Not sure if this is the best subforum for this or not, but I am hoping you guys can help me out. A couple weeks ago, I came across a huge buy-it-now on eBay for 5 Pokémon distribution cartridges... but the interesting thing is that they came with boxes. The guy actually had 6 boxes total, but only 5 carts. I offered to buy just the boxes, as I already have the distribution carts which I had bought from previous auctions. He said someone had already offered $250 for just the boxes so I offered $275, which he took. Well upon closer look, I'm pretty convinced that they're fake. For one thing, the cartridge ID on the bottom right of the box is for Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, not any of the NFR carts. Despite the barcode area having "NOT FOR RESALE", it also says "for sale, rental, and use only in USA [...]", which also makes no sense. Same with having the customer support number on there... I highly doubt you can just call that number and get help with distribution carts! I've uploaded the 8 photos that were on eBay here: http://imgur.com/1vX1LGG,rmwklJF,2nSP7RY,og185m1,FE4WZLy,FG1eveu,LGgF9oY,bcXigSw Specifically, you can see what I'm referring to in picture 5: At the very bottom left and right you can see what looks like NTR P BKIE USA... NTR-BKIE-USA is Spirit Tracks. I didn't think anything of it when making the offer as his photos make them look like real DS boxes, but upon actually having them in my hand, they feel like someone just printed them on laminated card-stock and stuck them in a DS case (which can be obtained anywhere...) I am curious what people think of this. I don't want to call them fakes right away on the off chance it was just stupidity on Nintendo's part (since after all, the public wasn't even supposed to know about these distribution carts) I'm sure there are people here who work(ed) at GameStop. Does anyone happen to remember their store receiving the distro carts in the mail? I'd love to know if they had cases or were just the cart.
I find it really weird that Nintendo would bother printing up an insert, I figure they'd just ship them in a plain DS case, or maybe not even that.
First time I see them. Those look custom made boxes to me... I guess the guy who sold them wanted to make some extra $... Did you even ask him about the boxes?
Yeah, I did. He told me he bought them from someone else who sold him the complete set. However the same seller is listing more distribution carts with boxes, so I'm starting to think he's just printing these up on the fly...
Getting an ESRB rating for an exclusively not-for-sale title? "For sale, rental and use in USA, ..."? Suuure...
Quality doesn't seem right on them either, plus the whole seeing white edge so it looks like it was printed on cheap paper. Not looking good.
The carts themselves actually do have an E rating. Not sure why, probably because the games themselves are rated that. And yeah, I already mentioned the Spirit Tracks thing in my first post. Does anyone here work at GameStop who would know for sure how Nintendo sent these out?
The original listing was here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181207410162 If you click where it says it was re-listed, it doesn't work. Either Nintendo pulled it or he did. But yeah, I offered the guy $275 for all 6 boxes, and he sent them to me. Now if I check his "currently selling", I see more of them: http://www.ebay.com/sch/mrjohnacc/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= http://www.ebay.com/itm/181219324103 http://www.ebay.com/itm/181219328296 http://www.ebay.com/itm/181219321155 http://www.ebay.com/itm/181219325386 http://www.ebay.com/itm/181219326919 Fishy? You bet.
Super fake. If these were sold as legit, you got scammed HARD. Nintendo sent these out bare. No box. The insert is a custom template that was created by BenTO at Nintendo Age last year. He was giving away the PSD file to anyone who asked. Whoever sold these just whipped up the inserts on an inkjet printer.
Good lord. Time to file a PayPal claim I suppose. I already sent him an eBay message saying I suspect they're fake and want my money back, no reply, not surprised. That's nice to know they were sent out bare then. How were the stores instructed to use them? I know some of the distribution carts had a little sheet of paper that gave them instructions, has anyone seen one of those? My friend in the UK actually managed to get one from a store who just handed it to him, LOL. That is REALLY useful info about the template. I wish I had known that sooner. Does anyone actually have a copy of that template (or should I ask him?) I was going to scan these just in case anyone wanted fake inserts, but that would be a MUCH better option. I wanted to have scans of them on my computer just for kicks anyway.
If it's this seller: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Pokemon-Dist...1155?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item2a31836543 he doesn't actually state the boxes are original or genuine in the listing - he's probably worded it carefully to avoid PayPal claims. You did complete the transaction through eBay/PayPal right?
Yeah that's him. I tried to reply earlier but the posts have to be approved by a mod, I already provided links and all that. I filed a PayPal claim and he said he'll refund me.
