Board 8 > Looking for eBay advice.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Alright, so I've been selling on eBay for years now. It's been really helpful for downsizing my physical media collections and most customers are great. Sometimes, I'll have a game where the box/manual/inserts are in great condition but the game is either gone or not in working order. So I'll sell those items together in a listing specifically marked as not having the game. This is a common practice aimed at collectors who are trying to complete their copies. Sounds good, right?

Well, a disproportionate number of my listings like this have ended with an upset buyer who just can't believe the game isn't included. This is despite:

-The listing title starting with **CASE AND MANUAL ONLY, NO GAME** in all caps.

-The photos clearly not including the game.

-The listing description reaffirming that, no, the game is not included and this listing is for the case, inserts, etc. only.

Have I just been unlucky or am I genuinely doing something wrong here? I'd hate to chuck these cases and such, because I really hated when GameStop did that to their DS inventory. But man, these customers are bringing out my inner Frank Murphy.



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Sounds like customers just not reading properly. Assuming you put the listings in 'Video Game Accessories' category and not straight 'Video Games', otherwise I could see some initial confusion. There's no subheading for boxes unfortunately. But yeah people just don't read properly, especially this time of year with a bunch of people buying who don't usually use the site.

You're just gonna have to decide if it's worth the risk of bad rep I guess, sorry :/

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I think you're probably a bit unlucky.

I sell open box shoes as 'New without box' on eBay which are listed as no box as none of them have the lids but I typically send the box anyway if it fits in the package. Only like twice out of 300+ sales have I had someone complain and neither responded to my reply.

Add text to the photos. Chances are you're getting customers who just see a picture of a game and a price and start bidding/buying, without reading anything. If you have the words "Empty box" clearly overlaid on the photo... most of them probably still won't read it, but you might cut down on the problem a bit.
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People just don't read and don't understand why someone would sell a box with no game, so they don't even consider it a possibility as somethign they should even know to look for. Nothing you're doing wrong. People are just idiots.
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Thanks guys. I'll definitely start putting text on the photos and making sure they're in the "Video Game Accessories" category. If those methods don't help, I'll probably stop selling them with the exception of particularly valuable ones (like the Pokemon SoulSilver big box). I just can't keep risking negative feedback and such for an item that's $9.99 shipped.

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What condition do you choose? Like from ebay's drop down? I would use the for parts / worst one available.

When I sold game boy cases without that game I would message them after they won to confirm too.

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You won't get negative feedback for it. If they leave negative feedback then just contest it, you'll definitely win if you clearly outline the game wasn't included

When I was looking for Metroid Prime Hunters (before being advised against it by this board!) there were so many people selling the demo cart while having absolutely no mention of it being just the demo or the words 'First Hunt' anywhere in the listing. And there's a ton of people selling bootleg GBA carts without naming them as such too.

It just seems a bit of a ****shoot, there's bad sellers who get away with anything then good ones who get contested for nonsense reasons. Luck of the draw.

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Yeah, if you're clearly noting what is and isn't included it's on them. I said this all the time with games, figures, what have you--some people try to do this deceptively to trick people into buying empty boxes and the like by not reading closely, but it should be pretty obvious if you're doing this or not. From your description you're more than fine in that regard.
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andylt posted...

And there's a ton of people selling bootleg GBA carts without naming them as such too.

As someone who just bought a bunch of different GBA games on ebay, can confirm. You have to really know what you're looking at exactly to avoid that shit. Best is when the seller actually shows the insides of the cartridge.

Didn't Judge Judy rule this as being scummy?

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Just sounds like you're unlucky

But you're in the right

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TomNook posted...

Didn't Judge Judy rule this as being scummy?

I think you're thinking of people selling a "picture of a PS5" and being mad they got a piece of paper.

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