Resealed games? Try Washed Stamps! Scammers galore on ebay

[kevin_psx]

http://media.msnbc.msn.com/j/msnbc/1629000/1629653.standard.jpg

1 - Bought canceled stamp for $25

2 - Washed.

3 - Sold on ebay for $240. "the pair has sold nearly $89,000 worth of altered stamps after spending less than $8000 of that for the originals"

People who are collectors of stamps (or games) want to protect themselves from these scams. That's why they question Sellers whose pictures are questionable/reseals.



Link - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078735/

[Mr.Faxanadu]

I tend to clean my video games before putting them up on ebay. In fact, i recently won a copy of Bubble Bobble part 2 for the NES that had a huge rental sticker across the lable and the rental number in marker along the front plastic. I was able to turn restore it to MINT condition using some cleaning supplies.

I'm sure it will sell for 4X-5X what i payed for it.

errrr...... i'm not sure what's so wrong with cleaning the stamps or video games for that matter.

[Nukie]

Merely cleaning the cart or stamp is perfectly fine, but cleaning the stamp and altering it so it doesn't look used, then claiming it is brand new is wrong. That is what the sellers were doing with the stamps. Buy a stamp for cheap, clean it up and doctor it up a little, then resell it as brand new, never been used.

[kevin_psx]

errrr...... i'm not sure what's so wrong with cleaning the stamps or video games for that matter.


A never-used stamp's akin to a never-opened videogame-- tremendous value

The scammers in post #1 took canceled/used stamps & falsely claimed they were never used.

Like someone re-sealing used games.

[Sailorneorune]

I too am guilty of cleaning my games, but if I bought them used, I say that they have been used. The worst thing I have done is replaced jewel case parts on the PS1 and Dreamcast games because the general consensus is that collectors hate cracked cases. I do this to make the game look better (and thus more appealing) and because no one wants to discover that the partially destroyed case was destroyed the rest of the way in shipment. I hate jewel cases, period... but extra jewel cases and Goo-Gone go a long way in shaping up a used game for sale or trade.

[philosophyst]

While it's an interesting article, it's really old. From 2002. :/

[chaoticjelly]

I tend to clean my video games before putting them up on ebay. In fact, i recently won a copy of Bubble Bobble part 2 for the NES that had a huge rental sticker across the lable and the rental number in marker along the front plastic. I was able to turn restore it to MINT condition using some cleaning supplies.

I'm sure it will sell for 4X-5X what i payed for it.

errrr...... i'm not sure what's so wrong with cleaning the stamps or video games for that matter.

lol

Whilst I did used to collect stamps in my childhood is that a joke..?

If you take a look at the stamp, it looks to be something very old (probably dating from very early American postal history) so of course back then few letters were posted, due to literacy and the cost.

Thus meaning there were few stamps in circulation, even less nowadays of those stamps due to the couple of hundred years since they were sent.. now.. most stamps get USED when they are posted huh?

Who back then would save a MINT, unused stamp.. very few people, hence something like that is very rare and hard to find, and would commend a high price..

So what the seller was doing was purchasing these cheap $25 used stamps, and washing them to remove the cancellation mark, so the stamp looked like it had never been used.. hence getting them a price of $300

Which is of course completely immoral and illegal..

Theres no problem against CLEANING up games LOL I do it all the time.. after all, who wants a dusty cart box, gummy cart label or mucky console? Cleaning games should be encouraged LOL besides it gets a better auction price (in my case at least!)

I think what kevin_psx is basically trying to say is that when people question sealed games, its just like the story in that newsreport - there are crooks out there who WILL take collectors for a ride!

[kevin_psx]

I too am guilty of cleaning my games, but if I bought them used, I say that they have been used..

That's okay.

BUT if you re-sealed them & called them "new"-- you'd be committing a federal crime. Like the stamp people in post #1.

[suckerpunch5]

I know there is also a Federal law in the U.S. called the "hobby protection act" or something like that. It makes it illegal to forge collectibles. I know it applies to coins, keeps people from making new indistinguishable copies of old coins. I think it also applies to stamps. I wonder if it could apply to video games?

/runs of to investigate.

EDIT: nope, seems to only deal with numismatics

But isn't this prosecuteable as some sort of fruad? resealing games, I mean.

[Bronty-2]

technically, yeah, but collectibles cases are tough to prove if the scammer is smart. There's a guy called Danny Dupcak who used to own a sports collectibles and comic book store in new york who ran all kinds of scams and it's pretty much accepted in the hobby that he still does under the handle comic-keys on ebay (restored books claimed to be unrestored). He's been getting away with it for 25 years apart from a 90 day stint in jail in the 1990s. He's probably ripped off more people than you or I can imagine and yet all he's gotten out of it is 90 days? wow.