Need to vent

[crunchysuperman]

What do you guys see here?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...me=STRK:MEWN:IT

 

I see an '86 re-release and a heavy driving control for a cheap BIN. So what do get in the mail? Two non-heavy controllers & a standard '78 label :!: :!: :!: An email to this seller produces the expected response: "I didn't know there was any difference. Sorry, I no longer have that one" This has happened to me before, and I've learned to email ahead of time to make sure what I see is what I'll get, but I've also had cheap BIN's like that snatched out from under me while I wait for a reply, so I had to buy it.

 

It's not the money, mind you - the seller offered a full refund, but that's not the point, nor is it worth my time packing it up for that amount. Aside from CincYnoTi's avatar, that's the only one of those I've ever seen (likely the last one too) and one of only four known black re-releases I lack now.

 

There are several very reputable re-sellers here who have never pulled stunts like this to me. How hard is it, really, to take a picture and then segregate those items marked with the auction number? If, as a seller, you're just going to grab up whatever copy you feel like & throw it into a box, why bother even taking a picture? To me, this is no different than those morons whose only auction picture is a stock photo or a screenshot - what's the point?

 

Most of us are collectors here, and acquiring these cartridges has nothing to do with the game IP itself. If it were only about the game, we'd just play emulators & skip the hassle & expense of finding these things. Many here don't care about label variations as I do, but even if you don't, it's the condition of the actual physical item that matters, as is the case of any type of collectible. It's no different that if I were a rare book collector & won an auction for a some original hardback edition, only to receive a beat-up paperback, with the seller crying "I didn't know there was a difference - it's the same words inside, right?" Maybe we should just pay them with Monopoly money - after all, those are also just little pieces of paper with numbers on them, what's the difference?

 

I sent the seller pretty much all of the above, and I know posting this here is just preaching to the choir, but it feels better to rant to those who understand.

[Foxsolo2000]

You do have a valid point Crunchy. if you bid on the item because it was what you were particulalry after then you have a right to feel agrieved the way you do. You are attemtping to do a difficult collecting task and I know it would hack me off to go through what you did. Its funny though for I have bought items of this very same guy in the past and he has always been top notch in his merchandise. Perhaps he just suffered a temporary lack of focus on this one

[YOK-dfa]

Something similar happened to me lately. I used a BIN of a copy of God Of War (PS2 game). In the auction was a picture of the normal release, and when i got the game it turned out to be the platinum edition. Grmbl. I hate platinum releases, they look so crappy.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Sorry to hear about that Crunchy. There are a lot of people who pull this crap on eBay. Whenever there is a questionable buy it now I will use a zero feedback ID to buy it in case I run into problems. I wouldn't have expected any problems with the auction you pointed out. I would have expected that to work out fine but then the guy screwed you over.

 

Recently there was a guy who ran 3 Atari 2600 system auctions. All 3 were heavy sixers with different games. The systems looked exactly a like. It looked to me like he used the same system for the pictures and just switched out the games. I asked him if the actual items were pictured. He said yes. When I asked why all three auctions showed what appeared to be the same heavy sixer and that he just swapped out the games he never responded back. My guess is the guy new exactly what he was doing and was just trying to take advantage of people.

[CincYnoTi]

I've had this happen a couple times, frustrating every time. When you see a picture like that, you know SOMEONE owns that copy now. Either

 

1) he took the photo right before the auction

2) he took the photo before some previous auction and just re-used his photo for this auction

3) he "borrowed" the photo from somebody else's auction

 

You will probably never know what really happened. It won't make you feel any better, but you could ask what happened to the one pictured in his auction. If he kept records, you could try to contact the current owner. From the photo, it looks like the official black tape was removed, ripping some of the label where the controller info would be. That should make this particular copy easy to spot if it ever shows up again.

 

I now own a shrinkwrapped copy of 86 Indy. Which means the one in my avatar will eventually be up for grabs.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

I now own a shrinkwrapped copy of 86 Indy.  Which means the one in my avatar will eventually be up for grabs.

1012040[/snapback]

 

Expect a private message from crunchysuperman.

[crunchysuperman]

I now own a shrinkwrapped copy of 86 Indy.  Which means the one in my avatar will eventually be up for grabs.

1012040[/snapback]

 

Expect a private message from crunchysuperman.

1012042[/snapback]

 

and done!

[MegaManFan]

In cases like these when a label variant is pictured in the auction and the seller has multiple listings, I'm always specific. I write the seller and I say "I won your auction, thanks. Even if you have multiples of this game, I'd like the specific one pictured in your listing. It matters to me because I collect variations and the one you listed says X and Y on the label." So far that's saved me a lot of headaches, and I've scored a few Sears picture labels for dirt cheap as a result.

[froggger2]

I got 1986 Indy 500 cartridge and the heavy sixer driving controller pictured in the listing from the seller using a BIN in December. As shown, the black tape over the controller information was partly removed from from both the left and right ends, resulting in white portions of the tape showing. It is the only 1986 Indy 500 cartridge I own and the only one I have ever seen for sale.

 

I have bought other items from the seller and everything I ordered has arrived promptly and as advertised. I am sorry the seller reused the picture for the items he later sold to crunchysuperman. I am glad the seller will refund crunchysuperman's money. I am convinced the seller has learned the importance of label differences and of using a new picture for each sale. I would certainly buy from him again.

 

I too have purchased cartridges shown on ebay to have scarce labels and then received common labels in their place. I plan to start using the wording suggested by MegaManFan.