is eBay entirely to be avoided?

[Edmond Dantes]

I know eBay is a haven for pirated goods, and possibly bootleg Neo games.

I just want to know to what extent. Surely there must be *some* Neo games that have a chance of being legit, even from eBay, right?

Case in point, I'm thinking of collecting Samurai Spirits in series order.. the first two are usually cheap if they're the Japanese versions, while SamShoV (both normal and Special) always seem expensive.

Can I, therefore, take this to mean that SamSho 1-3 are likely to be real while SamShoV is likely to be a boot? Or should they ALL be suspect, regardless of price?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lord_Tibor]

there are many respectable sellers on ebay, some are the same people who will sell you games here

I have never got a boot from anywhere, but I'm pretty new to MVS market. sam special I guess is a big boot candidate, so always ask for boards pics. sam 5 i don't know if it got many bootleg copies. there is plenty of japanese carts that probably are legit.
samsho 1 and 2 were very popular at the time, so probably there are many old bootlegs around for these 2

I know eBay is a haven for pirated goods, and possibly bootleg Neo games.

I just want to know to what extent. Surely there must be *some* Neo games that have a chance of being legit, even from eBay, right?

Case in point, I'm thinking of collecting Samurai Spirits in series order.. the first two are usually cheap if they're the Japanese versions, while SamShoV (both normal and Special) always seem expensive.

Can I, therefore, take this to mean that SamSho 1-3 are likely to be real while SamShoV is likely to be a boot? Or should they ALL be suspect, regardless of price?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Skips]

I actually bought most my MVS collection back in 2008-09 before I even knew to look for bootlegs (was new to the neo then) and even without knowing what to look for when I bought them I still have yet to get a bootleg from eBay. I of course went back and checked all the carts when I did find out, all were legit. I bought about 90% of my MVS collection off eBay with no problems.

 

[SNKorSWM]

The good thing about buying mvs carts is that you can ask the seller to post board pics and check mvs scans.

 

[NeoGeoNinja]

Edmond, eBay is fine on lower tier Home Carts.

SSV/SSZero will be fine because it's not particularly desirable. Just stay away from buying from France, Spain and Italy and you should be set. All jokes aside about those countries, those ARE the countries that are heavily associated with the counterfeiting of mid-high tier Home Carts.

If you want to play the likes of Metal Slug 1 right through to 5, your best off just getting a CMVS set-up and grabbing the bare carts on the cheap. Same goes for the MVS exclusives (PIsle 2, Strikers, Shock Troopers etc).

If you have concerns prior to making an eBay purchase, just link us up with it here and we will do our best to help. Ultimately though, you're the buyer

 

[Joneo]

MVS boots are still usually pretty easily distinguished from the real thing. Board pictures (even through-vent) are a big help, as are having the correct style holograph labels (where applicable).

Ironically the only boot I ever got was on the forums here. However the seller was completely cool when I brought it to his attention. On Ebay, you may not be so lucky. Also the sellers here seem to be quite a bit better at packaging items (with a couple exceptions) than the ebay crowd.

 

[hyper]

It's hit or miss

sometimes you can get deals

 

[Nerdygrrl]

When I was collecting I was pretty picky about my carts so stayed away from ebay and just bought locally or through reputable sellers. As some have mentioned ask for photos and don't be able to ask a seller up front if it is a legit cart. Document it. I'm pretty sure selling boots is against ebay and paypal policy (don't hold me to that). In either case if it the seller is presenting a legit and you ask to verify and end up with a boot seller protection should have you covered as the item was not as described.

If you are buying some of the more common carts you might as well buy them from someone here instead of running the risk of being scammed.

 

[gabe]

There are still good deals to be had on eBay, but you need to accept a certain amount of risk. As you move away from the forums, your chances of dealing with a non-collector increases. As such, quality standards may not be in alignment with those of the greater NG community, and the seller may not be able to properly identify a cart as a boot (not all bootleg carts are sold by unscrupulous scam artists). Exercise caution, use common sense, check feedback, ask questions and be leery of items shipping from South Korea or China.

 

[hyper]

When I was collecting

bitch don't lie

 

[alsmoneo]

Hi Edmond,

Deals on ebay are sometimes hard to find.. your safer buying from the market forums. As sellers and traders here are much better priced and are mostly gamers and people who care about the Neo.

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Just for a heads-up: At the moment (since I don't have a converter or a CMVS) I'll be looking specifically at AES games.

I'm gonna specifically avoid expensive games like Metal Slug and Garou MOTW until I can get my hands on an MVS converter (speaking of which, if anyone has a Daedalus or a Magic Key they want to part with, contact me, kay?)

Games I intend to grab in AES format:

Samurai Shodown 1, 2
King of Fighters 94
Ghost Pilots
World Heroes (all of them)
all the Fatal Fury games except MOTW

 

[Mercuttio]

It's been hit or miss for me and MVS. I got an AMAZING copy of MotW from a guy in Texas at a really fair price, but I have also gotten boots from bulk sellers who have no idea what they're actually selling. I will say that one seller who sent me two non-working SamSho4 carts went out of his way to make things right and get me a properly working copy. *shrug* You pays your money and you takes your chances.

 

[SNKorSWM]

Considering that people are bootlegging even cheap games like Robo Army or Mutation Nation, you'd better have an eye for spotting boots apart from the real stuff before you start collecting homecarts, at any price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321201567131

 

[MCF 76]

Considering that people are bootlegging even cheap games like Robo Army or Mutation Nation, you'd better have an eye for spotting boots apart from the real stuff before you start collecting homecarts, at any price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321201567131

WOW, now that is scary, even some rare SNES carts I've seen are getting this treatment aswell.

 

[Naika]

MVS boots are still usually pretty easily distinguished from the real thing. Board pictures (even through-vent) are a big help, as are having the correct style holograph labels (where applicable).

Ironically the only boot I ever got was on the forums here. However the seller was completely cool when I brought it to his attention. On Ebay, you may not be so lucky. Also the sellers here seem to be quite a bit better at packaging items (with a couple exceptions) than the ebay crowd.

The packaging here is freakin' great. Lots of good advice on this thread. This is what I call a community!

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Yeah, its looking like I might avoid eBay for Neo-Geo games.

Sadly, a copy of World Heroes I bought (not from eBay, but from a seller on Digitpress) might be a boot Not confirmed yet, but the sound is for some reason really distorted, and I've heard that's one symptom of a boot. (EDIT: Though, I am looking into other possibilities, as I've seen this same "scratchy sound" issue happen with Sega Genesis games that were legit, and just needed huge amounts of cleaning)

I think for AES games, I'll just post want ads here.

 

[city41]

Edmond, eBay is fine on lower tier Home Carts.

I haven't bought a home cart now in about a year and things have changed a lot in that year. But up through 2012 I bought several high end home carts on eBay. Including Metal Slug 1 and 2.

It's possible to do, you just have to be careful and do your homework. In the case of MS1, I was able to trace the game back to a member here and see where he had bought it on the forums many years ago. And for MS2, I bought it from a very reputable seller. I paid a premium for the MS2, but I'd rather do that than risk a bootleg.

Sadly, a copy of World Heroes I bought (not from eBay, but from a seller on Digitpress) might be a boot

If it's AES, it's not a boot. There are a bazillion WH AES carts out there, bootlegging them would not be even close to profitable. I think you just have a faulty cart. If it's MVS, it's dead easy to see if it's a boot or not, just open it up.

 

[SNKorSWM]

I wonder about this as well. How can people sell conversions of cheap games around or below $100 and still make a profit? But that's exactly what they do.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPIN-MASTER-NEO-GEO-AES-/321210553183?pt=ES_Videojuegos&hash=item4ac9a4135f

 

[El Maricon Loco]

WOW, now that is scary, even some rare SNES carts I've seen are getting this treatment aswell.

It will continue and it will get worse if SNES pricing continues to climb.

 

[RabbitTroop]

Well, don't worry guys. The way MVS is going, you'll soon start seeing conversions of cheaper home carts to MVS boards.

Would be funny to see some dipshit convert a home cart to MVS, but realize the market swung the other direction and converted the thing back.