What kind of feedback should I leave for an undisclosed dead save battery in a Game Gear cart?

[+jgkspsx]

I recently bought a copy of Crystal Warriors for the Game Gear on eBay. It was described as being in very good condition. I got it, played through the first campaign, saved my game, and turned it off - and my saved game was gone.

 

I'm torn, because I got a pretty darn good price on it, and the manual and cartridge are fairly pristine. I messaged the seller and he said he hadn't played it for twenty years - i.e. it was untested. He didn't exactly apologize and he didn't offer me a refund or return (but I didn't ask, and I don't want to return it at this point).

 

I am peeved (a) that I need to get a 2032 spot welded with connections to solder on and solder it on, (b) that he didn't disclose that the battery was dead, (c) that he listed an untested cart as "very good" condition without disclosing it was untested, and (d) that he didn't apologize. I might have bought it anyway knowing that the battery was dead (I really did get a good price), but at least I wouldn't have been surprised by it.

 

On the other hand, part of me feels that all of these 2032s are getting to the end of their natural lifetimes, and even if it had worked it could have crapped out in a month and I wouldn't blame him for it so much.

 

How would you handle the feedback in this situation?

 

Side question: Is it at all feasible to solder in a battery holder so in 2040 I don't have to do it again? I'm guessing there wouldn't be room in a Game Gear cart, but I was wondering if anybody had experience with it.

[+stupus]

If you arent happy with it ask for a refund and return it. Or ask for a partial refund and keep it.

If he doesn't want to do a partial and only a full refund then decide to keep it and be happy or return it and be refunded.

If he offers nothing then you can get a refund thru ebay or paypal and return it.

If you just dont want to return it then it means your happy with what you got for the price. Then just let it go.

I generally dont even leave ebay feedback anymore as its just become a convoluted meaningless mess really.

[kennybrooks]

If you feel you got a good price for it and want to keep it, I think leaving anything but positive feedback would not be fair.  Not leaving any feedback would be the best option. 

[HoshiChiri]

It's probably worth asking for a partial refund if you know you intend to keep it either way- the response might dictate your choice.

 

Leaving anything other than positive feedback can hurt a seller, so the question is: are you bothered enough to want to ding the guy? If not, no feedback is best- that's the true neutral these days (no punishment & no gain). If you do ask for the partial refund & get it, positive will pretty much be required.

[+arcadeshopper]

Unless the seller specifically said that the battery had been replaced then you can pretty much assume that a battery in that old of a game is dead. Many sellers these days are not knowledgeable about what's inside.

Doesn't seem like a reason to be upset to me unless you're upset with yourself for not checking first. Even a new in-box sealed game at this point we probably have a dead battery.

Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk

[+jgkspsx]

Yeah, I think you're right. I advised the seller to be careful to list untested stuff as such and gave positive feedback and realistic detailed feedback on the description.

[Tanooki]

I know I'm late, but I'll just say you did the right thing.  The post just before yours is where I would have gone with it.  Should he have said he hadn't tested it or used it in decades, maybe...but would someone who found it in a drawer even think to care as much to write that?  Probably not.  As long as the deal was better than you could have hoped for, you win either way.

 

As far as batteries go, yeah you can get a more or less flush snap in battery holder, or a very very thin metal pocket where you can snuggly slip the battery in from the top like dropping a coin in a perfect pocket.  That would be your best route and it would fit as they're super low profile/thin.  All it would take is soldering and originally unsoldering a couple posts that hold the original tabbed battery in and another couple posts to your battery holder or just tabbed battery you stuff in it.  It's a 10minute job would be my guess.

[Asaki]

I agree, I would never assume a cartridge had a new battery unless they explicitly stated that it had been replaced.

Would be kind of petty to leave a negative review because of it.

 

Dunno about Game Gear carts, but I've replaced Game Boy batteries, and there was nothing to it. The batteries I bought already had the connectors soldered on.

[Bratwurst]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

I know I'm late, but I'll just say you did the right thing.

Indeed, life's too short to get hung up on this sort of thing. At this point I consider entry level competence with soldering and electronics in general necessary if one's going to fool around with decades old gadgets. Replacing a coin cell is trivial in lieu of what was paid and it's pleasing to see a relaxed attitude prevail.

[Tanooki]

Agreed and basic to moderate level soldering is where I keep myself at gets the job done.  Sure I can't read a schematic to figure out continuity, nor do I have the big box with digital display level style machine either, but what I have works.  I have a temp wheel, a fine enough set of tips, and I can deal with battery swaps(or brackets to swap), popped wires, cold joints, larger sized (8-16bit) chip transplants in carts, even have done virtual boy ribbon solder fixes which I wouldn't recommend as it sucks.  But I can handle old handhelds, carts and the rest just fine and since we're talking 1980s through about 2000 tech(to throw GBA in there) it's a necessity and also you might as well assume a battery is dead if someone doesn't say new battery or tested/good battery.

[+jgkspsx]

2 hours ago, Tanooki said:

As far as batteries go, yeah you can get a more or less flush snap in battery holder, or a very very thin metal pocket where you can snuggly slip the battery in from the top like dropping a coin in a perfect pocket.  That would be your best route and it would fit as they're super low profile/thin.  All it would take is soldering and originally unsoldering a couple posts that hold the original tabbed battery in and another couple posts to your battery holder or just tabbed battery you stuff in it.  It's a 10minute job would be my guess.

Something like this? https://www.jsumo.com/2032-coin-cell-holder-plate-pcb-mount

 

It looks like I'd have to mount a negative connector below it...

 

I'm normally very understanding about minor issues, but I've hit a streak of bad luck/bad sellers lately and I was reconsidering if I was being TOO lenient. Thanks for the encouragement

[Shawn]

IT's also possible the battery finally died after it was sent to you. When buying any vintage game always assume the battery should be replaced ASAP.

[Tanooki]

19 hours ago, jgkspsx said:

Something like this? https://www.jsumo.com/2032-coin-cell-holder-plate-pcb-mount

 

It looks like I'd have to mount a negative connector below it...

 

I'm normally very understanding about minor issues, but I've hit a streak of bad luck/bad sellers lately and I was reconsidering if I was being TOO lenient. Thanks for the encouragement

Yes something like that, and yes that particular one would need a negative connector.  Another choice would look like a little plastic bracket with some metal touching certain parts, and that alone would let you just snap the battery into it and catch the + and - of it all.  I'm just not 100% certain if it would be a little too thick as filing down the inside of the plastic shell is not something I'd be happy about doing if it came to it.

 

Personally I just re-heat the solder twice.  Once to wedge out the old, and twice to pop the new tabbed battery back through the post holes.

[+jgkspsx]

8 hours ago, Shawn said:

IT's also possible the battery finally died after it was sent to you. When buying any vintage game always assume the battery should be replaced ASAP.

I think lithium watch batteries are not as much a danger as other batteries?

[Shawn]

On 1/8/2021 at 10:30 PM, jgkspsx said:

I think lithium watch batteries are not as much a danger as other batteries?

 

You are correct BUT they still can leak. I had a friend 15 years ago ask me to look at his Zelda cart and the battery had expanded and leaked onto the PCB. No damage was done but it was still a shitty situation.

[Shawn]

For example:

 

[+sixersfan105]

On 1/7/2021 at 1:20 AM, jgkspsx said:

I am peeved (a) that I need to get a 2032 spot welded with connections to solder on and solder it on, (b) that he didn't disclose that the battery was dead, (c) that he listed an untested cart as "very good" condition without disclosing it was untested, and (d) that he didn't apologize.

I always assume that if something doesn't explicitly state it has been tested and is in working condition, it is untested. eBay autofills listing descriptions these days based on condition and shipping methods selected, so that's probably how it got listed as "condition is very good" in the description. 
 

So I would personally be happy that the game works. It's a 30 year old battery, so it's not surprising that it needs to be replaced. Perhaps you can coax a partial refund out of the seller if you feel slighted. Cheers.