Resurface discs good, bad, or just ugly, Do you think they bring down the value?

[Sunnyvale]

In my experience, resurfacing doesn't hurt the value, it helps it. You take a $20 game with some light scratches, now it's $17 or so. Resurface, back up to $20.
As for the ultra-rare games, there it becomes a matter of taste. But if I was planning on selling Popful Mail complete, with a working but hammered disc, I'd get it resurfaced. And get more money for it.
So, if you wanna keep it, ask yourself if you care or not. If you intend to resell, nothing looks better on a disc game than 'No scratches'.

[PROTOTYPE]

To me, the people who "can tell" that a disc has been resurfaced (professionally that is) are lying. OK, Ahhhh wrong. I been collecting ps1 games for years and when I look at the bottom of the disc I can tell the difference right away.Either that I'm getting a lot of the crappier ones sent to me.No kidding, got one today as I been buying a lot lately it was buff so you can see from the inter ring to outer smooth swirls. Yes, the game plays fine... but it still looks like crap,I'm glad didn't pay that much but...

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Lets face the facts here, when you get a game that's in mint condition and open the case and everything is what you expected it to look like is a great feeling..but if you notice that its been resurface? your telling me that's OK and you paid big time money for it too. Get real, there is a difference and should be with the price as well.As one person already admitted if he sold them he wouldn't tell anyone WHY? because he knows that it would affect the price.

I have ordered a lot of high value PS1 games, and I have never checked the bottom for resurfacing. In fact, I never even thought about it until this thread came up. It just doesn't matter to me; it's at the bottom of the disc, the part that's furthest from view. In fact, I would rather have it resurfaced now that I think about it.

[kedawa]

To me, the people who "can tell" that a disc has been resurfaced (professionally that is) are lying. OK, Ahhhh wrong. I been collecting ps1 games for years and when I look at the bottom of the disc I can tell the difference right away.Either that I'm getting a lot of the crappier ones sent to me.No kidding, got one today as I been buying a lot lately it was buff so you can see from the inter ring to outer smooth swirls. Yes, the game plays fine... but it still looks like crap,I'm glad didn't pay that much but...

You can tell because they were resurfaced poorly.
How many times does this need to be repeated?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

To me, the people who "can tell" that a disc has been resurfaced (professionally that is) are lying. OK, Ahhhh wrong. I been collecting ps1 games for years and when I look at the bottom of the disc I can tell the difference right away.Either that I'm getting a lot of the crappier ones sent to me.No kidding, got one today as I been buying a lot lately it was buff so you can see from the inter ring to outer smooth swirls. Yes, the game plays fine... but it still looks like crap,I'm glad didn't pay that much but...

A game that has been professionally resurfaced, with a professional grade machine like the ones featured in this thread and done correctly will have NO SWIRLS WHATSOEVER.

There may be some other trace indicators like small remnants of particle matter from the microscopic layer of plastic removed or dried chemical solution, but you will not see any circular buffing swirls at all.

I've seen hundreds of resurface jobs at the Digital Press store over the past 5 years and when the machine is operated correctly there's no swirls.

At all.

The home-use hand crank/electric "Disc Doctor" devices, yes, those leave patterns, as will the pro-grade machines if not operated correctly.

[jb143]

How many times does this need to be repeated?

No kidding, I just read the last several posts and spent the last minute thinking I was on page 1 and wondering why clicking the "2" wasn't taking me to page 2.

[camarotuner]

I've had a bunch of music cd's resurfaced by the local gaming store (what can I say I held out on buying an ipod for a long time lol) and I can not really tell the difference between the discs now vs new but honestly I wouldn't care either way.

Here's food for thought. Take a 69 Camaro RS/SS with terrible original paint and mint everything else. Have it stripped down and refinished at a high end shop back to factory original paint and you increase the value of the car. Take a valuable cd based game (call it game X). It's all scratched up and looks like crap but WORKS miraculously. Would it increase the value of the disc to have it looking good again (like the camaro) or would it be like refinishing an antique gun which destroys the value? What parallel (if any) should this hobby draw from other hobbies?

[Rickstilwell1]

I find that most buyers don't tend to care as long as the game works. There's only a few people out there who care.

[Gameguy]

I would consider a resurfaced disc the same as a disc that has light scratches but still works, it's something to keep until you find a copy in better condition.

[Kemoteo]

I love this topic. Here's my 2 cents (If anyone cares), Buying a resurfaced disc is like buying a used car. But not just any used car, a used car that was in an accident. Disc are resurfaced because most likely, it had deep scratches and therefore, did not work. Now, if a game is brought from the grave, is it fair to charge the same as if it were never resurfaced?

I can't see myself walking into a store and say, looking at Klonoa for the ps1, and seeing it scratched up. Guy says he will sell it for $50. Because, of course to him it's a rare game. But should he still charge me $50? Sure, he'll buff it. But it was damaged. Should he have the right to charge me premium price?

Same goes for a car. Will you pay Premium price for a wrecked car?

And there are many ways to tell when a disc was buffed.

1.) As stated before, marking are left behind.
2.) Polish, wax, etc are left on the ridges in the middle of the disc. Right on the grooves beside the hole.
3.) Scratches are still left in the middle. Sometimes the brushes don't get to the center where the disc is intact with the machine.
4.) Disc will look cloudy.
5.) My favorite, the edges of the disc are starting to show signs of it being melted down. As if the disc was passed through a machine a couple of times.

I personally am against this. Just for the purpose of people charging people premium prices for resurfaced games. And for misleading people with claims that disc looks like new and/or that disc was professionally cleaned. What is that? To me, that would say an Actual Person buffed them themselves. (Which I've seen, and they look way better than a machine will ever do.)

So yeah, great topic. I'm against it. Maybe because this, in the future, disc games will be considered more rare than cart based games. You never know.

[bend]

I love this topic. Here's my 2 cents (If anyone cares), Buying a resurfaced disc is like buying a used car. But not just any used car, a used car that was in an accident. Disc are resurfaced because most likely, it had deep scratches and therefore, did not work. Now, if a game is brought from the grave, is it fair to charge the same as if it were never resurfaced?

This analogy is way off. First of all, you can't remove deep scratches with resurfacing. It's like saying I can erase a hole in a sheet of paper. Resurfacing can only eliminate surface scratches. Second, it's like half of you have never seen paint on a car before. It gets scratched, it gets swirls, and it gets flat. It's completely normal. A good detailer can make your paint brand new again using the same exact process they use on cd's. This is a way better analogy than a car that's been in an accident.

And there are many ways to tell when a disc was buffed.

1.) As stated before, marking are left behind.
2.) Polish, wax, etc are left on the ridges in the middle of the disc. Right on the grooves beside the hole.
3.) Scratches are still left in the middle. Sometimes the brushes don't get to the center where the disc is intact with the machine.
4.) Disc will look cloudy.
5.) My favorite, the edges of the disc are starting to show signs of it being melted down. As if the disc was passed through a machine a couple of times.

No, no, no, no, NO!!!! Claiming you can tell when a disc has been resurfaced is like patting yourself on the back from noticing a shit paint job.

1.) There are markings left behind because either (a) The scratches were too deep. Either the scratches were already there and are too deep for removal or the abrasive step wasn't completed properly and the surface isn't smooth enough for buffing. (b) the disc wasn't buffed properly. It's all based on user error or the condition of the disc beforehand.

2.) Saying there's leftover polish in the middle of the disc is like saying there's overspray on a paint job. Do you get overspray on all paint jobs? No, just the shit ones. It's user error for not prepping properly.

3.) See number 1

4.) Your disc is cloudy because the abrasive procedure removes all the shine from the plastic because it is literally sanding the top layer of the disc. If it's still cloudy, it's because it hasn't been buffed properly. Again, user error.

5.) If your disc is melting it's because the pad has remained in the same spot for too long and has caused the surface to overheat. Why do you think a person using a buffer on a car keeps the buffer moving and not in the same spot? It's to keep the surface from overheating. Good disc machines are on a timer anyways. If they are melting, it's because the user is repeating the process without letting the disc cool. again, user error.

There's too many people here confused and are comparing a $7 car wash to a professional detailer. A car wash is not going to remove your swirls, and neither is a shitty resurfacing machine.

[sloan]

This topic is obviously going nowhere. There seem to be a few posters who have seen nothing but poorly done resurfacing jobs and are therefore erroneously biased against the process. Nothing we can say will change that, so, oh well.

One thing to add to a previous post: If there is buffing compound left in the center of the disc after resurfacing, how difficult is it to take a jeweler's screwdriver and carefully remove it? Just saying.

[Zing]

I have seen poor resurfacing, and perfect resurfacing. What I hate is when resellers feel the urge to resurface every game they sell. I hate even faint swirl marks and it does indeed lower the value of the game for me.

[wiggyx]

This topic is obviously going nowhere. There seem to be a few posters who have seen nothing but poorly done resurfacing jobs and are therefore erroneously biased against the process. Nothing we can say will change that, so, oh well.

One thing to add to a previous post: If there is buffing compound left in the center of the disc after resurfacing, how difficult is it to take a jeweler's screwdriver and carefully remove it? Just saying.

Well, if someone would post pics of a good example of a resurfaced disc, then maybe we'd be more likely to believe.

Prove that I'm "erroniously" biased. Like I said, it's not that I don't believe it can be done in such a way that it's undetectable, but rather that I have never seen an example as pristine as many of you claim.

[PROTOTYPE]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Road-Track-P...item5d3396deba yea, if it turns out like this no problem and look how he sells this? When sellers that don't tell you is the real problem and the disc looks like crap.If all sellers put pictures of their discs like this, there would be no problem at all.. That's all I'm trying to say and as value? That's really a personnel choice and mine is it does.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Well, if someone would post pics of a good example of a resurfaced disc, then maybe we'd be more likely to believe.

Prove that I'm "erroniously" biased. Like I said, it's not that I don't believe it can be done in such a way that it's undetectable, but rather that I have never seen an example as pristine as many of you claim.

I doubt that will be possible with photography. You're going to have to encounter a disc that has been optimally resurfaced in person.

I wasn't a believer until I saw a properly resurfaced game come right out of the machine and held it in my hands.

[Sunnyvale]

I doubt that will be possible with photography. You're going to have to encounter a disc that has been optimally resurfaced in person.

I wasn't a believer until I saw a properly resurfaced game come right out of the machine and held it in my hands.

This. My local Hasting's is the only place in town that makes them perfect, and I always look for the same girl to do it. After she cleaned a few for me, and I compared with other places, even other Hastings using the same gear, I was sold. I tell her all the time, to keep her proud of it, cause it does have tons to do with the operator.
I just wish they'd get a minidisc collar in, cause I got a pile of Cube games I need fixed. I won't take them anywhere else.

[xelement5x]

I think that the people complaining about resurfacing on discs already have plenty of games in their collection that have been resurfaced that they don't even know about. Like other people have mentioned, a disc that has been resurfaced properly is indistinguishable from a regular disc.

Now, when I receive games from eBay they go through a checklist with me. I won't go through all of it but the first thing to check is the case or box, the second is the disc.

I check for CD rot or scratches on the label, and next for signs of scratches or poor resurfacing that weren't mentioned to me. If it was sold to me without disclosing these and I notice them, I note it while I go through the rest of the checklist. If the game doesn't play well or seems to stutter the seller gets an email right away with my issues. A lot of people admit to resurfacing and let me return the game, or I'll take partial credit and have it resurfaced locally by someone I trust.

I don't mind if it's done properly, but a crappy job just makes me more upset. Even worse when they do it before shipping the game as a "bonus".

[sloan]

I had some PS2 discs resurfaced yesterday at a video rental shop. Mirror finish, as seen here:

[Gameguy]

Without seeing a picture I wouldn't have believed resurfaced discs could look that good.