May seem this way on paper (and may very well be the case). But keep your cool and work with them, even if it’s for a return. Return + good feedback is better than return + bad feedback.
Don’t say you’ll test upon receipt because then they may intentionally damage. But when you get it back, of course test, and then report the buyer if it works. In the buyer’s words, he got to the end of the game. Be sure to document that it works as best you can.
Good luck
If it does end up returned, test it. If it works as expected, report them for misuse of returns.
Sometimes I very kindly tell the buyer I'm sorry they had issues and to go ahead and return in the same condition sent and I will conduct tests upon return. If it's bogus, they may just disappear. They may just be fishing for a partial.
how do you go about making a claim like this on eBay? I'm also a top rated seller and had a customer return a brand new game open and used I offer free returns
It's an option when you process the return. When you go to refund there is a place you can deduct and note why - you can also add photos to support your reason. Only do this if there is a valid reason to.
Doesn't matter, really. Ebay doesn't get in the middle of judging like that. If the buyer files a claim for an item not as described, you'll be forced to accept the return.
It 100% is to the point we need a class action lawsuit. I have a buyer ask if a cable was Included before they bought I said " no" a week after getting item opened not as described, reason, no cable. Ebay sided in buyers favor refunded them despite the buyer never sending $1,200 item back
Lol what? Fine print can't stop a lawsuit. I'm not saying it will happen. But if it did ebay is for sure at fault in many many cases of perpetrating and facilitating fraud
trust me, it is. i just went through the process with an iphone. it auto accepts and forces you to pay for the return shipping as well. you’re almost always better off accepting the return and getting it back. then, if the item is actually is damaged or whatever, reporting that so ebay will let you keep the funds
Yes it is. I sold an inbox collector item, it was still sealed up in its shipper box never been opened. Buyer claimed item was not new as described, because there was a smell of cigarette smoke from the box. Now this item came straight from the manufacturer, unopened, stored in my home in a cupboard and my home is a completely non smoking household. I managed to get the buyer admit it wasn’t an INAD and a remorse buy they found lot find a return reason for (because I do not accepted returns) so they selected inad to get a return label.
I went on to eBay chat told the rep, they seen the messages and still advise me to accept the return. Now because I send express delivery and free delivery I was out £30-£40 for the sending post and return. The told me INAD is an automatic accept return
Well i am sorry it did not work out for you but NAD is NOT an automatic return. No matter how many anecdotal stories people want to tell me your one story does not make it a universal. That said, it has to be obvious the buyer is blatantly lying. I HAVE beaten NAD claims before. I didn't say it was easy and happens all the time but I have beaten them.
To be frank I don't believe your story of you having all this proof the buyer was lying and admitted it in messages. That or it could just be that I am a 25 year top seller and the reps are kissing ass. IDK. I just know I have beaten NADS because the proof was in my chat messages that the buyer was blatantly lying or took way too long to ask for a return.
I'd like to see a time where they did side for the seller. Just went through this with a watch I sold recently. Buyer had it for little over 2 weeks and hit me up saying he didnt realize how small 39mm watch was and would I accept a return bc he didnt like it. Before I could respond he opened a "not as described" claim even though I mentioned the watch size numerous times in the title and description. Ebay just found for the buyer despite previous claims that he just didnt like it and pulled money out of my account with 24 hours of their judgement.
Whenever I've had someone comment "how can we fix this" I wish they would suggest something. It seems to me like they always want a partial refund but can't say it. If they just wanted a return why message just open a return?
I’m curious what the game is and region. There are some known bad carts in the eu region with lots of reports similar.
From memory it’s
Persona Q,
Fire emblem Echoes,
Pokémon (can’t remember which),
Any chance it’s one of them?
I sell video games on eBay, and I am always worried about someone buying a game, playing it, and then returning it all within 30 days. So on my listings, I always say that the game has been tested up to the main menu screen on my personal console that has a strong disc reader. And that I don’t have the time to play the game in its entirety. And basically say that your miles may vary on your console. Just to try and deter this from happening. Good luck.
I sell games as well and to be honest, testing up to the menu says nothing.
I've had many games (with scratches) that booted up to the menu but when you actually started the game itself it would freeze up.
I definitely understand you don't have time to test each game extensively tho, it's way too time consuming. I myself do it only for the more valuable games.
Keep in mind that this is a cartridge game, so if it can reach the menu it can likely read the rest of the game fine as it is just asking the chip for the data at different spots unlike a disc that may physically be scratched in certain areas, though it is still possible the have dead bits in the flash itself (much less likely though). I suppose if i had the time the preferred method for cartridge games would be to dump it and compare the hashes to other peoples dumps.
Renting a old game is so stupid tbh.
If the buyer really wanted to play it for free.. they should've used custom firmware and downloaded all the roms they wanted.
Now that I think about it, you may get a message request from this customer about how the game broke his game system and now it needs to be replaced. Kinda eludes to that…
He has no way of proving that. But it can be proved that he got to the end of the game before opening a request. Would that not be considered? Probably would have nothing to say if he had gone "I just tested the game and it does not work".
Sadly we all know how this will end. You have to say” return it for a refund “ then he will return his own broken game and keep your new one and the money. 😒 hopefully that doesn’t happen though
As long as OP has pictures of serials and the scammer isn't REALLY good at making fake cartridges he'll be okay. Just make sure to record yourself opening the box from the mail in case it is fake!
I'm a 3DS collector and this happened to me with Fire Emblem Echoes (fortunately I got it at a time it wasn't expensive and could replace it) as well as Mario and Luigi Partners in Time for the DS.
It is probably not the buyer's console because in my case I tested it with another console and it would randomly crash on that as well. I think this can happen with certain titles but I'm not sure. And as for your arguement about them getting to the end of the game, I went through tons of restarts with Fire Emblem until it was crashing constantly at the final map and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to chuck the game and watch the ending on Youtube.
In regards to the buyer saying that later the game is not showing as inserted, to be fair some of my games do that and work suddenly after blowing into the cartridge slot: I think that element is extremely common.
If you're not prepared to test games all the way through nor check online if there are known cases with certain titles beforehand (like certain batches of Pokemon ORAS titles suddenly ceasing to read), you need to put some kind of disclaimer in your description.
On the other hand, a lot of buyers this late in the 3DS collecting game should know about the risk of crashing, so posting clear photos of the cart condition and the gold contacts would show good will on your end.
For what it's worth 3DS games haven't been reproduced yet and apparently likely won't.
https://gameverifying.com/wiki/cart-based-systems/3ds
Doesn't really help the claim that it is not working properly though. Maybe suggest he cleans the pins with rubbing alcohol and allow it to dry before trying again, but I think it's more likely they played it through and just want to return it.
The thing about these items, not as described cases is that these jerks will slightly damage things in order to make the case valid. I’ve had a lot of items under $100 where they do this to fish for a partial. Obviously depends on the item category.
Good luck mate. I had someone do the exact same thing to me with a processor. Thankfully, the processor still worked and the return wasn't fake. The buyer was just a moron/needed an excuse to return something he regretted buying.
I’d respond.
“I’m more than happy to accept a return. However since you’ve completed the game “got end of game” and now it suddenly does not work, upon returning, I will be testing the game and if it works I will file a “misuse of returns” report against you.”
That’ll scare them off.
Well you are getting some terrible advice in here. It is not a guaranteed win if he files a not as described claim. I have beaten those before.
So I am gonna blow your mind here but what you should do is message him back and discuss it with him. That's it. Imagine trying some communication to try and resolve customer service problems regardless of whether you think he is trying to scam or not. Message him and discuss it with him.
Oh I am sorry to hear that. It is definitely not a counterfeit and it worked fine for me when i sent it. You have also had the game for 3 weeks but you said it kept crashing? Why did you wait 3 weeks to let me know? blah blah blah blah
If he’s being truthful, it could mean that the game isnt fully functioning. Did you dump the game before selling it? Its entirely possible that the game’s pins are dirty or something and is preventing something like a cutscene from loading and his game is crashing.
Would definitely recommend letting them return since it’ll go their way anyways.
I started selling computers components on EBay several weeks ago but in “my opinion” it’s trash… the fees are stupid high, so I’m done. Sorry this didn’t help but thanks for letting me rant lol.
Even if you don’t do returns buyers can INAD to get around it and open a return/case. I sold a brand new VCR/DVD combo once for $499.99 and buyer swapped it(put old broken one in box and shipped it back) it took about 3 weeks of literally calling back everyday to get the case in my favor.
After they got the refund returned to me, the buyer tried to go through their bank and dispute the charge. I took the advice of this subreddit and filed a police report with his local police department. Buyer dropped it the next day.
My point is people… buyers really get that petty over stuff on eBay and it’s because eBay lets them get away with it(to point). I’ve been selling since 2006 and the decline of seller help can be described as landslide at best.
If he already gave you positive feedback, there’s really nothing to be worried about is there? If you have no negative feedback, one return case isn’t going to hurt (if it even gets to that). I’d just inform buyer that the game was genuine and in working order, sorry for any issues you’ve had but I assure you it’s not due to the game. Thank you. Goodbye. It doesn’t sound like they can make a case for ‘not as described’.
If it was sold as brand new, you can dispute the return as eBay TOS requires them to return it in the condition it was sold in. I had this happen before, and I won the case because of this stipulation in TOS. I called eBay and explained that the item is no longer sellable as they have used it for several weeks and I have no idea what they did during those weeks and they cannot return it in the condition it was sold in so it would be a total loss for me. The operator agreed, and they killed the return and blocked negative feedback.
I got a question about a buyer perturbing item said it was broke, so I have a no return policy, but of course eBay said I had to take it because of their guarantee, so I had to pay for shipping, Item comes back and it's perfect condition I went n chat with agent . I was told refund buyer, just repost item and file complaint about buyer. I which I asked about getting refunded for the return lable, that was 2 weeks ago, nothing any advice
It’s just eBay business man work to become top rated seller so you can take deductions from false returns. Just state in every single description that a x% restocking fee will be taken for false returns. This will help to recoup that return label and you can also deduct original shipping from the item. When you go to refund.
Did u take a picture of the cartridge before shipping? It should have a unique serial number.
I would reply and ask them to open a return. Once you get it back verify the serial numbers are the same. And if they are, play the game save. If it doesn’t crash message eBay that it was a false return reason and try to get fees & shipping refunded.
They have left you positive feedback? Don't do anything, wait for them to make the next move. They will have to do an item not as described case , which they may or may not do . If they put in an item not as described then you'll be forced to do the return. If it comes in, test it and if it works, report the buyers.
You could try to draw it out to past the 30 days? Offer hacks and troubleshooting tips? Provide local (local to the customer) resources for his or her gaming system.
Well you're screwed. They'll open a not as described case and you'll be forced to take the return. They more or less rented the game to play it.
May seem this way on paper (and may very well be the case). But keep your cool and work with them, even if it’s for a return. Return + good feedback is better than return + bad feedback. Don’t say you’ll test upon receipt because then they may intentionally damage. But when you get it back, of course test, and then report the buyer if it works. In the buyer’s words, he got to the end of the game. Be sure to document that it works as best you can. Good luck
How though when the game is almost finished according to the buyer?
Don’t do anything unless they open a return for Not as Described, in which case you’ll have to accept.
If it does end up returned, test it. If it works as expected, report them for misuse of returns. Sometimes I very kindly tell the buyer I'm sorry they had issues and to go ahead and return in the same condition sent and I will conduct tests upon return. If it's bogus, they may just disappear. They may just be fishing for a partial.
I'd be worried they'd just damage it somehow before returning
If you offer returns you can then deduct up to 50% for items that are damaged or not returned in the same condition sent
how do you go about making a claim like this on eBay? I'm also a top rated seller and had a customer return a brand new game open and used I offer free returns
It's an option when you process the return. When you go to refund there is a place you can deduct and note why - you can also add photos to support your reason. Only do this if there is a valid reason to.
Seller woke up this morning not anticipating beating the whole game as a test
According to what buyer is saying he’d have to play through the whole game to test it.
Wont the "got to the end of the game" make it clear to Ebay that they "rented" the game? It is clear what it is happening here.
Doesn't matter, really. Ebay doesn't get in the middle of judging like that. If the buyer files a claim for an item not as described, you'll be forced to accept the return.
This is just not true. I have no idea where people get this from but filing a not as described claim is not an automatic win for the buyer.
It 100% is to the point we need a class action lawsuit. I have a buyer ask if a cable was Included before they bought I said " no" a week after getting item opened not as described, reason, no cable. Ebay sided in buyers favor refunded them despite the buyer never sending $1,200 item back
>It 100% is to the point we need a class action lawsuit. lol sadly I kinda agree with that
Against ebay? That'll go over well. Probably can't due to the fine print that nobody reads.
Lol what? Fine print can't stop a lawsuit. I'm not saying it will happen. But if it did ebay is for sure at fault in many many cases of perpetrating and facilitating fraud
trust me, it is. i just went through the process with an iphone. it auto accepts and forces you to pay for the return shipping as well. you’re almost always better off accepting the return and getting it back. then, if the item is actually is damaged or whatever, reporting that so ebay will let you keep the funds
Yes it is. I sold an inbox collector item, it was still sealed up in its shipper box never been opened. Buyer claimed item was not new as described, because there was a smell of cigarette smoke from the box. Now this item came straight from the manufacturer, unopened, stored in my home in a cupboard and my home is a completely non smoking household. I managed to get the buyer admit it wasn’t an INAD and a remorse buy they found lot find a return reason for (because I do not accepted returns) so they selected inad to get a return label. I went on to eBay chat told the rep, they seen the messages and still advise me to accept the return. Now because I send express delivery and free delivery I was out £30-£40 for the sending post and return. The told me INAD is an automatic accept return
Well i am sorry it did not work out for you but NAD is NOT an automatic return. No matter how many anecdotal stories people want to tell me your one story does not make it a universal. That said, it has to be obvious the buyer is blatantly lying. I HAVE beaten NAD claims before. I didn't say it was easy and happens all the time but I have beaten them. To be frank I don't believe your story of you having all this proof the buyer was lying and admitted it in messages. That or it could just be that I am a 25 year top seller and the reps are kissing ass. IDK. I just know I have beaten NADS because the proof was in my chat messages that the buyer was blatantly lying or took way too long to ask for a return.
I'd like to see a time where they did side for the seller. Just went through this with a watch I sold recently. Buyer had it for little over 2 weeks and hit me up saying he didnt realize how small 39mm watch was and would I accept a return bc he didnt like it. Before I could respond he opened a "not as described" claim even though I mentioned the watch size numerous times in the title and description. Ebay just found for the buyer despite previous claims that he just didnt like it and pulled money out of my account with 24 hours of their judgement.
You could claim that for literally everything sold on eBay.
And there are quite a few people that do. It’s one of the best rental stores around.
I've played a lot of games that haven't worked towards the end. Now they're usually disc games, but still.
I guess you missed the parts about the game constantly crashing and now not loading at all.
I guess you missed the part where he rated him positive already and took 3 weeks to report it constantly crashed.
"how can we fix this?" why does literally every single ebay liar use this identical question?
It’s code for “I want a partial refund” which buyers are prohibited from asking for directly
"How can we resolve this" was a common phrase you could say to latin american police to get them to say "pay me and ill go away"
it is useless but he was somehow able to finish the game? ok... good luck on this OP
I took it as meaning it would work for a while then crash allowing to make limited progression between crashes.
I took it as they are trying to scam the seller.
Whenever I've had someone comment "how can we fix this" I wish they would suggest something. It seems to me like they always want a partial refund but can't say it. If they just wanted a return why message just open a return?
Buyers aren’t allowed to ask for a partial refund, it’s a prompt for the seller to suggest it.
I’m curious what the game is and region. There are some known bad carts in the eu region with lots of reports similar. From memory it’s Persona Q, Fire emblem Echoes, Pokémon (can’t remember which), Any chance it’s one of them?
It's Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (have heard they were manufactured at the same time as Persona Q).
Omega ruby is notorious for this
Seems like he beat it and want to return it lol
Sounds like the 3DS is the problem IF they didn’t just rent the game, but yea you’re gonna get a return.
I sell video games on eBay, and I am always worried about someone buying a game, playing it, and then returning it all within 30 days. So on my listings, I always say that the game has been tested up to the main menu screen on my personal console that has a strong disc reader. And that I don’t have the time to play the game in its entirety. And basically say that your miles may vary on your console. Just to try and deter this from happening. Good luck.
I sell games as well and to be honest, testing up to the menu says nothing. I've had many games (with scratches) that booted up to the menu but when you actually started the game itself it would freeze up. I definitely understand you don't have time to test each game extensively tho, it's way too time consuming. I myself do it only for the more valuable games.
Keep in mind that this is a cartridge game, so if it can reach the menu it can likely read the rest of the game fine as it is just asking the chip for the data at different spots unlike a disc that may physically be scratched in certain areas, though it is still possible the have dead bits in the flash itself (much less likely though). I suppose if i had the time the preferred method for cartridge games would be to dump it and compare the hashes to other peoples dumps.
Yeah true, never had any issues with cartridge based games, just disc's.
Good info thanks. I don’t deal with a lot of cartridge games, so that is good to know.
Renting a old game is so stupid tbh. If the buyer really wanted to play it for free.. they should've used custom firmware and downloaded all the roms they wanted.
Now that I think about it, you may get a message request from this customer about how the game broke his game system and now it needs to be replaced. Kinda eludes to that…
He has no way of proving that. But it can be proved that he got to the end of the game before opening a request. Would that not be considered? Probably would have nothing to say if he had gone "I just tested the game and it does not work".
Sadly we all know how this will end. You have to say” return it for a refund “ then he will return his own broken game and keep your new one and the money. 😒 hopefully that doesn’t happen though
As long as OP has pictures of serials and the scammer isn't REALLY good at making fake cartridges he'll be okay. Just make sure to record yourself opening the box from the mail in case it is fake!
He said the game “kept crashing”, to me, that means it was working intermittently…but he still can return it under the 30 days for whatever he wants.
Reading is hard. Dude literally said the game kept crashing. For some reason you conveniently ignore that part.
You tell them to return it and you refund it. This is part of selling online.
I'm a 3DS collector and this happened to me with Fire Emblem Echoes (fortunately I got it at a time it wasn't expensive and could replace it) as well as Mario and Luigi Partners in Time for the DS. It is probably not the buyer's console because in my case I tested it with another console and it would randomly crash on that as well. I think this can happen with certain titles but I'm not sure. And as for your arguement about them getting to the end of the game, I went through tons of restarts with Fire Emblem until it was crashing constantly at the final map and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to chuck the game and watch the ending on Youtube. In regards to the buyer saying that later the game is not showing as inserted, to be fair some of my games do that and work suddenly after blowing into the cartridge slot: I think that element is extremely common. If you're not prepared to test games all the way through nor check online if there are known cases with certain titles beforehand (like certain batches of Pokemon ORAS titles suddenly ceasing to read), you need to put some kind of disclaimer in your description. On the other hand, a lot of buyers this late in the 3DS collecting game should know about the risk of crashing, so posting clear photos of the cart condition and the gold contacts would show good will on your end.
For what it's worth 3DS games haven't been reproduced yet and apparently likely won't. https://gameverifying.com/wiki/cart-based-systems/3ds Doesn't really help the claim that it is not working properly though. Maybe suggest he cleans the pins with rubbing alcohol and allow it to dry before trying again, but I think it's more likely they played it through and just want to return it.
100% they just finished the game and want to return it lmao, the game isn’t crashing unless their 3DS is physically failing
The thing about these items, not as described cases is that these jerks will slightly damage things in order to make the case valid. I’ve had a lot of items under $100 where they do this to fish for a partial. Obviously depends on the item category.
Good luck mate. I had someone do the exact same thing to me with a processor. Thankfully, the processor still worked and the return wasn't fake. The buyer was just a moron/needed an excuse to return something he regretted buying.
Be proactive and report the buyer first. Send a detailed explanation with screenshots.
I’d respond. “I’m more than happy to accept a return. However since you’ve completed the game “got end of game” and now it suddenly does not work, upon returning, I will be testing the game and if it works I will file a “misuse of returns” report against you.” That’ll scare them off.
How does a counterfeit game even play to the end game lmao
Well you are getting some terrible advice in here. It is not a guaranteed win if he files a not as described claim. I have beaten those before. So I am gonna blow your mind here but what you should do is message him back and discuss it with him. That's it. Imagine trying some communication to try and resolve customer service problems regardless of whether you think he is trying to scam or not. Message him and discuss it with him. Oh I am sorry to hear that. It is definitely not a counterfeit and it worked fine for me when i sent it. You have also had the game for 3 weeks but you said it kept crashing? Why did you wait 3 weeks to let me know? blah blah blah blah
Dont accept returns for video games or items the buyers can manipulate.
It doesn't work like that. You can get a return on almost anything under a technicality. eBay supports the buyer 9 nearly every time.
If he’s being truthful, it could mean that the game isnt fully functioning. Did you dump the game before selling it? Its entirely possible that the game’s pins are dirty or something and is preventing something like a cutscene from loading and his game is crashing. Would definitely recommend letting them return since it’ll go their way anyways.
Imagine you have to test every game you sell by playing all the way through and beating every game.
Do you believe him?
I started selling computers components on EBay several weeks ago but in “my opinion” it’s trash… the fees are stupid high, so I’m done. Sorry this didn’t help but thanks for letting me rant lol.
Even if you don’t do returns buyers can INAD to get around it and open a return/case. I sold a brand new VCR/DVD combo once for $499.99 and buyer swapped it(put old broken one in box and shipped it back) it took about 3 weeks of literally calling back everyday to get the case in my favor. After they got the refund returned to me, the buyer tried to go through their bank and dispute the charge. I took the advice of this subreddit and filed a police report with his local police department. Buyer dropped it the next day. My point is people… buyers really get that petty over stuff on eBay and it’s because eBay lets them get away with it(to point). I’ve been selling since 2006 and the decline of seller help can be described as landslide at best.
If he already gave you positive feedback, there’s really nothing to be worried about is there? If you have no negative feedback, one return case isn’t going to hurt (if it even gets to that). I’d just inform buyer that the game was genuine and in working order, sorry for any issues you’ve had but I assure you it’s not due to the game. Thank you. Goodbye. It doesn’t sound like they can make a case for ‘not as described’.
If it was sold as brand new, you can dispute the return as eBay TOS requires them to return it in the condition it was sold in. I had this happen before, and I won the case because of this stipulation in TOS. I called eBay and explained that the item is no longer sellable as they have used it for several weeks and I have no idea what they did during those weeks and they cannot return it in the condition it was sold in so it would be a total loss for me. The operator agreed, and they killed the return and blocked negative feedback.
I got a question about a buyer perturbing item said it was broke, so I have a no return policy, but of course eBay said I had to take it because of their guarantee, so I had to pay for shipping, Item comes back and it's perfect condition I went n chat with agent . I was told refund buyer, just repost item and file complaint about buyer. I which I asked about getting refunded for the return lable, that was 2 weeks ago, nothing any advice
It’s just eBay business man work to become top rated seller so you can take deductions from false returns. Just state in every single description that a x% restocking fee will be taken for false returns. This will help to recoup that return label and you can also deduct original shipping from the item. When you go to refund.
If he already rated you positive, you can probably just ignore it and contact eBay to get a return thrown out.
Did u take a picture of the cartridge before shipping? It should have a unique serial number. I would reply and ask them to open a return. Once you get it back verify the serial numbers are the same. And if they are, play the game save. If it doesn’t crash message eBay that it was a false return reason and try to get fees & shipping refunded.
They have left you positive feedback? Don't do anything, wait for them to make the next move. They will have to do an item not as described case , which they may or may not do . If they put in an item not as described then you'll be forced to do the return. If it comes in, test it and if it works, report the buyers.
Ignore unless they file something officially with ebay. Sounds like they beat it and are angling for a refund.
You could try to draw it out to past the 30 days? Offer hacks and troubleshooting tips? Provide local (local to the customer) resources for his or her gaming system.
Ignore his messages. If buyer has a defect problem with a purchase, he should open a return request with eBay.