Please give me some advice guys.

[Grave_Addiction]

Okay, I sold a brand new copy of Frequency on ebay recently. Yes, it was a CC game that I was hoping to trade but ended up selling.

Anyway, I sold it and shipped it off, but today I get this email from the buyer.

Dear XXXXXX,

My nephew got this BRAND NEW frequency game I purchased from you and GUESS WHAT, it does not work it is a copy as you can tell by the back of the CD. If it's not a copy then the cd is bad but we need to do something about this. This game has made me question all 40 games I purchased and had to open every one to make sure they worked and yours was the only one with a blue background that looks like my cd's I use to burn music..Please reply with an answer on what you are going to do.

So basically, this chick is accusing me of making a copy of a game then repackaging it. She doesn't realize that her nephew's PS2 is crapping out on her and the disc is fine.

She was rather rude in the e-mail, too.

I know the disc is brand new and there's nothing wrong with it. She has opened the damn game, and her nephew has probably scratched it up trying to clean it. I don't think I should offer her a refund. What do you guys think?

Maybe I should tell her to ship it to me, and if I can check it and if it is broken, then I'll refund her money. But if it works fine, she should pay for shipping. Again, what do you guys think of that?

[jimbodan]

I'd tell her to go F herself, she opened the game.

EDIT: Perhaps a nicer way of telling her to go F herself would be:

"My policy on software returns is the same as most major retailers, I do not take back opened software. " Then just find some stores FAQ about why they don't take back opened software and paste that

[Ericnmel99]

Tell her it was brand new, as soon as she opened it its her fault. Dont waste the money in shipping it back and forth. Just let her know that you sold it brand new and tell her too bad!

[SneakyPenguin]

If it's a blue back, explain the whole DRE thing, and tell her to call Sony.

[YoshiFan1]

It sounds like she doesn't know that CD Based PS2 games are on blue bottom discs (maybe she mostly has the DVD based silver bottom games?). I would explain that to her.

The PS2 is probably wearing down and can't read CD Based PS2 games which is the problem.

I wouldn't refund, but she might get annoyed and leave negative feedback or even file with Paypal (if they paid through them).

Was their address confirmed and did you use delivery confirmation or tracking if using something other than USPS?

[zewone]

Maybe she doesn't know about the difference between blue and silver backs. Let here know about DRE's.

[bignick]

Tell her the difference in games, and that you dont take returns, and call sony for a free repair.

[daikaiju]

Here's a piece of advice...inform her of the "Compact Disc" logo on the back of the Frequency case. PS2 games are notated right on the back of the case if it's CD or DVD - DVD having the universal DVD symbol, and the same for CD's. If it's DVD, the surface is silver like the bulk of most more current PS2 games - if blue, then it's a CD title. I'm sure you know this, but the logo IS printed on the back of the cases.

[chickenhawk]

If it's a blue back, explain the whole DRE thing, and tell her to call Sony.

I second this.

Also outline the negative effects on the music industry she is causing by copying CDs! :D

[Trakan]

tell her no refunds, and explain the whole DRE thing.

[Howeraing]

She probably doesn't know that there are some PS2 games that have blue bottoms(the cd base ones), and that depending on ps2's it might not be able to play it. Tell them to call sony about it, and I probably wouldn't give her a refund for already opening it.

[SilveRaven]

I would have to agree. It was a sealed copy, with the factory seals. I would definately direct her to contact Sony.

[Grave_Addiction]

Okay, this is what I responded:

Well, next time you e-mail me, I please don't internet yell at me with those capital letters and not accuse me of selling copies.

That game is a real PS2 disc. Early on in the PS2's life, all the games were CD-based and included a blue bottom.

When game companies began to switch to the DVD format, the normal silver CD color was used. If you don't believe me about this, check the back of the game, and it will have the CD logo on it and not the DVD logo. All your silver-backed games will have the DVD logo on it.

I know what is happening to your nephew's PS2, but you probably aren't going to like hearing it. When you put the disc into the PS2, I bet it gives you an error saying "Disc Read Error." Am I correct?

This has nothing to do with the disc. The game is perfectly fine. It's your nephew's PS2 that is the problem. Thousands of PS2s end up with Disc Read Errors. More likely than not, your nephew's PS2 will begin to have these same errors on other formats, too and other DVD-based games.

You can call the Sony tech support and let them know what is happening and they will fix it for free.

Have you tried playing the game on another person's PS2? If you don't know anyone with another PS2, you can go up to any game store and ask them to check to see if the game works. I guarantee it that it will.

If you'd like, you can ship the game back to me, and I can verify if it's not working. If it doesn't work, I'll refund you the money, plus whatever you spent on shipping. However, if I get the game and it plays perfectly fine, then you'll have to pay for shipping both ways. This only seems fair.

And since the game is already opened, I can't give you a refund just because your PS2 can't play the disc and you're not happy about it. That is not my fault. When I sent the game to you, it was brand new and still had Sony's seal on it. That seal is there to prove the game hasn't been opened. Plus, ask yourself this. Why would I make copies of one of the most lower-priced PS2 games out there?

Please let me know what you plan to do about this.

Thank you,
Chris

[Ericnmel99]

^^^ Fair enough responce. Keep us posted.

[daikaiju]

Diplomacy is always the way to go out of the gate -don't be a total bastard until they REALLY ask for it :D

[scsg75]

Tell her about the cd based blue backed games and if she doesn't believe you, have her call EBgames or somewhere that sells them used and ask what color the back of their copy is and if she still doesn't believe you, have her email sony themselves and ask them if they make blue backed discs and if Frequency is one of them. Be nice to her though, she sounds ignorant.

[Grave_Addiction]

Thankfully, she has already given me positive feedback, so I don't have to worry about her trying to screw me.

[mousin]

chicks.. ccant blame them, women.. shessss.!! lol jk, sorry if i offended anyone. i ahd a similar problem with a ps2 game, my friend said that it didnt work, so i tested it on MY ps2 to and it worked, so i proved him that his ps2 is messed up, i gave him his money back and kept the game, the game was MSVC 2.

[ykryptonite13]

Grave Addiction: I have to commend you on your response. Even told her to check on another PS2. Nicely done. And she sounds like an idiot for not checking the back for CD-ROM.

[BigHow]

Grave - classy response, man. Please keep us updated.

[Steggy]

if she gives you shit tell her to shaqfu off and that she shouldnt be burning music anyways. Who cares if it has nothing to do with the game, tell her ull tip her off to the riaa... obviously she knows nothing about a ps2 so that means she wont have any common sense.