Bootleg Kevtris for ColecoVision on eBay going for real $

[wberdan]

Hi all-
If any of you are watching or interested in the following item:

http://cgi.ebay.com/COLECOVISION-KEV...QQcmdZViewItem

please be aware that this is a reproduction of Kevtris, and not an original made by Kevin Horton.
The original came with a typed piece of paper (i can't recall if this was an instruction sheet or not) and had a white generic label that was numbered " xxx/100 ".


willie

[Kitsune Sniper]

The first thing I thought of was "Someone made a bootleg copy of Kevin Horton and he runs on a Coleco?!"

Heh, sorry.

[d4s]

The first thing I thought of was "Someone made a bootleg copy of Kevin Horton and he runs on a Coleco?!"

Heh, sorry.

same here.
never heard of that game.

[mumbai]

If any of you are watching or interested in the following item, please be aware that this is a reproduction of Kevtris, and not an original made by Kevin Horton.

The original came with a typed piece of paper (i can't recall if this was an instruction sheet or not) and had a white generic label that was numbered " xxx/100 ".

For those lacking imagination, there's a picture of the legit Kevtris on this page:

http://www.tripoint.org/kevtris/Projects/kevtris/

Kevtris did come with an instruction sheet, though of the few copies of Kevtris I've seen for sale or auction, few still are accompanied by it.

The one on eBay is indeed a bootleg. If you ask the seller, he will tell you he made the cartridge himself ... too bad he doesn't mention that in the listing itself.

[mcgrail0007@netzero.net]

When I saw the auction I thought it was a bootleg but I wasn't sure as I don't own the game. I am sure that the buyer didn't realize this when he paid that much for it.

[XianXi]

wow

[wberdan]

well...someone got screwed, and it was not their fault.
i hate seeing people selling items like this and not specifically stating that they are reproductions.
ill keep my eyes peeled for these kinds of auctions to help DP members, but I don't know how to get the information out to other people.
please- get yourselves informed before dropping big money on certain colecovision things like this- reproductions that look legit show up fairly often on ebay.

willie

[Jumpman Jr.]

Wouldn't anybody who really wanted that game (enough to spend $250 on it) know what the label actually looks like? If people don't do their homework, they're bound to get screwed.
That doesn't make up for the seller not mentioning it in the auction though

[Griking]

Wouldn't anybody who really wanted that game (enough to spend $250 on it) know what the label actually looks like? If people don't do their homework, they're bound to get screwed.
That doesn't make up for the seller not mentioning it in the auction though

Bingo.

I'm not defending the seller but buyers need to do their own research before buying things online.

[mumbai]

Wouldn't anybody who really wanted that game (enough to spend $250 on it) know what the label actually looks like? If people don't do their homework, they're bound to get screwed.

While this bit about doing one's homework is certainly true, I've found that there's a rather thick haze that settles over the minds of many ColecoVision collectors when it comes to details. Or, at least, looking things up when in doubt.

In this case, the seller has reeled off copies of Lord of the Dungeon and Power Lords in the recent past, and some may have just gone ahead and assumed this copy of Kevtris was also legit. Thing is, unless one knows more than that Kevtris exists, it might be reasonable to assume that the label looks like most other late(r) release homebrews. After all, I don't believe there's been a legit copy of Kevtris on eBay since early- to mid-2004.

For those who don't know any better and don't know where to look (or can't be bothered to look at all), the "trust level" with this seller was probably stretched a little further to cover this particular listing.

Thing is, the seller knew better and made the decision not to be forthright unless emailed. By listing it as "circa 1996, from private collection" instead of "Kevtris originally came out in 1996, and some time later I made myself this here copy from the available ROM image" I think a line was crossed.

At least one of the bidders involved should have known better, and I'm still a bit puzzled at the amount he bid on it - not the winning bid, but far in excess of what this cart is conceivably "worth".

As for other repros/bootlegs in the CV market on eBay, I haven't really seen all that many that aren't recognizable as such apart from a couple titles that are chronically misrepresented as authentic. Now, overstatements of rarity or what constitutes a "complete" item are entirely different matters. :)

[mumbai]

In case anyone cares (too bad this thread doesn't have a more general topic), here are another couple "bootlegs":

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=8267452113

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=8267474156

Don't be fooled ... the Power Lords isn't the CGE release (I guess the closest thing to an "official" release). And yet again, the seller doesn't specify in either listing that these are homemade copies ... but will if asked directly.

More shameless profiteering at the cost of people's (potential) ignorance. I wonder if anyone's going to flip out and go crazy with the bids on these.