JEFF31 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Like everyone else, I've got a ton of eBay horror stories as well. Wow! Maybe I haven't done a lot of EBAY deals (hears thunder in the distance... dodges some lightning...) but I've been fairly lucky(?) with ebay since 1998. The only deal I had go south was reported to EBAY with documentation and I was refunded fees and shipping costs. Now I'm not claiming that they are perfect... but if you have a 'zillion' auctions closing every hour then if only 1 or 2 percent go bad then this can add up to a large number of 'bad' auctions! I for one am hoping that AL's pictures (based upon the original Auction statements) are good enough for a full refund. PS can you put the carts in a dish washer on 'full' pan scrub cycle to save them? Hope that the shells can be saved somehow..... Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyo5050 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 (edited) Lol, "tested and working" in their imagination maybe ...only slightly better than worked years ago when it was packed away. Edited February 11, 2010 by coyo5050 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 1866-643-3720 tell the eBay rep what happened, request a prepaid return UPS shipping label (they are dual purpose USPS / UPS Labels that you print, but don't give it to the post office as it takes weeks longer) return the item, watch the tracking, call them again once it is delivered, and get your paypal FULL refund in a few days time. No more dealing with the profane user. AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Wow, this gets better and better. I heard back from the seller. First I got a message, "Dear atariage, You bet. Please send them back for a full refund. Thanks" And a few minutes later I received a refund of the full amount (auction plus shipping) via PayPal. I hadn't yet written the seller to ask where he wants the carts shipped back to. Then several minutes after that, I get this message, "There you go. You know the last time you had these same exact carts you said you could not use them because there was "some kind of goo all over them". This time it is "white marks". Your complete lack of honesty is the only reason I have never done business with Atari Age. Please do us both a favor and DO NOT BID on any more of my stuff. Thanks," This made me facepalm--years ago this guy sent me a ton of carts for store credit. When I initially went through the carts, I saw there were issues with them, and it took me a quite some time to get back to him on them. When I finally went through the carts more carefully, I realized that whatever process he used to remove the labels left the carts with some kind of gritty feeling. As much as I would have liked to use them, I just couldn't, and I tried to clean some of the carts to see if that would help (it didn't). I told him I couldn't use the carts and that I'd ship them back to him at my expense, which I did (in two or three separate boxes). This was back in 2007. I cannot believe I actually bid on these SAME DAMN CARTS and that this guy actually sent them to me AGAIN. I couldn't use them the first time around, so now that he shipped them to me AGAIN (and they are in even WORSE condition), what the heck did he expect? My ebay username is 'atariage', my PayPal account is sales@atariage.com, how could he not have made the connection? I wrote him back, "If I had any idea at all that these were the same carts you had sent me in the past, do you honestly think I would have bid on them? Really? These carts were not packed well and the box nearly came apart. You can clearly see in the picture that the carts were rubbing on one another during transit, so they're in even worse condition now than when I had them originally. Why did you not say anything after I won the auction to save us both this headache?" ..Al 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Wow, that one really takes the cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Nice job Al, you scam artist you! Making those poor ePay sellers wishing they had some cheese to go with their whine. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Nice job Al, you scam artist you! Making those poor ePay sellers wishing they had some cheese to go with their whine. lol What sucks is I'm going to have to waste time packaging these back up and then spend $35+ to ship these back to him (it cost him $35 to send them out to me via Parcel Post). We both lose out in the end. I just cannot fathom why he didn't say anything at all after I won the auction, BEFORE shipping them out. I can't blame him for being mad about how long it took me to go through his carts the first time around. But at least I'm being honest with him and telling him I still cannot use the same damn carts! I do feel bad that he must have spent a lot of time removing the labels and that he has 484 2600 carts he cannot do anything with. But he basically ruined the shells with whatever process he used to remove the labels (I have no idea). I'm guessing he used some kind of chemical to help remove the labels, and that chemical somehow interacted with the plastic, leaving that "gritty" feel I described. That they now have additional damage from this last shipping trip is icing on the cake. Ahh, well, it's amusing if nothing else. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 (edited) Ahh, well, it's amusing if nothing else. ..Al That it is! I love reading about all the ePay and ScamPal ripoff's (so long as we learn something from them that is). We've all been victims at some point, but at least this way, feels like group therapy letting it all out lol -edit- Oh shit... since he doesn't want them back, are you going to be passing the "savings" on to us? lmao! J/K! I can hear it now... "Yeah, umm... I'd like a Juno First game please, but can you make sure that the cart doesn't have any of that funky white stuff on it"? Edited February 11, 2010 by save2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Final message from seller, after I asked him for his return address, "I don't want them back. Merry Christmas!!" ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDW Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 At least you get to keep the shipping money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 That it is! I love reading about all the ePay and ScamPal ripoff's. We've all been victims at some point, but at least this way, feels like group therapy letting it all out lol Well, certainly he wasn't trying to scam anyone. These carts were already in poor condition, and were made worse so by the box nearly falling apart. You really can't ship anything "loose" of this nature in a such a large, single-walled box without the box coming apart--I've seen it repeatedly over the years. Even if the carts were expertly packed in a strong box, I would not have been able to use the carts, although I don't think I would have really had any recourse. I probably never would have known that these were the same carts I had in my possession years ago. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I have an idea what you can do with the carts. Bring them to CGExpo and set up a AtariAge hockey board. Then let people try to shot the carts into a small whole in the center of the board from across the room with a hockey stick. If somebody gets a cart in the whole they win a free AA cart. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 I have an idea what you can do with the carts. Bring them to CGExpo and set up a AtariAge hockey board. Then let people try to shot the carts into a small whole in the center of the board from across the room with a hockey stick. If somebody gets a cart in the whole they win a free AA cart. Allan That would be fun, but I somehow don't think the CGE organizers would be too keen on 2600 carts flying through the air at 50+ MPH. Maybe if they hand out helmets at the door. I am open to suggestions, though. Otherwise they are going into the trash. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I have an idea what you can do with the carts. Bring them to CGExpo and set up a AtariAge hockey board. Then let people try to shot the carts into a small whole in the center of the board from across the room with a hockey stick. If somebody gets a cart in the whole they win a free AA cart. Allan That would be fun, but I somehow don't think the CGE organizers would be too keen on 2600 carts flying through the air at 50+ MPH. Maybe if they hand out helmets at the door. I am open to suggestions, though. Otherwise they are going into the trash. ..Al Doesn't sound much worse than dropping a 1000 dig-dug carts from the ceiling. Of course your right but I know John and Joe would love the idea even if Common Sense says no way. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Doesn't sound much worse than dropping a 1000 dig-dug carts from the ceiling. Of course your right but I know John and Joe would love the idea even if Common Sense says no way. I was there for the "Dig Dug Drop" and I believe that put the fear of god into John, Joe and Sean. It was chaos as the mob of classic gamers descended into a "Dig Dug Box Shredding Frenzy" trying to find the prizes. I'm pretty sure video exists of this event. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian63 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Ugh. It's just not worth it to go with eBay any more. The last several auctions I've won have resulted in my getting merchandise that's not of the quality advertised or even pictured. I've let it slide and slide, but on this last one I didn't. It was advertised as a "mint" CIB game, but it arrived with a warped box probably due to moisture damage. The seller didn't give a hang when contacted. So I gave a negative, stating dispassionately what was advertised and what I got. The seller then sent me a profanity-filled email, which I sent on to eBay. That resulted in another nastygram, which also went to eBay. eBay is too populated with lowlifes to bother with, as far as I can tell. both on the seller AND the Buyer side. Had a buyer steal the motherboard out of a laptop and return just the shell. Guess what? They had tracking that it was returned and Paypal jerks gave them a refund. Had to take it up with ebay to get some reimbursement (a credit) with many phone calls to them and lots of time. it's hard to talk about ebay without using an explative. On the flip side, some jerk sent me a ps3 with no packing at all!! Cant believe it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I am open to suggestions, though. Otherwise they are going into the trash. You could do a "pixel art" piece with them. With 400+ carts, that could make one hell of a cool sign, mosaic, or any number of things. This guy's work comes to mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 You could do a "pixel art" piece with them. With 400+ carts, that could make one hell of a cool sign, mosaic, or any number of things. This guy's work comes to mind... That would work better if the carts still had the labels on them. From a distance, using a variety of 2600 shells, you could probably do some pretty damn cool images. From a distance they'd look like an image, but up close you'd see it's a bunch of Atari 2600 carts. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 You could do a "pixel art" piece with them. With 400+ carts, that could make one hell of a cool sign, mosaic, or any number of things. This guy's work comes to mind... That would work better if the carts still had the labels on them. From a distance, using a variety of 2600 shells, you could probably do some pretty damn cool images. From a distance they'd look like an image, but up close you'd see it's a bunch of Atari 2600 carts. That would be cool. But to follow this tangent, it might be possible to spray the carts different colors and use them as large mosaic tiles the same way Invader does. Or even better... use a bunch of the correct sized labels, but in primary colors, to go where the original labels went. That way the "tiles" would be the black cart framing a colored "label," creating a grid effect, that would emphasize the pixel art aspect. Plus, since it would be made of actual carts instead of just tiles, that would make it much more worthy of BS art snob discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 That would be cool. But to follow this tangent, it might be possible to spray the carts different colors and use them as large mosaic tiles the same way Invader does. Or even better... use a bunch of the correct sized labels, but in primary colors, to go where the original labels went. That way the "tiles" would be the black cart framing a colored "label," creating a grid effect, that would emphasize the pixel art aspect. Plus, since it would be made of actual carts instead of just tiles, that would make it much more worthy of BS art snob discussion These are both good ideas. I could make a big AtariAge logo out of carts for GGE.. Hmmmmmmm.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiggw Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I got an idea.....come up with a brand new label that encases the entire cart no more gritty feeling!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Sorry to hear about the problems, Al. I understand you can't use the cases to make homebrews to sell, but what about for non selling reasons? Keep them yourself for your collection once you make the game, or give them to friends. Or use them as EPROM's, burning test games onto them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Codex Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Seems a shame to waste all that injection-molded plastic that otherwise fits perfectly into an Atari. I know it's some extra expense, but could an aerosol varnish such as Krylon give them a suitable outer coat? There are thinner shellacs if Krylon turns out to be too tacky to the touch. For that matter, perhaps spray paint could render them usable, though it's not a good idea if the tactile deformities are more than a millimeter or so in size. You've got plenty of carts, so I'd say experiment, unless you're worried about throwing good money after bad. But hell, some homebrews on gold or silver painted carts would be pretty damn smart looking I bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ransom Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 both on the seller AND the Buyer side. Had a buyer steal the motherboard out of a laptop and return just the shell. Guess what? They had tracking that it was returned and Paypal jerks gave them a refund. Had to take it up with ebay to get some reimbursement (a credit) with many phone calls to them and lots of time. it's hard to talk about ebay without using an explative. Doesn't surprise me. I have a nice model train that I haven't used in years, but it's all set up in the basement and it works fine. A couple of months ago I was going to sell the engine and cars on eBay (they fetch a decent price), but then I thought about it and realized it would be easy for someone who had a broken one to buy mine and send me the broken one back claiming it was the one I'd sent him/her. So that model train will just have to keep sitting in my basement. Thank goodness there's AA for selling video games and classic computers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I was gonna suggest a Dig Dug drop too, but someone already got there...! You could use them to make stylised furniture or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.