Avoiding GBA Bootlegs

HadjiQuest

How do I avoid these things on ebay? I've been hunting for a copy of the Castlevania Double Pack, and I want to be sure that I don't get fucked into buying a bootleged copy.

Do bootleg sellers normally get pointed out in their feedback? I see a ton of cheap GBA carts coming from Asia, but the only negative remarks left for these sellers involve slow shipping.

Lunker

In my experience, the only way to be sure on eBay now is just not to buy them on eBay.

Not buying anything coming out of Hong Kong is a good starting point, though.

Sheep

1> Buy from a reputable store with lots of high feedback. Check any negative feedback for anything detailing that the game is a bootleg.

2> Buy from auctions that have pictures of the actual game, not stock photos.

3> Buy from sellers located in the United States. Most bootlegs come from Hong Kong.

Hooraydiation

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-2/qid=1174330413/ref=sr_1_2/602-0900171-5195818?ie=UTF8&asin=B000CC196K

You could just buy it from Target.

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Game-Boy-Advance-83717500711/dp/B000CC196K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4810458-6171826?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1174330731&sr=1-1

or amazon.

cherv1

I posted this recently on the other eBay thread:

This isn't about selling but it's about eBay.

Never ever EVAR buy GBA games off eBay if they have a stock picture. They are all fake unless they have a real photograph, and even then if the description mentions anything about flat-packing the box it's a fake. When I was a noob I learnt that the hard way, luckily for me both the sellers offered a refund.

I guess it doesn't matter as much for console games if it's a stock pic cos the games couldn't really be faked but I'm not sure on that one.

Also never by from Asia, and I would never by from another country anyway just cos the shipping will cost so much if it is fake / faulty.

HadjiQuest

I can't afford full-priced GBA games, sadly.

I'll just go for a used copy from a reputable US seller, then.

Seta 3000

You know, I'm pretty sure my Mega Man Zero 3 is bootleg'd. I got it off eBay from Hong Kong. I think the cartridge might look a little phony, too. Can't remember, I don't have it here with me to compare.

Still works as if it were the genuine article, though. I don't really see a problem with bootleg'd other than the fact that it's not official.

Shadowfire

Ask and ye shall receive.

Though to be honest, I don't know if bootlegs have gotten better...

HadjiQuest

Seta 3000 wrote: »

You know, I'm pretty sure my Mega Man Zero 3 is bootleg'd. I got it off eBay from Hong Kong. I think the cartridge might look a little phony, too. Can't remember, I don't have it here with me to compare.

Still works as if it were the genuine article, though. I don't really see a problem with bootleg'd other than the fact that it's not official.

Bootlegs normally have battery save instead of flash memory like normal GBA carts. The batteries are normally pretty cheap, too, and don't last long.

HadjiQuest

Shadowfire wrote: »

Ask and ye shall receive.

Though to be honest, I don't know if bootlegs have gotten better...

I'm kind of curious about that.... if they have, I wonder if they still use battery-based saves.

polarblue

GBA Bootlegs from thailand still do. and sometimes they arent even the right game!

A friend of mine recently picked up the ff 1&2 for me. and it ended up being ff tactics (which i already own 2 legit copies of). But some of his carts had massive save problems (im assuming due to batteries)

LockeCole

As noted above the use of batteries vs flash memory is a big reason to avoid bootlegs. Additionally, if the bootleg is of really poor quality, its actually possible to damage your gba.

mntorankusu

HadjiQuest wrote: »

Seta 3000 wrote: »

You know, I'm pretty sure my Mega Man Zero 3 is bootleg'd. I got it off eBay from Hong Kong. I think the cartridge might look a little phony, too. Can't remember, I don't have it here with me to compare.

Still works as if it were the genuine article, though. I don't really see a problem with bootleg'd other than the fact that it's not official.

Bootlegs normally have battery save instead of flash memory like normal GBA carts. The batteries are normally pretty cheap, too, and don't last long.

Most official GBA games have battery saves too. Flash is only used in certain circumstances.

Edit: Or, at least, a lot of them do. I don't know about most.

SirToasty

I got a bootleg of Metroid Fusion from EB Games. It didn't save at all. You'd would think some of the employees would be trained to spot fakes. Guess not.

If you buy from a store, make sure you can tell it is a bootleg. Mine was a pretty good one though, the only thing that gave it away was a tiny difference in the carts that you have to look at very very close to be able to see it.

Shadowfire

SirToasty wrote: »

I got a bootleg of Metroid Fusion from EB Games. It didn't save at all. You'd would think some of the employees would be trained to spot fakes. Guess not.

If you buy from a store, make sure you can tell it is a bootleg. Mine was a pretty good one though, the only thing that gave it away was a tiny difference in the carts that you have to look at very very close to be able to see it.

O_o