Need advice on a copy of Snatcher not as nice as advertised

[jerkov]

Long story short: I won a copy of Snatcher off of eBay for a pretty decent price, complete. Case, manual and back insert are in very good shape; front of the disc looks great; however the item description said "a few very light scratches that do not effect play". I can live with that, since I don't know if I even own a CD, DVD, or game without one or two very faint scratches. However, I'd say that this Snatcher has several deep scratches, along with a couple of these weird plastic "bumps" that I have no idea what the hell they are or how they got there. I'm very disappointed to say the least. I popped the game in, and it works fine so far, but how do I know if it works the entire way through? I'd consider having it resurfaced, but would that decrease the value of the game? I know of a place that has a professional machine, not some cheap Game Doctor, but will the value still be hurt? And what about those "bumps"? Here's an email I got from the seller before I received the game:

"Just want to let you know that I've received your payment, and will mail out Snatcher ASAP (probably Monday). Please leave positive feedback once it arrives as described."

I'd love to give this guy a piece of my mind......but I don't want to make any rash moves here. Let it be clear that I really, really want this game, but I don't want to be stuck with a copy that may not work the whole way through; in fact, for the money, I want one that's damn near perfect. Do I take a chance and resurface it? Try to get some money back because of the condition? Or do I just demand a full refund and send the whole thing back? I really need some good advice on this, thanks.

[VACRMH]

Same thing just happened to a friend of mine, it's annoying as hell isn't it?

First thing, to test if the whole game works, I believe you can try ripping the image of the disc at 1x using a program such as ISObuster

Also, contact him and tell him that it's not like he said. Maybe he'll be nice enough and suggest something you both can agree with.

And if he refuses, you can always contact ebay and paypal (if you paid with paypal)

[Nez]

A profesional cd reserfacer leaves almost no visible marks. So unless you tell some one they will probably not know. Plus it only costs a dollars or 2. I have many reserfaced cd dvds that I bought used and i havent had one skip a beat. So just do it and get on with your life. I dont really see a need to leave feedback.

[VACRMH]

A profesional cd reserfacer leaves almost no visible marks. So unless you tell some one they will probably not know. Plus it only costs a dollars or 2. I have many reserfaced cd dvds that I bought used and i havent had one skip a beat. So just do it and get on with your life. I dont really see a need to leave feedback.

Yet he paid for "A few light scratches". True that may fix any problems, but why should he get a crappy condition disc when he paid for a decent one?

[Nez]

I meant there was no need to leave positive and not enough of a reason to leave a negative. But if he feels so inclined go ahead.

[jerkov]

I think both of you have valid points......I'm not one to throw a fit over tiny things, but I've been searching for this game for so long, and I know it's valuable, so I want one in awesome shape. The big fear I have about resurfacing (besides being able to tell it happened and losing value) is having the people there lose the game, misplace it, have it stolen, etc. The only reason that I know about them is because they have a stand at a somewhat local farmer's market - which means I would have to drop off and pick up the game from there. I'd hate to see them just leave the game laying around their stand and have someone swipe it. Their actual shop with the resurfacing machine is an hour/hour and a half away from me, which I don't feel is worth the trip. Maybe I can find a local place with one.

I'll try this ISObuster thing....I found the website, but don't feel like reading through everything. Once I download it, what's the best way to use it and figure out if my game is OK?

I'm also going to email the seller and tell him the situation.

[jerkov]

I'm not even concerned about leaving feedback right now, since leaving negative feedback for the guy isn't going to really affect anything. Right now, I'm just worried about the game itself and what I can do to either get some kind of refund or possibly getting it resurfaced.

Maybe I'm destined to never own this game.....the first time I almost owned it is when I won a disc-only copy a while ago for $15. It never came. The guy did give me a full refund though and claimed that he sent it. I don't know what actually happened, but at least I got my money back. Now I go for a second chance, and this happens. I think I have some kind of curse on me.

[roxybaby]

What a bummer. I'd probably cut my losses and ask for a refund. I wouldn't want to take the responsibility of resurfacing the disk because if that didn't work the seller might not take the disk back. Of course you stoop to his level and if the resurfacing doesn't work return it anyway. :evil: The good news is Snatcher is going for what I would consider a decent price on ebay now compared to a few months ago. Take the plunge again with a different copy my friend.

[sisko]

The big fear I have about resurfacing (besides being able to tell it happened and losing value) is having the people there lose the game, misplace it, have it stolen, etc.

Professionally resurfacing a disc takes about 2 minutes MAX, and they can do it right then and there in front of you. If they tell you to leave the disc and come back tomorrow, tell them to go to hell.

[Daria]

The big fear I have about resurfacing (besides being able to tell it happened and losing value) is having the people there lose the game, misplace it, have it stolen, etc.

Professionally resurfacing a disc takes about 2 minutes MAX, and they can do it right then and there in front of you. If they tell you to leave the disc and come back tomorrow, tell them to go to hell.


Actually it sounded like they have a shop an hour and a half drive from where he is, but a stand locally where they take orders. So the resurfacing machine's probably not at the fleamarket stand.

[jerkov]

Actually it sounded like they have a shop an hour and a half drive from where he is, but a stand locally where they take orders. So the resurfacing machine's probably not at the fleamarket stand.

This is correct. I could drive an hour and a half to have them do it right in front of me, but I don't think it's worth the effort. There has got to be a place closer to me that has one....what kind of places usually have them? I also have a DVD or two that desperately need a resurfacing, as well as a copy of Tactics Ogre for PSX.

I got a reply from the seller, turns out I may have misquoted him, he said "minor" scratches, not "light" scratches, not that I would know the difference, but here's what he said:

"I understand your concerns. I'm picky about the condition of my games as
well, and have been in your position before. I always try to be as honest
as possible in my auction listings, which you can see by looking at my
feedback history (a score of 506 with 100% positive). I can tell you that I
played it from beginning to end, and it worked perfectly the entire time.
I've seen disks with much deeper scratches than that play perfectly as well,
especially since the Sega CD isn't nearly as picky as later CD-based
systems. Since the game played perfectly for me I listed it as having a few
"minor" (there's a big difference between that and "light", which I didn't
say) scratches.

To be honest, the way I see it your description of the game matches exactly
how I described it in the auction listing. The case and the instruction
manual arrived as you expected them to, and the game disk works perfectly
with a few minor scratches just as I described it. Short of measuring the
length/width/depth of every scratch in the game disk, I don't see how I
could've been any more detailed than that (taking pictures of the data side
has never worked well)."

So I don't know if he'd even be willing to do a return/refund, but honestly, would I be that worse off if I had it resurfaced just in case. Not that I'm completely trusting this guy's word for it (that he played it start to finish with no problems), but one other worse scratched Sega CD game that I have (Ecco the Dolphin) refuses to even boot at all. The scratches on Snatcher are also closer to the outer edge than they are to the center. Does this mean data in the later part of the game is more likely to be effected or is data read differently than that?

I would post a picture of the CD, but I already know that it will turn out like shit.

[Daria]

Minor (light... like there's a difference) scratches are that scratches. What you described sounded like a gouge.

How long is snatcher anyway? I know it's a cyber punk game but, that's all I know. Could you try a gaming binge to beat and get back to him?

Also from things I've burned, data burns from the center outwards. I have no clue if comercial games are burned differently, but it is possible that the sratches affect later parts of the game.

[Ed Oscuro]

This seller sounds fine to me. If it works, it works! I'd leave this issue be.

[dojosky]

from what I have heard is that snatcher is kinda of a short game and can be beated in few hours thats what a friend of mine told me myself I have 2 snatcher both complete and havent played the whole thing myself yet so i cant confirm if my friend is correct or not thanks :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Huh?

[jerkov]

Yeah, I kinda agree with you Ed. Everyone has a different opinion over what "minor" scratches are I guess. It's just that this is Snatcher, not some cheap common Sega CD game. I want a nice copy that's going to be desirable and worth something. Not that I'm planning to get rid of it, but you never know. The guy seems pretty reasonable, and a look at his feedback shows you that he's not out to screw people. I guess I'm not really objecting to his description anymore, I just want my disc to have less scratches.

Daria, I think I've read that it's about 10-15 hours long. I just started a new job this week and I've had just about no time to play games, but I do have Memorial Day weekend to mess around with it. I'll see what I can do. However, if it does work start to finish, then I'll be much more tempted to keep it. I'm still heavily considering getting it resurfaced just so it looks nicer.

BTW, it doesn't have gouges, just some scratches and the weird "bumps" I was talking about. I don't know how else to describe them. I've seen them on other CDs before though.

[esquire]

I also have a DVD or two that desperately need a resurfacing, as well as a copy of Tactics Ogre for PSX.

FYI, Sony Playstation games cannot be resurfaced as easily as normal CDs or DVDs as the surface is actually thinner. Most of the time they cannot be resurfaced at all, at least not to condition that you would like them to be, e.g. like new.

As for your Snatcher CD, I wouldn't be too worried about it, unless the scratch goes all the way through. Hold the CD up to a light and see if any of the minor scratches go through. Also, check the top of the CD for scratches. That is more important than the bottom If there is a scratch on top, or all the way through from the bottom, you are screwed. Most people don't realize that the majority of scratches do not affect the media, which is located on the top layer of the CD, rather than the bottom.

I have taken many CDs, DVDs, GDRs, PS1 and PS2 CDs to be resurfaced, and I know the owner of the store who resurfaces them for me. He tells me the PS1 CDs are the hardest to restore. Everything else is pretty easy, unless of course the top is scratched.

[Ed Oscuro]

Awesome info, Jerkov, thanks! :D

[jerkov]

Hmmm, the guy I know has showed me PS1 games that he's resurfaced and they look pretty good.....very strange. Maybe there are different types of machines out there?

[SoulBlazer]

I can confirm that when I played Snatcher for the first time last year it took me about 12 hours of gaming time to beat it.

[esquire]

Hmmm, the guy I know has showed me PS1 games that he's resurfaced and they look pretty good.....very strange. Maybe there are different types of machines out there?

It depends on the depth of the scratches and how far you'll have to go. Like I said, PS1 CDs are not as thick as a normal CD, so you can't resurface it down far. Maybe the CDs he had done only had light scratches. If you go too far, you'll damage the media. Make sure you test them out after he's done. They may look pretty good, but they may not play good. I once had a Final Fantasy Chronicles - Chrono Trigger Disk resurfaced to a bright shine, but the intro skipped and then locked. Apparently the resurfacing went too far.

[Jive3D]

This same thing happened to me when I bought a copy of Night Trap from an eBay seller. Except with me, the game didnt work at all. I simply burned it and the copy works great, and I have the original for shelf decor. It sucks and I understand your plight, bur printing out a complete box for the copied one helps the situation a lot.

And if you have not played Snatcher all the way through, I HIGHLY recomend it.

[opcode]

That's funny.. the picture above is from SD Snatcher, not the original Snatcher.... :hmm:

[Ed Oscuro]

That's funny.. the picture above is from SD Snatcher, not the original Snatcher.... :hmm:
Yeah, he'd know - it's his signature. It's one of the coolest pieces of Snatcher style artwork around. You and me, always pullin' an Ed LOL

[Jive3D]

yeah I'm actually trying to file all the files necessary to play the partially english translated version of SD Snatcher with an MSX emulator... but I dont know the first thing about MSX emulation. I know there were 3 disks and a sound cartridge... anyone know about it?

And I guess from the above, you dig my sig. (thanks)

[Daria]

I can confirm that when I played Snatcher for the first time last year it took me about 12 hours of gaming time to beat it.

That's not too bad, just an all nighter. And if snatcher's as good as everyone says you won't even notice the hours flying by. (:

[SoulBlazer]

Indeed, although it was'nt a all nighter. :D

My roomie, however, played the game in a single day -- it took him a little less time then me to beat it, so that's where I'm taking my 12 hours from.

I wanted the game REALLY badly for my Sega CD but kept getting outbid on it. Finally, when I complained to a friend, he burned me a copy of his so I could play it. And that's all I did. Soon aftward the Sega CD and original games were sold and the copy of Snatcher went into the garbage.

BTW, Daria, nice new avatar. :D

[jerkov]

Don't get me wrong, I can't WAIT to play through this game. I got a long weekend ahead of me, so I hope I can put some serious playtime on it.

However, I'm having second thoughts on resurfacing that Tactics Ogre game.....it has a lot of scratches, but it works. I didn't play it for more than an hour or two, but it works so far. I know I'll never play it through, so I really don't know what to do about it actually. Maybe I'll put it on eBay and say it has some "minor" scratches.

[Azazel]

The title is only about 3 hours long or so from what I remember.

[Ed Oscuro]

However, I'm having second thoughts on resurfacing that Tactics Ogre game.....it has a lot of scratches, but it works.
I'd rather have a slightly scratched (on the mirror surface) but perfectly working disc than a resurfaced one...and I think that most collectors are with me on this one. Resurfacing hurts the value, probably akin to "dipping" a coin does its value in the numismatic market.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :P