Looks like somebody sold me a bootleg DS game on eBay, and I got a full refund!

hootie

hootie

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I just bought a DS game from a eBay seller from the UK, and I'm not sure if it's really legit or not, so are there any tell-tale signs as to if it is a fake or real.




EDIT: It's a bootleg, and I told the guy to give me a refund or I'd report him to eBay and PayPal. I'm still awaiting a reply


EDIT 2: I got my complete and full refund back from the bastard, and I don't have to send the bootleg back. Just goes to show you that you shouldn't try to sell stuff like that. The guy lost about $15 shipping it to me, and he gave me a full refund on top of it, pwnt!
 
The same way you would tell if a GBA cart is a bootleg. Find a reliable/trustworthy site and compare your label with the one from that site, you want to see if everything is aligned correctly and is present, like the gold official Nintendo seal for example.

Also, (Nintendo) should be etched out on the back of the cart along with a serial number. There should also be a serial number on the green part of the cart, above the golden pins.
 
Ah crap, it definitely is a bootleg (from your description and from some help on GameFAQs)

Nintendo is etched in but there is no serial number on the back nor the golden pins. Also, where the sticker is, you can feel a little lump in the middle, whereas all normal DS game are flat on the top.


Are there any bad things to having a bootleg DS game, other than the fact that it is a bootleg? The game plays fine anyway.
 
Hey, I didn't know it was going to be a bootleg, but I tried the game, and it works fine (and it is very addicting)
 
[quote name='wubb']The biggest downside for you is that it may not be as reliable as an official copy.[/quote]

How so?
 
It might work fine for one or two weeks but you could suddenly lose all your saves after that period of time.
 
This sucks, I didn't know DS carts werent being bootlegged. I will have to check all the used games I buy at gs now :(
Is there a website with pics that can better illustrate the differences?
 
[quote name='megasupa']It might work fine for one or two weeks but you could suddenly lose all your saves after that period of time.[/quote]


Oh ****.

Anno DS is a city-building sim, I would not want to lose my saves.

Is that a common thing with bootleg games?
 
[quote name='hootie']Oh ****.

Anno DS is a city-building sim, I would not want to lose my saves.

Is that a common thing with bootleg games?[/quote]

That's pretty much the common thing with bootlegs, AFAIK.

It all depends on how much you paid for it though. It might be worth it just to hold on to it and mess around with if it was cheap, but if you paid a decent amount it would probably be better to get your money back before it fucks up. Maybe if you're lucky you can get your money back without shipping back the cart. :p
 
I already left the idiot positive feedback, so I don't know if I'd get my money back.

If I report him, will I get my money back? I'm sure bootleg games are not allowed on eBay, so he could get in deep ****.


Oh, and I paid $45 for the game :whistle2:(
 
Damn, that sucks.

fucking eBay... I don't kow if eBay/PayPal will do anything after you left positive feedback but I could be wrong.
 
Alright I just sent the bastard a message telling him to refund me or I'd report him to eBay for selling illegal software, I'll have to wait and see his response.

I'm not optimistic about it, though.
 
Sucks dude. I remember getting ripped off with a GBA cart back in the day. It was either Super Mario Kart or Golden Sun.

If you paid it through PayPal with your bank card, and not the bank account itself, check to see if the check card provider (either Visa or Mastercard) has a protection against fraud. I have BofA, and I'm covered if I'm sold something that's different from what I purchased. I got my money back, and didn't have to return the cart.
 
yeah i got SF II Turbo Revival from ebay bootlegged. 1-2 wks it lasted and then boom all my saves gone and no more super akuma. yeah report his ass..that sucks man hope you get your money back.
 
That sucks! Back when I got a GBA for Xmas, a month later my stepdad got me Golden Sun for my Bday....and suddenly my game was erased. It was a bootleg. =(
 
[quote name='thegarageband']If you paid it through PayPal with your bank card, and not the bank account itself, check to see if the check card provider (either Visa or Mastercard) has a protection against fraud.[/quote]

So how would I figure out what I paid it with?
 
[quote name='PhreQuencYViii']Your bank statement thingy will say Paypal.[/quote]

Well I'm just using my dad's PP account so I'll have to ask him about that tomorrow.

I just want a damn refund, that's all. I'll even send the "game" back if I need to.
 
Alright the guy said he'd refund me if I send the game back...to the UK...

Does anyone know how much will it cost me to send the game to Britain?
 
[quote name='hootie']Alright the guy said he'd refund me if I send the game back...to the UK...

Does anyone know how much will it cost me to send the game to Britain?[/quote]
More than it's worth. Make him foot the cost of the return shipping. He is, after all, the one who sent you a bootleg product.
 
How much is "more than it's worth", though?




EDIT: This is what it said in the item description:

"We accept returns for a period of 7 days. Full refund of purchase price (Excl. P&P) provided item is returned in original condition. Buyer is responsible for cost of return postage."
 
[quote name='wubb']The biggest downside for you is that it may not be as reliable as an official copy.[/QUOTE]

That's true of GBA games with their battery saves (or a battery save in lieu of memory). Does that hold with DS bootlegs? I'd think there would be less room for a battery in there. But like others, this is the first I've heard of bootleg DS games, so it's likely they are unreliable as the GBA bootlegs.

And hootie - first-class mail international to the UK would be about $8 in a padded envelope or very small box. The problem is that would not include tracking which PayPal would want for proof of return (if the seller is dishonest and just says they never got it back). Anything with tracking means priority or express mail which will run you over $20.

I'm not clear on what the game is. Is this (supposed to be) an import game? I'm assuming from the price. Is it possible some imports aren't constructed the same way as a domestic-release DS game? Just trying to make sure you *really* have a bootleg. Did it come sealed in an original case or cart-only? For GBA games it is a dead giveaway if it is "new" but comes with a loose cart with a flattened box and no manual. Again, though, I haven't heard much about bootleg DS games so I don't know how they are generally packaged.

Edit - just saw your last post. FWIW, it doesn't matter WHAT the seller says, you can always file with PayPal as "item not as described' and they have to take it back. But PayPal does require you to pay the return postage as well (and likely include tracking). Remember that PayPal sides with buyers 99% of the time - you can just make stuff up and they never investigate. According to them tracking is golden though - I had a buyer claim non-receipt and since it was international and he paid for cheap shipping I had no tracking. If I had that, I had a chance, but without I was toast.
 
[quote name='io']I'm not clear on what the game is. Is this (supposed to be) an import game? I'm assuming from the price. Is it possible some imports aren't constructed the same way as a domestic-release DS game? Just trying to make sure you *really* have a bootleg. Did it come sealed in an original case or cart-only? For GBA games it is a dead giveaway if it is "new" but comes with a loose cart with a flattened box and no manual. Again, though, I haven't heard much about bootleg DS games so I don't know how they are generally packaged.

Edit - just saw your last post. FWIW, it doesn't matter WHAT the seller says, you can always file with PayPal as "item not as described' and they have to take it back. But PayPal does require you to pay the return postage as well (and likely include tracking). Remember that PayPal sides with buyers 99% of the time - you can just make stuff up and they never investigate. According to them tracking is golden though - I had a buyer claim non-receipt and since it was international and he paid for cheap shipping I had no tracking. If I had that, I had a chance, but without I was toast.[/quote]

Thanks for the reply io.

The game is Anno 1701 for the DS, and it is only availible in Europe and Australia. It didn't come sealed, and the box was just horrible. It wasn't the condition that was bad, it was the things that were on it. On the front, it had the PEGI 7+ rating, but on the back it had an ESRB E for Everyone rating. Also, the manual wasn't even a manual, it was just a preview of the game typed on a bunch of pages with pictures of the gameplay on each page.

And to top it off, the rating on the sticker on the cart was the ESRB E rating, and the game is DEFINITELY not out in the US. And I am positive that all games have a flat top to them, I have games from the US, Japan, and Europe in my collection, and this is the only game that has a bulge on the cart.


As for shipping, I cannot afford $20, and I don't think I can just ask him to pay for the shipping, so should I file a "item not as described" dispute on PayPal? Will that help anything?

Also, the only reason I'm want to return it is because of the fact that the save might poop out on me in a week or two, and this is one of the worst games for that to have.

If there was somehow confirmation that it doesn't happen on DS games, I'd just keep the game and not go through all of this hassle.
 
Ah, sounds bad then (the case/manual stuff anyway). I really have no idea about the likelihood of bootleg DS games crapping out. I'd think, possibly, they might be more reliable than the GBA ones since GBA carts didn't have a standard save mechanism (some have it, some don't, etc). It would seem the bootleggers would be able to copy the save mechanism for the DS games if they wanted to, so it isn't guaranteed to be crappy. Anyway, pure conjecture on my part - I have no fucking idea :lol:.
 
Well, I may as well wait a day or two just for confirmation as to whether or not the save will crap on me or not.



But again, thank you for the help io.






Alright, I just opened up a dispute on PayPal. Should I just escalate it to a claim with PayPal? I'd really rather just get a refund and not have to ship the game back. The only thing he could do with the game when he gets it back is try to sell it again anyway.
 
You can get some basic shipping to the UK for fairly cheap. Especially if you're willing to risk sending without insurance and put it into something small. Might even be able to send insured fairly cheap. I sent a defective DS item I had back to Austria and it cost under five bucks.
 
[quote name='thegarageband']Sucks dude. I remember getting ripped off with a GBA cart back in the day. It was either Super Mario Kart or Golden Sun.

If you paid it through PayPal with your bank card, and not the bank account itself, check to see if the check card provider (either Visa or Mastercard) has a protection against fraud. I have BofA, and I'm covered if I'm sold something that's different from what I purchased. I got my money back, and didn't have to return the cart.[/quote]

I got a bootleg Golden Sun too!!!!!
Want to start a club or some shit??
 
[quote name='Ultimate Matt X']You can get some basic shipping to the UK for fairly cheap. Especially if you're willing to risk sending without insurance and put it into something small. Might even be able to send insured fairly cheap. I sent a defective DS item I had back to Austria and it cost under five bucks.[/quote]

Well, that does sound promising. I'll probably head over to the PO today or tomorrow and if the price is right (lol), I'll just send it out.
 
io - I thought DS games save with flash memory but I have no idea really. But I'd assume bootlegs would use the cheapest crappiest 'parts' and therefore be more inclined to fuck up. This is all just speculation though.

[quote name='hootie']

EDIT: This is what it said in the item description:

"We accept returns for a period of 7 days. Full refund of purchase price (Excl. P&P) provided item is returned in original condition. Buyer is responsible for cost of return postage."[/QUOTE]

You probably figured this out yourself, but that means he's not going to refund your original shipping paid and you're going to have to pay to ship it back. Unacceptable IMO.

You could try telling PayPal you won't ship it back because you feel that shipping an illegal bootleg copy of a game internationally would be breaking the law. I imagine that won't fly but you could try it.
 
[quote name='wubb']io - I thought DS games save with flash memory but I have no idea really. But I'd assume bootlegs would use the cheapest crappiest 'parts' and therefore be more inclined to fuck up. This is all just speculation though.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, could be - I have no idea. Seems like there must be some info on the web about it somewhere.

As for the PayPal dispute, don't you have to send the game back to get your money back with a PayPal dispute? So, I think, Hootie, that you will have to mail it back anyway.
 
Also, what should I do to make sure PayPal knows the item got to him? I will use tracking, but should I just post the tracking number in the dispute message area?


And, I fill out the customs form at the PO, right?
 
[quote name='wubb']The biggest downside for you is that it may not be as reliable as an official copy.[/quote]Another downside to bootlegs is that that they pull jobs and money out of the official industries around the world.

The bootleg market keeps the prices of official product up higher (to compensate for loss of sales which went to fakie product). And for the guys in their basements producing the bootlegs to sell to the uninformed consumer, that means less official product sold. So fewer retail jobs to sell the fewer games/cds/movies/anime, fewer jobs and pay to people who actually create the game (or whatever), fewer jobs and pay to the voice actors involved, et cetera et cetera et cetera.

Hootie, I know you got this accidently, so the following is not aimed at you.

When you sit there and think that I'm just one person and I only buy one or two fakies every couple months, don't fool yourself. Bootlegs and copyright infringements take a huge hit on the official industries. Movie producers and hollywood have taken big, big hits with China's bootleg market, and online torrents where folks can see movies before they even hit the big screen.

Yes, they still make lots of money, but they could make a LOT more and with that LOT more, they could be providing a LOT more jobs to you, me and our unemployed neighbors who'd be able to get a job at the local theatre/movie rental shop/best buy if everyone who wanted to see X movie went to see it in the theatre or buy or rent the dvd.

That's just a basic example, as I figured that'd be the easiest for me to explain. (I have a hard time explaining myself too often.)
 
never heard of DS Bootleg.After you get your money back,report him to Nintendo.He will keep selling bootlegs and if you return it,he will sell it also.
 
[quote name='snakelda']He will keep selling bootlegs and if you return it,he will sell it also.[/quote]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. I can guarentee you as soon as I return the game to him it will be right back on eBay, getting sold to yet another unsuspecting customer.

I will report him to Nintendo as soon as I get my refund from him.
 
Ugh, I had to deal with a bootleg GBA game a while ago... what a pain the ass. Sorry you got shafted, OP.

As people mentioned, if you escalate with Paypal, you're going to have to pay the return shipping with some sort of tracking. It might be worth complaining to Paypal to get the original shipping costs back, if that was a lot. But if you complain to Paypal about an item being a bootleg, unless things have changed, they're going to ask for proof from "an expert" in order to side with you. (My proof came in the form of a letter from Capcom.) If you don't win, you might get nothing back. If do win, you get your item cost and original shipping costs back, but still have to pay for return shipping. Or you can just return it on your own without reporting to Paypal and eat original and return shipping costs (in which case the seller has lost nothing... which would irk me). All the options suck :\

btw, did you leave a response to your original positive feedback? Even though you can't leave a negative anymore, you should still try to convey the message to other buyers that the seller sells bootlegs.
 
Yeah in the feedback I said "Though I don't know about the legitimacy of the item, it got here fast"


And I think shipping was $8, which sucks because I'm not getting that back.
 
There doesn't seem to be a faq out there for Bootleg DS games, bootleg GBA games are easy because there is tons of information on them and the telltale sign is no white "nintendo" printing on the connector. Can someone compile a list of signs of a bootleg DS game so we all know what to look for?? I am not qualified to do this as I have never seen a bootleg DS game (lets hope I don't have one in my collection).

Regular DS games do have a serial number printed in white on the edge connector, does anyone know if this is a telltale sign of a bootleg DS game or if bootleggers are starting to include this printing to throw people off?
 
[quote name='judyjudyjudy']But if you complain to Paypal about an item being a bootleg, unless things have changed, they're going to ask for proof from "an expert" in order to side with you. (My proof came in the form of a letter from Capcom.) [/quote]And considering the short time frame they give you, getting an official letter from a publisher can be difficult.

Good work, Judy.
 
If there is no faq, maybe Hootie could contribute his own pics to the cause? Just a quick digital camera pic and maybe a paintshop job to circle the offending areas to look out for. Maybe also a quick photo of the instructions so we can see the difference in a real version.

If the pirates are willing to do it for a small game such as anno, I imagine that stuff like advance wars and the other expensive ones are all over the place .
In this case it's particularly hard since not many people know what an EU cart looks like or is suppose to look like.

Makes me wonder if all thsoe "factory sealed" pokemon with all the pokemon are all pirated. How else could they load a perfect game on there and still have it factory sealed? That's a huge business on ebay right now. - maxxed pokemon games
 
Is this a business seller or just the average guy selling one or two items? I'm just wondering if its just someone who has no idea they were selling a bootleg in the first place. With GBA games its pretty easy to run into a bootleg, even in legit places where games are traded in. If that person were to sell it, not knowing it was a bootleg, would they really be committing such a horrible act?

As for paypal, be advised that Paypal has some rather vicious policies. I tried to dispute an auction in which I lost money and then the sellers account was terminated on ebay - paypal said they had to take $25 in dispute fees. I had to brute force them into a refuned - I opened a separate dispute and stoppage of payment with my credit card company to get that $25 back.
 
[quote name='Plaid Ninja']Is this a business seller or just the average guy selling one or two items? I'm just wondering if its just someone who has no idea they were selling a bootleg in the first place. With GBA games its pretty easy to run into a bootleg, even in legit places where games are traded in. If that person were to sell it, not knowing it was a bootleg, would they really be committing such a horrible act?[/quote]

Oh, he knew what he was selling. He's definitely a big seller too, he gets about 5-8 feedback a day.

When I asked him why he sent me a bootleg copy in the PayPal dispute, he said "The game's not out yet, you know what you paid for.", which is idiotic considering the game is out in Germany and Australia. The games not out in the UK yet, but in the description it said "this game is imported", which suggested he got the game from one of those countries.




As for pictures, I don't have a digital camera, but you'll know its a bootleg if the front of the cart has a lump on it (where the game sticker is), when it should be flat. Also, on the back the Nintendo logo is right in the middle, while on legit games it is slightly higher. Also, there is no serial number under the logo. And an obvious sign its a bootleg is if it doesn't have the real game sticker on the cart, or if the manual is really crappy. You can also just look at the box art and manual art and if it looks like it came from a printer you can buy at walmart, you'll know its a fake.
 
[quote name='hootie']When I asked him why he sent me a bootleg copy in the PayPal dispute, he said "The game's not out yet, you know what you paid for.", which is idiotic considering the game is out in Germany and Australia. The games not out in the UK yet, but in the description it said "this game is imported", which suggested he got the game from one of those countries.[/QUOTE]What an ass. Make sure you report him.
 
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