Anybody else always have bad luck with Ebay?

I think the whole grading thing is just far more entrenched in the used game market in Japan. It has always existed in Japan where as in a country like the US, games were always seen as just kids toys so shit condition or loose carts were just "normal". I was in the US for 3 months in 2004 and bought tons of PS2 and XBOX games used from EB. I was shocked at the condition everything was in to say the least. Especially after having been in Japan before flying to America. I could not grasp why a game with no cover or manual, just a plain DVD case, was $2 less than the complete copy sitting next it. Or why anyone would pay $45 for a used copy of a game rather than $50 for a sealed copy. Madness!

A game is not Very Good or Good if it's missing the manual. That's what I'd like to staple into the foreheads of many eBay sellers. And I don't mean that I'd staple a message written on paper...I'd write the whole thing in staples.

One of my early eBay lessons was a seller claiming Like New on a game even though it had rental stickers, a missing manual, a missing soundtrack cd, and thoroughly scratched discs. His reply? "I meant it plays like new."

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Originally Posted by SegaSonic91

I think the whole grading thing is just far more entrenched in the used game market in Japan. It has always existed in Japan where as in a country like the US, games were always seen as just kids toys so shit condition or loose carts were just "normal". I was in the US for 3 months in 2004 and bought tons of PS2 and XBOX games used from EB. I was shocked at the condition everything was in to say the least. Especially after having been in Japan before flying to America. I could not grasp why a game with no cover or manual, just a plain DVD case, was $2 less than the complete copy sitting next it. Or why anyone would pay $45 for a used copy of a game rather than $50 for a sealed copy. Madness!

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More of cultural thing that if it's working barely it's considered good enough condition.

I've seen my brother take Wii cases and DVDs for his Xbox 360 games and swapped those, because he can't be damned not to take care of his stuff.

In America it's viewed as materialism for some reason to take care of your stuff, when it's not. You have to a lot of money here to even get anything nice, but such people can't be damned to clean their bathroom without black mold growing all over with that kind of high income. If you even try to convince people what their doing is wrong or bad, you'll get this response: "It's a free country and I can do whatever I want, you're a communist that should go back to Germany or Russia and die there." It doesn't surprise me why we're falling behind other countries anymore, just too many stupid people.

I personally like using acceptable if for no other reason than as insurance for me. I personally know some sellers that large quanties of elctronics and regardless if it works or not they sell them as parts. SO it works the other way as well.

Its not the end of the world to use acceptable. There many ways to get to the top of the best match list, good feed back "free shipping"and using a buy it now if that works in the situation. I just sold a Castle of Illusion that no manual, with some flaws here and there, as acceptable per Ebay specs and it nearly got the top of the list at number two of seventy or so copies of it.

All I have is my reputation. I don't understand why sellers mess around with that stuff.

I've only had a few issues with ebay sellers, and one of them was with the USPS (which refunded me completely once I showed photos of the damage done in shipping). With sellers, my biggest issue came years ago with some twit who said the two Genesis games I'd bought were in great shape and complete, with a photo of them sitting on his table at home. What I got, were water damaged, ripped, missing manuals, and in completely horrid shape. The seller had the gall to tell me they used stock photos, despite it being a photo they obviously took. I returned the games, got a full refund, and stayed away from that seller from then on. Other than that, it was less drastic things like not packing a 32X game properly so its box wouldn't get a bit squished, minor cosmetic issues that were conveniently hidden in the photos, and things like that, which resulted in partial refunds. The thing to remember is to just stay calm, and be polite without kissing ass, should something come up. Don't get mad and start flipping proverbial tables on the seller, as that'll send them into defensive mode. Just be level headed, factual, and reasonable in how much of a refund you think you deserve based on what was advertised, and what you got. Most sellers will work with you. And if they don't, there's always opening a case after you've tried to get things resolved with the seller one-on-one.

That said, I've bought a few games off of ebay that had no photos. The prices were really low, and I messaged them with very specific questions so I'd know what condition the games were in (and so that if they lied, I'd have it in print). But outside of those few instances, I stick to auctions that provide photos so I can clearly see what I'm getting. I know some auctions are really tempting to go after, but unless you get a seller that's willing to answer specific questions about things like the condition of the manual (tears, writing, stickers, etc.), the cart/CD (marks, scratches, torn labels, etc.), and the box/jewel case (sunfaded artwork, tears, writing, etc.), it's best to avoid them. Sometimes you'll luck out big time (like I did with Spot Goes to Hollywood and Steel Talons), but the odds favor you getting screwed to at least some degree.