What should I do about receiving a pirated game from eBay?

[LethaL ImpuLse]

I've ordered plenty of games before from ebay with no problem, but just recently I received a Dreamcast game that is an obvious bootleg.. the cover looks printed in extremely bad quality, no manual, and the disc is CD-R with a sticker pasted on top (not to mention the case also reeks of cigarette smoke). I've never encountered this problem.. should I try contacting the seller first? I thought if I did he might be repulsive and not give me a refund, so I thought I could say the game doesn't work or something..

I also looked at eBay's help pages but all they have is a page to report auctions, so I don't know. Ultimately though I feel like an idiot for even buying into this, so thanks for any help.

 

[SlammedNiss]

If you paid with paypal, file a dispute.

 

[Monsta Mack]

Link to the auction please.
Also file with Paypal item not as described.

 

[LethaL ImpuLse]

o_o yeah.. here's the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270343382533

And I guess I'll try the dispute thing.

 

[62t]

email the buyer first and see what he has to say

 

[thelonepig]

I'm with 62t on this one - email the seller first. I've found that most sellers that pass this stuff off know they've got a bootleg product and will often times give a full refund and tell you to keep the product.

Indicate your dissatisfaction with receiving an obvious bootleg (point out what leads you to this conclusion and link ebay's bootleg indicator page) and request not only a full refund but money to ship it back. Worst case scenario is they pitch a fit and you file with PayPal in which case you'll have to pay return shipping, but you'll get a refund for the auction price plus shipping.

Regardless of what happens, report the seller to ebay for bootleg merchandise.

EDIT: A $30 BIN for Ikaruga? Between the price and the pictures of the item, it just screams bootleg. From what I can tell, the seller hasn't peddled bootleg material before, so you may have some difficulty proving it to him/her.

DOUBLE EDIT: Here's the ebay page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html
Like the rest of ebay, it has become less helpful and direct than it used to be.

 

[limelight022]

Email the seller. He said its a "very rare game". Explain to him its not "very rare" if he makes copies of it. Ask for a refund. If he wants to be a dick about it, which he probably will, file a dispute with paypal asap.