, but I mean you assumed the risk of international shipping and what that entails in fees, and the mail did work.  He did refund the entire price of the game and you didn't say he was a jerk about it.  Your hands are kind of tied unless you just want to be vindictive.  Unless you have a good belief he sent you broken goods I don't know what you could do that wouldn't make you seem rotten.

 

International or not, in the end I think shipping is something that shouldn't be refunded as long as the package arrived as promised.  That part of the business was you paying for your own postage to get the item and that part of the transaction worked out.  So how would you evaluate him as far as the broken game goes and what he did about it?  That's how you should or shouldn't leave feedback.

[+stupus]

If it was stated working and arrived not working then normal ebay coverage should give you a full refund including the shipping.

And then the seller can choose to send you a return label if they want it back.

If you already agreed to a different refund process then i wouldnt leave him bad feedback at this point.

[Asaki]

I bought some 2600 carts from a guy here once, and one of them was DOA I asked if they worked before he shipped them, and he said yes...I guess it just got baked in the mailbox or something. Or bitrot suddenly decided to set in. Who knows.

[+jgkspsx]

I haven't often had to return items, but does eBay make the seller pay shipping for returns? Even for international items? I also don't really want to soak the seller ?

[+stupus]

Thats always been my understanding if the seller wants the item back they have to send you a shipping label. But i believe you have to file a dispute to allow them to do so. Unless they offer to somehow send you funds directly.

[kennybrooks]

5 hours ago, stupus said:

Thats always been my understanding if the seller wants the item back they have to send you a shipping label. But i believe you have to file a dispute to allow them to do so. Unless they offer to somehow send you funds directly.

Not possible to send a label through ebay on international sales.  Seller has to send funds to buyer and buyer has to use that money to buy label and send item back.  Just happened to me. 

 

I believe a full refund including the $26 is warranted in this case.  $26 is way too much for a game gear game to America from the UK.  I would request the $26 back since you received nothing of value for the transaction.  If he does it, no feedback is warranted on your end.  If he does not open a case with ebay (which you may or may not win).

 

[Tanooki]

I have an interesting situation, just one for people who trade/sell here.  NintendoAge when it failed, the good elements went to form Video Game Sage, and it uses this boards same software.  I never knew of this quirk, and it could cause a whole situation about not responding, ignoring, or other 'issues' around something you sold/traded.

 

When you think your conversions are over, the person is happy, and you clear that mail out of your box -- it could be a problem.  If the other side still has the mail and tries to write you, it delivers...into purgatory.  The other side *you* who sold or traded to the now upset(?) person will think you're ignoring them.  I had a Gameboy I refurbed that sold, I'm guessing something in the mail happened and the speaker went from working to not.  I got it working remotely once, but then it went again a day or so later.  I had removed the mail, and I earned my first PayPal open case for that as he thought I was trying to rip him off with broken goods.  It's seemingly resolve(mostly) now, just need the case revoked.

[+jgkspsx]

So the high shipping price was all eBay. They gave the seller two pounds to ship it to them, and they did the rest.

 

I talked to a customer support agent and maybe eBay will refund me shipping. Fingers crossed.

[+Starwander]

Sometimes it is possible for a game to work on one console and not another one. 

[nebrazca88]

As an eBay seller with over 10K feedback on my two accounts this is my opinion.

 

It's our responsibility to make sure the game or whatever you're buying gets to you in working condition if it was sold as such, whether it was tested or not.

 

IMO the fairest thing is for the buyer to pay return shipping and then get a full refund of the original payment.  This gets more complicated on international shipments but you would probably be paying $10+ to get $26 back.  These days eBay makes the seller pay for return shipping so the cost of risk just gets added to the original item and shipping cost.

 

Classic games are generally very well built but they are still 20 to 40 years old or so.  It is guaranteed things will occasionally happen in transit.