NES for $20 arrived today (I'm not too happy)

[segagenesis1989]

The NES auction I won last week for $20 + $3 for shipping arrived today. First thing - the auction description said "barely used" - this is very very very used. The guy bought this at a yard sale for $8, including the games (written on piece of tape attached to top of NES) or less and it is very dirty (scuff marks, dirt, sticky crap, etc.). Second thing - the games - he claimed there were 15 games, only 13 arrived. I'm guessing he rounded this number. Third thing, very crucial - he claimed there were 2 controllers - 0, ZERO arrived. So I can't even play the damn thing. This turned out to be a bad deal afterall. How do I get my money back? Should I email the seller and talk with them about this first before I doing anything else? GRRRR :angry:

Lesson learned from this situation - Don't trust auctions without pictures.

If you want me to post a picture of what DID arrive, I can do that. Its pretty crappy. Thanks for your help.

[Gamereviewgod]

Certianly don't do the feedback thing yet....calm down and then fire off an E-mail.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Notify him first. Ask for a half back deal. Say your not happy, and you wont give a negative if he sends 10 dollars back.

[Qixmaster]

A nes consle and 13 games for 23 bucks doesn't sound like too bad of a deal. Even though the guy did lie about the condition, games and controllers i'd say you made out pretty well even if it is dirty and bad shape.

If you need some NES controllers I could hook you up as you sound pretty mad about it.

I feel bad for you, but i guess ya win some you loose some. Definately notify him though and talk to him about the situation. BTW, what games did you get? I would like to see "how bad" this system is, so if you got some pics, lets see em.

-Josh

[nesuser2]

The guy lied, that's all that matters. Email him and ask him what he plans on doing about it, then either take what he offers or demand more. $10 is fair....Considering you now have a system with no controllers and have to waste more time on it. Just depends how you look at it I guess. Don't jump the gun though, work things out with him or whoever...paypal, ebay...who cares, but cover all fronts before you go to feedback.

[kai123]

You have every right to be mad. He described it as barely used and it is in crappy condition. I would be mad too.

[Darth Sensei]

I can't remember, how did you pay? I hope it's paypal.

I feel for you, but never buy anything without a photo. Period.

D

[Doonzmore]

Lets see a picture of this so we know what we are dealing with here.

[Achika]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29079

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=294&item=3077245212&ssPageName=STRK:MEBWA:IT


While it sucks that it didn't arrive as expected, you did take a gamble on it. With a lacking description and a new seller, I'm not so sure they knew exactly what they were doing.

[segagenesis1989]

http://users.igl.net/acc/NES1.jpg

Games: Legend of Zelda, Duck Hunt, Ikari Warriors II, Dr. Mario, Strider, Sesame Street 123, Gremlins 2, Festers Quest, Ghostbusters, Baseball Stars II, Mickey Mousecapade, and two copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.

Are any of these games even good? I don't know much about NES, but are the cartridges supposed to rattle at all? Baseball Stars II and the crappier copy of TMNJ II have a major rattle, while Zelda, Ikari Warriors and Ghostbusters have a slight rattle. The rest of the games don't' have any rattling sounds. Also, the A/C adapter is not original, it says its made by HiTRON electronics corporation, and the prongs to plug in the wall are bent a bit to the left. The NES unit itself has a 1" long crack on the left hand side of the game door and the RF unit plug-in port is bent somewhat to the right, I almost couldn't fit the plug-in in it. I hooked it all up and tried to see if the games would even come on-screen but I couldn't get anything except fuzz, the little red light was blinking and that's it. Do I have to have A/V cables also?

BTW - Yes, I payed with PayPal, and I know that this was a gamble, I just wish it would have been in better shape than this seeing as he claimed it was "barely used". Would have also been nice if it came with everything he said it did. So much for the Honor System, huh?

[Darth Sensei]

I'm going to pretend that I didn't just read your question about whether the games (which includes Zelda) are any good. Rare, no fun absolutely.

If you're not familiar with the NES then you should join the NES club. The next game is going to be a classic. I'll post it tomorrow.

D

[PDorr3]

if you ask me, for $20 and $3 shipping I think you made out well. Some of those games are really worth playing if you are new to NES, and the system seems to be in fair condition from waht I can see. Go out to gamestop, buy a controller for a few bucks and you are set.

[segagenesis1989]

I'm going to pretend that I didn't just read your question about whether the games (which includes Zelda) are any good. Rare, no fun absolutely.

LOL - Yes, I know that some of them are fun, I played Zelda and some of the Mario games back in the day. Don't take that question the wrong way, it was meant more as, are these games good in this condition, not playability. They are pretty dirty and some rattle. Thats how the question was meant to be directed. Sorry for that confusion.

Side note: I sent email to seller around 5pm and as of now, no word back.

[Griking]

Sounds to me like you have more problems than missing games and controllers. If you put a cart in it and all you get is a blinking power light then your NES has a bad 72 pin cart connecter. It's a pretty common problem and isnt that hard to fix but you'll need to get a new connector which costs about $7.50 plus shipping.

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother negotiating about a partial refund, I'd ask for your full payment back since the unit definately wasn't close to being as described. I'd also make him pay for return shipping if he wants it back. If he argues about it then I'd contact Paypal and file for a refund.

[Achika]

Or before you go tearing apart a system and spending $7+ on a new pin connector, you could try cleaning the games and the system.

If you don't have an store bought cleaning kit, q-tips and 2 parts water to 1 part alcohol will make a good cleaning solution for the games. Dip one end of the q-tip in the solution, rub it over the contact, flip it to the dry end, and rub the contact with the dry end.

As for the rattles- without seeing inside of the cart there is no way to know if it's a piece of plastic that's harmlessly floating around or part of the board. Sylentwulf might have some bits that will allow you to open it up and check.

[charitycasegreg]

He didnt even send controllers???? What a jerk. :o

[KirbyStar27]

still...those are some decent games and controllers are really cheap at GS! :D But it does suck that he lied to you!! :angry:

[Qixmaster]

not bad, i wouldn't complain if i were you :hmm: . I would have dropped 23 on that in a heart beat... cleaned it up a little and resold it for $40+ (that is with two controllers). Too bad he lied, but it seems that you made this whole situation a bigger problem then it really was. Get some controllers, clean the system (very easy if you have a small screw driver) and enjoy those games. You got a good deal.

-Josh

[whoisKeel]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=294&item=3077245212&ssPageName=STRK:MEBWA:IT

this was the auction? and you paid $3 shipping?

first off most peeps woulda charged $10 or more for shipping that.
and it says over 10 games not 15...plus it isn't like you got 12 copies of bases loaded 2 or something...you got a few fun games in there.

sure it said 'barely used'....barely used by him lol (sorry) i think you got a decent deal here. i wouldn't send it back at all, try to get some money off of him, but don't send it back. some games rattle, there's these little plastic pieces that hold the boards down that break sometimes, no big deal usually.

you can probably get a used nes controller from a gamestore for $3 pick one that isn't too worn out. you may need a new pin connector(try cleaning first like mentioned earlier) but that's less than $10 after shipping. you didn't get ripped off here. with such a weak description i'd say you got real lucky actually.

if you change your mind you can make $20 selling those games off individually, and i imagine people would pay $5-10 for a 'may or may not work nes'

[sisko]

Yeah, you got a good deal, but it doesn't make up for the fact that he blatantly lied to you THREE TIMES. (Seriously, how hard is it to count to 15?).

Give him the benefit of the doubt, and send him an email. Maybe he just got auctions switched or something. If you end up having to send the unit back, be sure to charge hm $3 + what real shipping is (I know its way more than $3) so you aren't out any money.

[segagenesis1989]

His email reply has arrived and this guy is begging me not to give him a negative. He forgot to pack the rest, he claims. Here's my email and his email back:

Me- "The item's arrived today and I have to say, I'm not too happy. You claimed that this was barely used and comes with 15 games and 2 controllers. Only 13 games arrived and NO controllers. Did you maybe forget to include the controllers and 2 games? Please send me an email back and let
me know what happened here."

Him- "yes i am sorry after i packed and sent the iteam i found the rest if you would like send me your name and address and i will send the rest again sorry and pleas dont leave any bad feedback it was late"

I'm glad I decided to email the guy and find out what happened. I just hope I can get the system working. Maybe someone here can walk me through what is supposed to happen when I hook the system up. I have some experience in video game systems but not much with NES, its been about 15 years. I plug everything in and insert a game and press it down to connect the game then I press the power button. The screen on the TV doesn't change at all, shouldn't it change? Even if it didn't work shouldn't it change to like a black screen or something? Like with my Genesis when I don't have a game loaded or the game is dusty, the screen will be black. Anything like that for the NES to let me know that the system does work? Also, I would like to thank everyone for their help, this is an awesome group of people here.

[Gamereviewgod]

Do you get the power light to come on? Does it blink?

[segagenesis1989]

Do you get the power light to come on? Does it blink?

Yes, the red power light comes on and it blinks, the screen doesn't change at all, it stays snowy, I have it set to channel 3 on the back of the NES and the TV is on 3 but nothing except snow. I tried tooling around with it for about 10 minutes last night but couldn't get it.

[Qixmaster]

Okay, so you got some juice from the AC.... then it sounds like a bad RF Switch or possibly a bad connection where the rf goes. Try using some Audio Video Cables for this bad boy and you will probably get the blinking screen.

-Josh

[segagenesis1989]

I hooked it up using some A/V cables like was mentioned and tooled around with it for about another 10 minutes. This time I got a few games to sorta work. When I put in Strider and turned it on I got the main screen to come up but it was flashing. Not sure what that means. A few of the games I got to do the same thing, some just flashed white or orange and some just stayed a black screen. Found out I had to have my TV on the Video channel, not channel 3.

[segagenesis1989]

I messed around with it for another 15 minutes or so and finally got 1 game's main screen to stay on the screen without flashing. I then turned the power off and tried it again to see if it would still work and it didn't, it went back to the flashing screen. I cleaned some of the games with alcohol and tried em and that didn't help any. I think I have a $23 paperweight. At least was only $23, it could have been a lot more I suppose. The guy is gonna send the other games and the contollers at his expense (of course). So if this still doesn't work after I get some controllers hooked up, what should I do with the system/games and with the seller?

[sisko]

The flashing screen means either your cart is dirty, or the connector is dirty or bad.

Try cleaning it, and if it doesn't work, you need to replace the connector. Its not too hard to do, it only took me 30 minutes on my first one.

If it is the connector, try and get him to refund the cost of a new one.... they run around $10 shipped.