Buyers beware, bootleg DS carts on ebay

**sci** · 06-13-2006, 07:37 AM

http://www.yyjoy.com/pics/20060612/ndsdk/1.jpg
http://www.yyjoy.com/pics/20060612/ndsdk/2.jpg
http://www.yyjoy.com/pics/20060612/ndsdk/3.jpg
http://www.yyjoy.com/pics/20060612/ndsdk/5.jpg
http://www.yyjoy.com/pics/20060612/ndsdk/7.jpg

**loket** · 06-13-2006, 07:50 AM

Not only on Ebay. I found some in shops around town (mainly in China Town) right next to the counterfeit DVDs of movies just out in the theatre. That is just pure piracy, definately not "gray" in any way. All this stuff was out in the open...no fear of the law.

**Flare** · 06-13-2006, 08:21 AM

Wow... the mexican piracy ring is not as advanced as I thought then. These are not available in my local flea markets!

**Shane R. Monroe** · 06-13-2006, 08:22 AM

Unbelievable...

**napalm** · 06-13-2006, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Shane R. Monroe

Unbelievable...

Not really. If you think about it, NoPass devices such as th MML and SuperKey use nintendo proprietary cart shape, so you can only assume that other people with different intentions for the cart also have acess to the design.

**miner2049er** · 06-13-2006, 02:40 PM

In Malaysia, they are selling DS games on GBA carts.

One price I saw quoted was about $9 US.

**CyberFox** · 06-13-2006, 02:59 PM

4CR has issued a warning about buying DS games on eBay

http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archi...rts/#more-3444

**Flare** · 06-13-2006, 03:02 PM

Loved this phrase:

Companies are not printing the cartridge labels with a Lexmark inkjet, using the “medium-quality” setting.

**loket** · 06-13-2006, 06:32 PM

You know some of those images of bogus cartridges could really pass off as "used" looking. I mean most used DS games don't have boxes and manuals. Could a Target or EB try selling these fakes as used? These offshore ripoffs probably cost $1 to make and sell here for $9 at an EB. Who knows. At least at chinatown they are open about it. Who could stop an unscrupulous manager at a brand name store from selling counterfeits as used.

**YoshiM** · 04-14-2009, 11:40 AM

Figure I'd pop this thread back up as a reminder. I recently scoured eBay to find Tetris DS for my sister's birthday, who I found out is a Tetris fiend (long story why I didn't know this, not gonna get into it here) and the game is out of print. I skip past all the obvious pirate auctions ($15 from Hong Kong, yeah that's legit) and find one that's "new" going for $35. That's retail price. I read through the feedback and there was no mention of the games being counterfeit. So I took the plunge and bought it.

Saturday I got my package in the mail and when I popped it out of the envelope, it was a clear case. Uh oh. Looking at the case jacket under the sun, I could see that it was printed on an ink jet as I could see the stair-stepping in the font. Finally, as if it wasn't already obvious I got a counterfeit game, the wrapping was el-cheapo heat gun shrink wrap.

Immediately I went to PayPal and submitted a claim for a refund. I selected the appropriate options (software, counterfeit, etc.) and fired it off. I then went back to eBay and found the same seller with 8 more copies of Tetris on the block. I filed a complaint with eBay to make sure no more are sold. That complaint wasn't necessarily in malice-who knows, maybe the seller didn't know they were counterfeit. I've run into that before in small hick towns with people selling DVDs like "Kung Fu Panda" for cheap when it wasn't out in stores yet.

After receiving my refund, I contacted the seller through eBay to request a return shipping address. Hey, I don't want something to bite me in the end when they say I didn't mail it back. No response. I emailed this morning to the company's direct email address asking again for the return shipping address. I got a response stating I could keep the game. Guess that squashes the "naive" notion.

Anyway, just wanted to remind people to be careful when shopping on the 'Bay. I was able to find the real Tetris for a couple bucks more than what I paid for the pirate.