Just got screwed on ebay: Received secret of Mana shell with Mortal Kombat 3 in it. What should I do?

[greedostick]

I'm not sure how to go about dealing with this. I purchased Secret of Mana from a seller with high feedback that the seller claimed was tested and working. I popped the game in and it's freaking Mortal Kombat 3!!! I'm not sure how to go about this. Because i'm afraid a seller that lies and says a game is tested and working, that doesn't even have the right game in it is going to be shady and elusive. And he used tracking so I can't just claim I didn't receive the game. Not happy about this at all. I have been waiting for a week to play Secret of Mana. It maybe my favorite game of all time.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/251304662758?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

[recorderdude]

before you do anything else, try to talk it out kindly with the seller. It may have been an honest mistake as many non-collector game sellers post "Tested and working" but don't actually look at the game past "does something come up" or don't test at all. Record a video of yourself inserting the SoM cartridge and getting MK3 as proof, send it to the seller, and ask for a refund/return. If the seller refuses to budge, it's time to get serious.

[greedostick]

before you do anything else, try to talk it out kindly with the seller. It may have been an honest mistake as many non-collector game sellers post "Tested and working" but don't actually look at the game past "does something come up" or don't test at all. Record a video of yourself inserting the SoM cartridge and getting MK3 as proof, send it to the seller, and ask for a refund/return. If the seller refuses to budge, it's time to get serious.

I just messages him. Trying to be as nice as possible. In my over 15 years on ebay I have been burned by receiving broken stuff, like turbo duo consoles, but never had a chip switched. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend.

[Videogamerdaryll]

before you do anything else, try to talk it out kindly with the seller. It may have been an honest mistake as many non-collector game sellers post "Tested and working" but don't actually look at the game past "does something come up" or don't test at all. Record a video of yourself inserting the SoM cartridge and getting MK3 as proof, send it to the seller, and ask for a refund/return. If the seller refuses to budge, it's time to get serious.



Ditto..

[Videogamerdaryll]

Ohh and please keep up updated on the situation..

[Greg2600]

I think now that almost anytime you contact the seller on ebay, it's treated as a "case" so ebay can better track the details. Seller appears to be mainly of flea market or garage sale finds. Probably had no idea the game board was swapped out. Which boggles the mind who in the last 20 years would have switched that game for the drab MK3?

[Smashed Brother]

This reminds me of the time that I bought Ogre Battle 64. When I booted it up, it was actually WCW Nitro inside. Seems to only happen to these higher-priced games.

[Gameguy]

Probably had no idea the game board was swapped out.
This makes sense, especially since the seller mentioned in the auction that it was cleaned and tested. When the title screen came up for MK3 he couldn't tell it wasn't Secret of Mana. Simple mistake I guess. Either that or he's a liar who doesn't test anything. I guess talking it out with him first is fine, though for me I don't pity liars so I'd just start a claim instead. It's not like something got damaged in shipping or he accidentally mailed the wrong item.


Which boggles the mind who in the last 20 years would have switched that game for the drab MK3?
Someone probably rented Secret of Mana from a rental store, and swapped the board out with some crappy game(being MK3). Eventually it would have been sold off and any rental labels could have been removed to keep it clean.

[greedostick]

Yeah I figured someone switched out a secret of mana cause mortal kombat 3 sucks. But you never know with gamers they prolly stole a mk 3 cause they thought secret of mana sucked. Anyway I got a refund. She claimed she was selling for her sons friend. Which is no excuse really for claiming it was tested. But refund went smoothly so I'm ok with it. And I get to keep the game so I will just sell the secret of mana shell on eBay.

[bb_hood]

Yeah I figured someone switched out a secret of mana cause mortal kombat 3 sucks. But you never know with gamers they prolly stole a mk 3 cause they thought secret of mana sucked. Anyway I got a refund. She claimed she was selling for her sons friend. Which is no excuse really for claiming it was tested. But refund went smoothly so I'm ok with it. And I get to keep the game so I will just sell the secret of mana shell on eBay.

You can always buy a copy of SOM with a beat/torn label (for cheaper than a near mint copy) and swap into the nice shell if you are still looking for SOM.
Its strange that MK3 was inside, if you were gonna swap out a game for SOM why not use a crappy sports game that is worth 1$ or less instead of MK3. Is it MK3 or Ultimate MK3?

Secret of Mana is one of my favorite all time games. Its great fun 3-player. This thread makes me hungry for Royal Jelly.

[fluid_matrix]

This makes sense, especially since the seller mentioned in the auction that it was cleaned and tested. When the title screen came up for MK3 he couldn't tell it wasn't Secret of Mana. Simple mistake I guess. Either that or he's a liar who doesn't test anything. I guess talking it out with him first is fine, though for me I don't pity liars so I'd just start a claim instead. It's not like something got damaged in shipping or he accidentally mailed the wrong item.
Saying something is "cleaned and tested" is about as common these days as saying something is "rare". Of course, there are some of us who actually do clean and test our games before posting them on eBay, but I usually take what others say in their listings with a grain of salt.

[Gameguy]

Saying something is "cleaned and tested" is about as common these days as saying something is "rare". Of course, there are some of us who actually do clean and test our games before posting them on eBay, but I usually take what others say in their listings with a grain of salt.
At least with "rare" it's something subjective, you could argue that something is rare as it's no longer in production or available new in retail stores. Plenty of "rare" items aren't really that rare if they come up for sale at all multiple times per year.

Saying something is cleaned or tested is more literal than subjective, it's not dependent on a person's personal view to define if something has been cleaned or if something has been tested prior to sale. Either it has been cleaned by the seller prior to sale or it hasn't, either it's been tested by the seller prior to sale or it hasn't. It's not really open to interpretation.

If someone purposely lies about the condition of their products they should be held accountable.

[greedostick]

You can always buy a copy of SOM with a beat/torn label (for cheaper than a near mint copy) and swap into the nice shell if you are still looking for SOM.
Its strange that MK3 was inside, if you were gonna swap out a game for SOM why not use a crappy sports game that is worth 1$ or less instead of MK3. Is it MK3 or Ultimate MK3?

Secret of Mana is one of my favorite all time games. Its great fun 3-player. This thread makes me hungry for Royal Jelly.

That's a good idea. I'm surprised I never thought of that.


Saying something is "cleaned and tested" is about as common these days as saying something is "rare". Of course, there are some of us who actually do clean and test our games before posting them on eBay, but I usually take what others say in their listings with a grain of salt.

Like me. I take everything apart I buy before re-selling. I even change the batteries. So it really upsets me that people get more money claiming doing stuff they actually never do and people like me spend a lot of time doing. I spend many free hours a week cleaning games, systems, and changing batteries.

[Greg2600]

Saying something is "cleaned and tested" is about as common these days as saying something is "rare". Of course, there are some of us who actually do clean and test our games before posting them on eBay, but I usually take what others say in their listings with a grain of salt.

Without a doubt. To many just getting a power light is "tested."